Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge heads for stage
Carmen Pavlovic, CEO of Global Creatures, has announced that Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary film Moulin Rouge! will come to the theatrical stage as a new musical with a book by John Logan, directed by Alex Timbers.
Developmental work on the show is underway, and a production time-line and opening venue will be announced at a later date.
Released by Twentieth Century Fox, Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! premiered at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival and has earned over $179 million worldwide. At the 74th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture, and won two.
On the announcement that John Logan and Alex Timbers had signed on to create the new musical, Moulin Rouge!, Baz Luhrmann, the film’s director, producer and co-writer, said, “I first encountered Alex Timbers through the remarkable and inventive production of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and the brilliance of Here Lies Love. I immediately recognized the young director’s creative spirit and felt we shared similar sensibilities and instincts. So I’m tremendously happy to celebrate that Moulin Rouge! will be under his direction and that the book will be the creation of the gifted Tony Award-winning playwright John Logan whose writing I also admire deeply. It’s immensely gratifying to know that a new wave of artists will be leading Moulin Rouge! into its rightful theatrical realm.”
Carmen Pavlovic said, “Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin are so special to Global Creatures and I’m thrilled that we have the opportunity to partner with them once again to bring their ground-breaking work to the stage. Moulin Rouge! is a film begging to be theatricalized. I can think of no better creative collaborators than Alex Timbers and John Logan to realise this new musical.”
“We are also delighted to be partnering with Twentieth Century Fox and Moulin Rouge in this hugely exciting venture.”
Moulin Rouge! tells the story of a young poet/writer, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and courtesan Satine using the musical setting of the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, France.