During April 2018, I was looking on social media and saw an ad for the theatre production, Moulin Rouge! The Musical that announced that it was coming to Boston that summer. Normally, I would not have paid that much attention, but I noticed that a member of the cast was one of my favorite actors and singers, Aaron Tveit, who would be playing Christian. Upon this discovery, I decided to attend the production and then proceeded to watch the film version of Moulin Rouge that was directed by Baz Luhrmann. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, I did not get to go to the production in Boston.

     However, I decided to keep up with news of the production by signing up for their newsletter on their website, Moulin Rouge! The Musical. While on the website’s “About” Page, I perused the description and it read, “Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary film comes to life onstage, remixed in a new musical mash-up extravaganza. A theatrical celebration of truth, beauty, freedom and — above all — love, Moulin Rouge! is more than a musical; it is a state of mind.” After watching Luhrmann’s movie and reading this description, I became even more intrigued and was inspired by the story’s themes of love and loss and decided that if I ever got the chance again, I would go.

     Shortly after this, on November 19, 2018, I learned from the newsletter that the musical and the cast that did the Boston run of the production were coming to the Al Hirschfeld theatre in New York City. Upon discovering this, I knew that this was my second chance and decided if at all possible, to attend. I then asked my cousin, Audra if she would like to go with me to New York and she said yes. So, on January 25, 2019, I bought the tickets, and we began to plan our adventure to NYC for later that summer. So, we both have time to prepare. For me, this meant finishing my Associate in Arts degree from Forsyth Technical Community College. In addition, it also meant getting ready to pursue a degree that I was a little ambivalent about continuing with, as I had begun to feel less connected with it - my Bachelors of Arts in English and Media Studies at Guilford College. 

     Fast forward to, the evening of August 7th, Audra and I were in NYC getting ready to attend the Broadway production of Moulin Rouge! The Musical at the Al Hirschfeld theatre. When we arrived at the theatre, we took our seats on the left-hand side of the mezzanine in the front row. We took several photographs of the stage and then waited for the production to begin. Thinking back, when the production began, it started with the iconic snap-snap-snap - da-da-da- da-dum beat from the song, “Welcome to the Moulin Rouge.” A beat that immediately drew me into the story.

     Previously when I had watched Luhrmann’s film and read the production’s description, I had noted the prevalent themes of love and loss. Little did I know that, when Audra and I began watching this production, that I would be moved by several moments and songs and by the way they represented these themes. I also came to have a greater understanding of how love and loss impacted the characters and the audience members, as well.

     In the song, “Firework,” Satine expresses her mixed feelings as she is getting herself ready to meet the Duke. The Duke had expressed his desire for her in exchange for financially supporting the Moulin Rouge, where she worked, and the people in it who had become her family. Here, she was facing a mirror and sang, “Do you ever feel/Feel so paper thin/Like a house of cards/One blow from caving in.” Shortly after those lyrics, she faced the audience and sang, “Maybe the reason why all the doors are closed/So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road.” Then when she reached the end of the song, she echoed the lyrics from the beginning, “Do you ever…/Feel so paper.../Like a house…/One blow from…” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical). After this, she finished getting ready and waited for the Duke to arrive.

     While I was sitting there with Audra, I recall thinking just how much Satine’s feelings echoed ours in everyday life. For instance, when we saw Satine trying to gather the strength to do what she needed to do in order to help the people of the Moulin Rouge. We know what that is like - to sacrifice for others we care about. This was expressed when she sang, “Do you ever…/Feel so paper.../Like a house…/One blow from…” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical). These lyrics and this scene signified that what Satine wanted was to protect her family because of her love for them. Yet, these lyrics also tell us that Satine was expressing her weariness to keep going. However, she finds the strength at the end, and decided to soldier on when she chose to go and meet the Duke.

     Furthermore, this part of the production depicted loss. This was expressed in how Satine faces the loss of her personal happiness. As previously stated, one comes to understand in this part that Satine will do whatever she has to do to protect her family - even at the cost of her own happiness. In addition, she would be doing this by being the Duke’s possession, and giving up her life with her theatre family as per his demands. Also, in this part, Satine was trying to be positive in light of what would become her new life, “Maybe the reason…/So you could…” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical). One can gather from this, that while she would lose her family, she was determined to make the best out of that situation. Due to her actions during this song and scene, I felt I could identify with Satine. Many of us, like her, would do whatever we had to do for the ones we love - even if we were to lose something that we value.

     Another moment from the production that I can remember, was when the song, “Nature Boy” was performed. Before this moment, however, Christian’s friend, Toulouse- Lautrec, was explaining to him that he knew Satine before she worked at the Moulin Rouge, and how he had loved her and never told her. Additionally, Toulouse -Lautrec also mentioned to Christian that he could tell that when Satine met Christian, she was happy. He knew that Christian loved Satine, and told Christian that he should go to her and explain how he feels. After this, the song, “Nature Boy,” was performed by Sahr Ngaujah, who played Toulouse – Lautrec and Tveit, who played Christian. When they sang this song, I remember being haunted by the honesty of these lyrics, “The greatest thing/You'll ever learn/Is just to love/And be loved/In return” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical).

     Watching this moment, I saw the difference in the deep love Toulouse -Lautrec had for Satine and the romantic love Christian had for her. However, I also began to fully understand the key message from this production, and that was that love has the power to save us. In fact, love saves us whether you are the one giving or the one receiving. This was shown by the lyrics, “The greatest thing/You’ll ever learn/Is just to love/And be loved/In return” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical).

     In addition, however, there was loss in this scene. One example was Toulouse-Lautrec’s loss of being with Satine when he did not tell her how he felt, and when he chose to encourage Christian’s love for Satine so that she would have a chance at happiness. Another example of loss can be found with Satine. In the past, Satine began working at the Moulin Rouge to escape poverty, and did not have a chance to fully live a normal life. What we come to understand is that Satine is relying on her appearance in order to survive. This in turn, showed us a loss of her innocence, not just with her body, but with the reality of how she learned how harsh life could be. From the portrayal of this scene, we can come to understand that many of us can identify with the situation of lost love like Toulouse-Lautrec. At one time or another, each of us, like Satine, will come to discover the reality that life can be difficult, and then have to make a choice of how or if we can soldier on.

     The next scene, that resonated with me came at the end of act one with, “Elephant Love Medley.” Yet, before this song and scene, we discovered that the Duke has agreed to produce a show at the Moulin Rouge in the song, “So Exciting (The Pitch Song).” Also, right after the song, “Nature Boy” and before the song, “Elephant Love Medley” we saw the Duke buy the Moulin Rouge and Satine from Zidler. This in turn, meant that the Duke had the right to everything there and Zidler had much needed financial assistance with the Moulin Rouge.

     During “Elephant Love Medley,” Christian had just come from seeing Toulouse – Lautrec in the scene and song from “Nature Boy.” Upon his arrival in Satine’s dressing room, he had tried to persuade her to begin a relationship with him, even though he did not have any money to offer her like the Duke would, due to him being a penniless writer. This was depicted when Tveit as Christian sang, “Take me on” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical) and when Olivo as Satine replied, “No, no, no because you'll be gone in a day or two” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical). Christian then continued trying to convince her, and she sang, “So please stop explaining/Don't tell me cause it hurts” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical) and his reply was, “Open up your eyes then you'll realize/Here I stand with my everlasting love” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical). They continued bantering back and forth, with Christian arguing for their relationship and Satine against it. Eventually, Satine agreed to give their relationship a try and they sang, “I will always love you/And I will always love you/And I will always love you.”

     While watching “Elephant Love Medley,” I could see both love and loss. Here, both Christian, and eventually Satine decided to give their love a chance. This was shown, when Christian sang, “Take me on” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical) to try and get Satine to be with him. While the hesitation was found in Satine’s reply of, “No, no, no…”  (Moulin Rouge! The Musical) and “So please stop.../Don’t tell me…” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical). Despite her reply, Christian was determined to try and get her to take a chance on them and implied that he will love her no matter what, “Open up your…/Here I stand…” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical). From his reply, Satine saw that he was not leaving, and that he had accepted her. This gave her the courage to accept him as well. As a result of their acceptance of one another, we understand that even with loss, if we have the courage to give and receive it, love will prevail, “I will always…/And I will…/And I will…” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical).

     Yet, there was also loss here, and we are shown that our decisions can cause pain. This was portrayed by Christian and Satine’s relationship itself. Earlier, it was stated that they both took a chance on love, and that is true. However, Satine was supposed to be with the Duke, due to the deal that was made between the Duke and Zidler. This in turn, tells us that all Christian and Satine can have are private moments, and not a relationship that would be out in the open. The loss represented here is how their relationship would never be able to fully progress to anything more than private moments. Like the relationship between Christian and Satine, many of us long for a relationship where we are accepted, and do not mind if the moments between us are stolen or never progress to something more.

     It was during the second act, when another moment came in the song, “Come What May.” Christian and Satine have been carrying on their private love affair behind the Duke’s back. Satine learns that if they are discovered, the Duke would hurt them both. Therefore, she went to visit Christian at Toulouse- Lautrec’s apartment, and attempted to end their relationship, but ultimately, is persuaded by Christian that they did not need to break up.

     Instead, he told her that he had written a song for the show that the Duke had agreed to finance at the club entitled, “Come What May.” This song, Christian explained to Satine, would be their private message to one another. For part of the message, Christian tells her that whenever the song is sung, he will “be there by your [her] side” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical). Throughout the duration of the song, they both agreed “to love” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical) one another no matter what happened to them or what could stand between them, “Come what may/Come what may/I will love you until my dying day” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical).

     Thinking back, I recall watching this moment with Audra and thinking of how true the love between Christian and Satine was. Christian’s love was demonstrated by his acceptance if Satine, and his dedication to her, which was depicted by the lyrics, “will be there…” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical). As for Satine, her love was shown through her acceptance of Christian’s love, and when she was willing to give up her relationship with him to protect him from the Duke. Additionally, Christian and Satine’s message to one another, “Come what may/Come what may/I will love…” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical) showed that they are determined “to love” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical) and be there for one another, no matter what.

     Yet, Christian and Satine’s song, “Come What May” also depicted loss. In this case, as in the previous case of “Elephant Love Medley” the loss was actually found in their relationship, and how limited it has to be because of the situation at the Moulin Rouge. With that said, one can still relate to Christian and Satine’s relationship, due to the way that we all desire someone with whom we can be ourselves and be accepted. We desire this even when we know that, one day that person will be gone, and what we will have left is love, memories and the things we have learned from them. The things we have left, in turn, become our “Come what may” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical) and allow us to move forward in the knowledge that we have been loved.

     A final moment from the show that really stuck with me was when the song, “Crazy Rolling” was performed. This song came after Satine was forced to break up with Christian when the Duke learned of their relationship, and threatened to hurt Christian. After their breakup, Tveit as Christian appeared on a dark stage, with some light behind him that reflected stars. He then started to slowly sing and hum. At one point, the pain over his breakup with Satine is revealed when he sang, “There's a fire starting in my heart/Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical).

     The song continued and Christian expresses his wish that things could have worked out differently, “The scars of your love remind me of us/They keep me thinking that we almost had it all/The scars of your love, they leave me breathless” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical). Elsewhere, Satine was getting ready for the show that the Duke was producing at the Moulin Rouge. However, she eventually ran into Christian and they both sang, “We could have had it all (you're gonna wish you never had met me)/Rolling in the deep (tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical), due to their desire that they could still be with one another.

     Due to the way it was performed, “Crazy Rolling” was a song and a scene from the show that has remained with me since the moment Audra and I saw it. Tveit started off by slowly singing and by humming softly and then built up the momentum with his voice. When he did this, it seemed that the song paralleled their relationship. Love also starts softly, and then becomes bolder. In addition, Christian’s love for Satine was reflected in the lyrics, “There’s a fire…”/Reaching a fever…” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical) and “The scars of…/They keep me…/The scars of…” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical). With that said, it was also clear that Satine loved Christian due to the fact that she was willing to give him up to protect him from the Duke.

     Loss was portrayed here in the way Christian and Satine both suffer from a breakup that neither of them wanted. In fact, it seemed that they wanted more out of their relationship and were grieving over what could have been, “We could have…/Rolling in the…” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical). Like Christian and Satine, we all have relationships that we wonder what a future in them could have been like. Additionally, all of us, at one time or another, understand what it means to sacrifice for the one we love, like Satine did when she protects Christian from the Duke.

     Audra and I watched the rest of the show and discovered that Satine dies in the song, “Finale (Come What May).” After the show, we prepared to leave the Al Hirschfeld Theatre and when we went outside, we decided to visit the stage door. There, I ended up meeting and getting the autograph of my favorite actor and singer, Aaron Tveit. After meeting him, Audra and I left and continued the rest of our journey in New York City.

     To this day, I still remember sitting in that audience and watching this production because of the way it presented love and loss, and the way in which it reminded me of why I became an English major in the first place - the love of seeing a story told and how we relate to it. From the characters of Christian and Satine in this production, one can understand the power of love, even when there is not a happy ending. This story, and the love between these two characters serve to teach us that, “The greatest thing/You'll ever learn/Is just to love/And be loved/In return” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical). Yet, their loss of one another at the end reminds us not to take any moment for granted. In the end, love is worth it. The “Come what may” (Moulin Rouge! The Musical) of this story and ours, is that the love, memories and the lessons we learn will stay with us long after the person we have loved is gone.

Top Slideshow:

First Image: "Al Hirschfeld Theatre," (Cook).

Second Image: "Moulin Rouge- Windmill," (Cook).

Third Image: "Moulin Rouge- Stage," (Cook).

Fourth Image: "Moulin Rouge- Elephant," (Cook).

Fifth Image: "Al Hirschfeld Theatre- Stage Door," (Cook).