The Glitterati of Moulin Rouge light up London "Soubrettes and Sodomites”Zidler Cast in Moulin Rouge (Photo: Matt Crockett) Long awaited is the Broadway transfer to London of the musical based…
The show has the feel of a satirical musical revue as a cast of five take on and convince in multiple roles and as both genders, with dialogue as well as songs. The setting is MI6 at the War Office in 1943 and the task is how to fool Hitler into thinking the Allied Forces will land elsewhere than Sicily. It is a true story which fascinated my mother in the 1956 original film and is a wonderful example of British ingenuity and success.
The score is alternative rock by Duncan Sheik with the book and lyrics by Steven Sater. There is a beautiful clarity to the sung words. It is pretty raunchy stuff with scenes of sado-masochism and masturbation but it has an honesty lacking in society then, and to a lesser extent, now.