I went to see Moulin Rouge at the Lutcher Theater on Tuesday, Jan 31, 2012.
Moulin Rouge is a play set in the Montmartre District of Paris and focuses on the love affair between a French courtesan and a British poet/playwright. The courtesan Satine is terminally ill and the story is extremely romantic in this respect with several twists and turns in the tale which eventually end up with the death of Satine. I found the performance at the Lutcher Theatre quite stimulating and invigorating especially in the parts where the love scenes are strong and romantic. The actors were also quite up to scratch in this respect.
The acting throughout the production was quite good although some aspects did leave something to be desired. Principally I felt that the character of Satine was not always imbued with the romantic fervor which one needs to expect from the French courtesan although this improved as the play went by. On the whole the performance gelled together rather well and there were some cases of botched lines but otherwise there was nothing seemingly untoward about proceedings at this stage. The main actor portraying the British poet was perhaps a bit too straitlaced and nemotional for my liking but otherwise he did seem to get to the heart of the matter. I believe that every actor was trying their best not to career off into particular directions and showing off was established at a minimum.
The director unifies a production and frequently provides an interpretation of the text. The director was definitely very much up to scratch in his portrayals of the play which at one point also seemed to be very much in keeping with what was going on in my mind. The production seemed pretty unified with the intrinsic parts of it combining extremely well together and quite seamless in their transition. The attention to detail, in particular regarding costumes was something which was quite commendable in many ways and there was also quite a seamless transition regarding stage lighting and scenery. The latter in particular were very believable and created the confines of the Montmartre district very well indeed. The actors moved well along the stage and entrances and exits were extremely smooth with the pace and rhythm of the production pretty much top notch.
The Lutcher Theatre in Orange, Texas is certainly a beautiful one apart from the fact that it is also very modern. I hugely enjoyed the sense of space that the performance was given and the way the audience is positioned also greatly assists the interaction between actors and the audience, this is obviously a very important factor if the play is to succeed. The space was also pretty large in comparison to other productions and this fitted like a glove when compared to other plays in the same theatre as Moulin Rouge needs to convey a sense of expansion if it is to come off well. I felt that the space afforded to the production made it come out extremely well.
The scenery as depicted by the producer was very much in keeping with the Moulin Rouge District of Paris at the time the play takes place which is the late 19th century. The colouring and details reminded one of the glossy posters of Toulouse Lautrec which are so often used to recreate this atmosphere in an uncanny way. The red colour was particularly dominant as was the black, an ideal combination of raucousness. There was a huge amount of symbolism in the scenery which attempted to portray the wanton wastefulness of the Montmartre district in all its glory.
The costumes were probably one of the highlights of the whole production as the amount of painstaking detail which was present in them definitely demonstrates the lengths taken by the producer to come to a logical recreation of those times. The amount of detail in the period costumes was quite fascinating and everything wa also in keeping with the social status of the day demonstrating that dancers for example had a certain bawdiness which could not go amiss. I felt that the costumes were very much appropriate for the characters in question and they assisted very much in the understanding of the different social groups as well as the interpersonal relationships which were going on.
The lighting in the play was also very powerful although subtlety was actually the name of the game here. In many ways, the seedy nature of the Montmartre District was most superbly conveyed and all had a certain modern feel about it. Certain lighting techniques and the use of shades was also an intriguing feature in the play and this helped to bring about a certain wistful and decadent mood which is part and parcel of the whole play. Although the lighting was artificial, one could not really tell as everything came across quite brilliantly and with lots of tact and guile. The light changes were also very effectively managed throughout and this made the play seem pretty seamless in that respect.
The main characters principal goals are that they fall in love with one another in the most unlikely of circumstances but obviously this has to be kept into the context of Celine’s terrible position where she is slowly dying. The relationship is a constant reminder of how one can find love in the most unheard of way in a sense the minor characters also contribute to all this. However there are also contrasts in the way the courtesan carries herself about as she also has pride while her poet lover is simply smitten. I felt I could identify with him much more than her.
In conclusion, I have to state that I enjoyed the play immensely. It was well thought out, well acted and superbly produced with a lot of attention given to the finer details of things. Although I am not really a big fan of romantically connected plays, this performance of Moulin Rouge certainly was very interesting and intriguing as it demonstrated various talents of individual actors apart from using the theatre with a lot of knowhow and highly innovative technology. The combination of superb stage effects, fine lighting and painstakingly detailed costumes all contributed to a most refreshing theatre experience.
