Exploring Moulin Rouge The Musical

 

Thanks to the Moulin Rouge (Chicago) Official Ticket Lottery I got to go and see the wonderful, good vibes, high energy, Moulin Rouge. It was simply amazing. I totally understand why the show won 10 TONYs. It was a great mix of music, adding a lot of songs that came out in the last 10-20 years while keeping most of the classic songs that we all remember from the movie. 

It felt so good to get back to live theater. I had not been to any in person theater since before COVID so 2-3 years ago at this point. This was the type of show that there was thunderous applause after every single musical number. It was a combo of musical, concert, and interactive stage show. It was an all together welcoming and celebratory return to theater.

In the end I doubt there was a single person who did not want to can can dance all the way home. Over all Moulin Rouge The Musical was a simply amazing show. I would highly recommend going if you have a chance (and with the ticket lottery you have a chance to get $25 (well $29 after all the fees etc.) tickets which are affordable treat for many of us.

I will say the show also got me thinking about the historical context of the show and how it has been so hard for so many people through out history, for those economically challenged, for women, for those with health issues, for those who for what ever reason did not fit in nor had access to the upper levels of society. 

The importance of this context is shown by how many shows have a similar story: The opera La Bohème, Rent, and Moulin Rouge. Each of these shows consider the strengths and limits of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love. We all need Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love but we also need to be able to have shelter, and food, and access to basic medical care when needed.

While we all need the ideals of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love and such ideals can help us build the communities and connections we need to thrive as shown in Les Misérables we also need to be able to have those in relation to bread and water and shelter. It can be easy to fall into the trap where all we talk about is Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love but don't actually consider the importance of meeting peoples basic needs.

The show also got me to think about the meaning of Love: 

• What is Love?
• What is healthy Love?
• How far will love take you?
• Is Love always enough?

While especially in Moulin Rouge The Musical, Christian is more caring and considerate of Satine than The Duke of Monroth both men in their own ways feel they know better than Satine about what she should want from life. Now they do have different visions for her, one wants her to be a kept woman, and the other wants her to give up everything for love. 

Part of me thinks that Christian is seen as the noble hero in part because Satine dies. If someone is in hospice you hope they choose Love not money but if Satine lived I wonder if they would have really gotten a happily ever after.  

Christian and The Duke of Monroth both have sexual intercourse with her the very same night they meet her (assuming when Christian sings "Just one night, give me just one night" he is not referring to a nice and platonic evening of simply talking and having some dinner.) 

Yes she was a high end prostitute but it still feels very creepy and slimy and makes Christian's whole this is only about love feel problematic. His reaction is not love but lust or infatuation. If you want to speak about Love to Satine start by creating a relationship that is not based on her profession of being a sex worker.

In addition Christian seems to have a savor complex. He wants to "save" Satine from her life. He wants to "save" Satine in the name of Love. While Christian is a sweet boy his love still seems problematic in the sense if some random guy came up to me on the street and said they were in love with me I would probably want to run in the opposite direction. 

In many ways the sweetest relationship is the one between Toulouse-Lautrec and Satine which is built on understanding what each had to do to survive. There is a gentle feeling of love that is based on age and wisdom not simple based on sex and lust.

Moulin Rouge is a wonderful show but it does make you think about the meaning of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love and what roles those ideals should play in our lives and in our relationships.