After seven years of can-can kicks and diamond-studded ballads, Moulin Rouge! The Musical is closing the curtain on its Broadway run. The show will play its final performance on Aug. 30 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in Midtown, ending a residency that began with previews in the summer of 2019.
Longtime company members Ricky Rojas and Eric Anderson sat down with On Stage host Frank DiLella to reflect on the musical's legacy as the closing date approaches, according to Spectrum News NY1. Both actors have been fixtures of the production for years, and their conversation with DiLella touched on what it has meant to be part of a Tony Award-winning show that became one of Broadway's defining hits of the past decade.
By the time the final curtain falls, Moulin Rouge! will have logged 2,321 total performances at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, making it the 36th-longest-running show in Broadway history, according to New York Theatre Guide. The closing date itself is the result of a five-week extension announced in April, which pushed back what had originally been a planned July 26 finish.
A Broadway Run Built on Blockbuster Numbers
Through its seven years at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, the production generated more than $372 million in gross ticket revenue, per Wikipedia's tally of the highest-grossing musical theatre productions. That commercial run followed a triumphant debut at the 74th Tony Awards in September 2021, where the show won 10 awards out of 14 nominations, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical for Alex Timbers, as reported by the same outlet.
Original leading man Aaron Tveit made history at that same ceremony, winning the Tony for Best Leading Actor in a Musical after becoming the only performer ever nominated in that category due to pandemic-shortened eligibility rules, according to The Guardian. Tveit is returning to the role of Christian for a final 15-performance engagement running from Aug. 18 through Aug. 29, per New York Theatre Guide's reporting, before Christian Douglas takes over the part for the closing show on Aug. 30.
Guest Stars and a Company Veteran Carried the Show to the Finish
Producers leaned on star power to keep audiences coming through the musical's final stretch. In March, rapper Megan Thee Stallion made her Broadway debut in the production playing club host Harold Zidler, becoming the first female-identifying performer to take on the role in any staging of the show, the same New York Theatre Guide report notes. Her run followed a health scare earlier this year, when Hoodline reported she was hospitalized after exiting the stage during her guest stint.
Behind the marquee names, ensemble dancer Bahiyah Hibah has been the only original cast member to perform in the show continuously across its entire seven-year Broadway run, according to StageBuddy.com. That kind of longevity, alongside veterans like Rojas and Anderson, has given the production a sense of continuity even as its cast rotated through celebrity guest turns and cast changes over the years.
The Brand Lives On Beyond Midtown
While the Broadway chapter closes at the end of the month, Moulin Rouge! isn't disappearing. Production company Global Creatures continues to run active North American touring and international productions, including stagings in London and Germany and a world tour extending into 2027, according to a Wikipedia entry on the musical. The Broadway closing marks the end of one era for the show rather than a complete sunset of the property.
For New Yorkers who caught the show during its run, the Al Hirschfeld Theatre stage has offered more than just ticketed performances. In April, cast members took the production to the streets for a free outdoor lunchtime show, a moment Hoodline covered as part of a broader trend of Broadway performers bringing their shows to public spaces around the city.
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