Absolutely JLP would get my vote, too. I thought it was one of the best productions I've seen over the last few years, despite some glaring flaws. The cast and staging were wonderful. During the pandemic the cast did a very effective concert version of the show, too. As I get back to Broadway this Fall, I'm definitely seeing it again. And Warren, a towering TINA, deserves the win, too.
For the record, I wound up seeing MOULIN ROUGE twice pre-pandemic (the second time because friends had an extra ticket and I thought maybe my first visit was just an off night). Liked the choreography and the physical production, loved Burstein, curious about why Tveit was in it (I'm a big fan but didn't understand why it gave him so little of interest to do), liked Mutu....and (both times) saw Olivo's understudy, who was fine. But....why? Felt like a Vegas follies more than a real show, and didn't have the emotional power or sheer joy of the film. And the endless mash-ups of pop songs cobbled together to be "songs" just didn't work for me on stage....especially since my audiences (both times!) insisted on laughing and/or applauding every time a new song got name-checked inside these compilation/songs. took you right out of the moment and made it feel like we were in a Vegas piano bar on Broadway Roulette night. |
