Moulin Rouge with Karen Olivo and Aaron Tveit

Moulin Rouge, a $28 million jukebox musical that opens tonight at the Al Hirschfeld Theater, is adapted from Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 movie of the same name, and expands its playlist to some 70 pop songs, updated to feature songwriters who have become stars in the 17 years since the movie was made: Lady Gaga, Florence and the Machine, Sia, Beyoncé, Adele, Katy Perry.

The musical is a backstage drama and love triangle set in the famed Parisian nightclub Moulin Rouge in the artistic district Montmartre in 1899. The triangle involves Aaron Tveit as Christian, a composer from Ohio, who has been brought to Moulin Rouge to write a musical that will help save it;  Karen Olivio as Satine, a performer at the Moulin Rouge and the star of the show within the show; and Tam Mutu as the villainous Duke of Monroth, the show’s producer.

“Moulin Rouge” has a book by John Logan, direction by Alex Timbers, choreography by Sonya Tayeh, sets by Derek McLane, and costumes by Catherine Zuber, who explains what she’s doing in one of the videos below.

Click on any photograph by Matthew Murphy below to see it enlarged.

Karen Olivo as Satine and Aaron Tveit as Christian

Karen Olivo as Satine and Tam Mutu as The Duke of Monroth

Jacqueline B. Arnold as La Chocolat, Robyn Hurder as Nini, Holly James as Arabia and Jeigh Madjus as Baby Doll

Danny Burstein as the impresario Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge

Tam Mutu as The Duke of Monroth

Sahr Ngaujah as Toulouse-Lautrec, new friend of Aaron Tveit as composer Christian who also befriends Ricky Rojas as Santiago

Ricky Rojas as Santiago and Robyn Hurder as Nini

Aaron Tveit as Christian and Karen Olivo as Satine

“Moulin Rouge” was thrilling from the moment you entered the theater… until about ten minutes after it began. That’s because the brightest star in this stage adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 movie musical is designer Derek McLane’s set. Before we even take our seats, it envelopes us in love, or at least in lots of red – a huge red neon “Moulin Rouge” sign above red lights in the shape of a half a dozen hearts nestled lovingly within each other, a full-sized, red windmill full of lights perched on the box seats above us to our left, a life-sized elephant (which, for variety, is purple) in the box seats to our right…