'Moulin Rouge! The Musical' brings the movie's fun, if not quite all its visuals, to Playhouse Square | Theater review

Jun. 13—As with just about any movie directed by Baz Luhrmann, 2001's delightful "Moulin Rouge!" boasts eye-popping visuals, with certain sequences cut together with machine gun speed.

And while "Moulin Rouge! The Musical" — a new touring version of which is at Playhouse Square through July 2 — comes complete with sumptuous costuming, attractive sets and retina-scorching lighting, it doesn't try to keep up with its cinematic counterpart in that department.

Instead, "The Musical" leans into, well, the music, carrying over to the stage much of the movie's mashup magic but also expanding on it.

That expansion makes so much sense, as myriad songs have earned a place in our collective consciousness since then. Lorde's 2013 hit "Royals" and 2007 Beyonce anthem "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" are but two of several songs that easily slide into Luhrmann's new-meets-old formula, the story set at the dawn of the 20th century.

Ohio native Andrew Graham manages much of the organized chaos of Playhouse Square-bound 'Moulin Rouge! The Musical' as tour's music director

We meet the colorful characters of the titular Parisian cabaret club and gifted songwriter Christian, arriving on the scene — at least while the show is in town — from Ohio. (Normally inhabited by John Cardoza, the lead male role was handled effectively by ensemble member Christian Douglass on the recent performance media members were invited to attend.)

It's tough days for the Moulin Rouge, owned by the financially stretched Harold Zidler (an enjoyable Austin Durant), where sexy-but-aging starlet Satine (Courtney Reed) is doing all she can to keep the place going. That soon includes a need to enchant the wealthy Duke of Monroth (principal standby Denzel Tsopnang on this night), whose potential investment Zidler sees as the only play to keep the doors open.

Arriving at the same time as the Duke — and thus causing confusion for Satine — is the optimistic and idealistic Christian, who becomes smitten with Satine. She, soon enough, feels the same way about him, however impractical that development may be.

We soon are treated to a show within the show, with narrative parallels aplenty, after the Duke is convinced to bankroll a theatrical production.

Reed paired nicely with Douglass on this night as they sang that all-important version of Elton John's "Your Song" and the "Elephant Love Medley," which includes bits of a-ha's "Take on Me," "Up Where We Belong" by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes and much more. It's great fun.

Another standout in this company is Nick Rashad Burroughs as the play's writer, Toulouse-Lautrec, the actor nailing all his laugh lines and delivering an impactful rendition of "Nature Boy."

As with many shows, "Moulin Rouge! The Musical" packs so much fun into its first act — including a cool little combo of The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Gimme Shelter" (titled "Sympathy for the Duke") — that its second is a bit of a letdown. It does start on a strong note, though, with the steamy number "Backstage Romance" — built around Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance."

If you know how the movie ends, it won't come as a surprise to learn the company saves one last music-filled celebration for the production's final moments. Expect to leave the KeyBank State Theatre on an energetic high.

"Moulin Rouge! The Musical" won an impressive 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and this touring production goes a long way toward showing why.

For starters, the book by John Logan fleshes out the story a bit more. We already alluded to the strong scenic design (Derek McLane), costume design (Catherine Zuber) and lighting design (Justin Townsend), but the sound design (Peter Hylenski), choreography (Sonya Taheh), direction (Alex Timbers) and, last, but not least, the work of Justin Levine (music supervisor, co-orchestrator, arrangements and additional lyrics) are also very deserving of plaudits.

At the end of the glitzy day, this is just a jukebox musical, but it's one that stands out from the pack — and, for fans of the movie especially, one worth a big ol' handful of quarters.

'Moulin Rouge! The Musical'

Continues through July 2 at Playhouse Square's KeyBank State Theatre, 1519 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. For tickets, $39 to $129, visit PlayhouseSquare.org or call 216-241-6000.