Moulin Rouge Musical and Dinner at Little Donkey on Saturday
I love the movie Moulin Rouge and as soon as I saw that it was being made in a musical (genius!), I had to buy tickets for Dan and I to see one of the preview shows in Boston and check it out before it headed to Broadway in New York City. I was also excited to see a play in the newly renovated Emerson Colonial Theatre.
We were originally planning to see the show on July 7th, however there was a problem during construction of the theatre and our show ended up getting moved to August 18th. So, we went from one of the first people to see the show to one of the last, and I think in the long run that was for the best, as the cast had time to work out the kinks of the show before we saw it during its closing weekend.
The set of the musical was spectacular (there is no other word for it). The very front of the theatre had seats right up against the stage at tables, which sound great but I think they would be too close to enjoy the show, especially since a walkway moved into place behind those seats once the show started, meaning that some of the action was taking place behind you. We had seats about thirteen rows back, which offered a perfect view of the stage and we were able to take in the big musical numbers in their entirety from that position.
Tony-award winning actress Karen Olivo played Satine, and she was a perfect choice for this part. Her voice was outstanding, and I loved the sass and vulnterability she brought to the character. Aaron Tveit as Christian was good, but I didn’t think his presence measured up to Karen Olivo’s. Danny Bustein as Zidler brought unexpected sympathy to his character, and he was very funny. Sahr Ngaujah played Lautrec, and since he is of normal height, they gave him a limp with a cane instead of him be short like the real Lautrec was. Tam Mutu as The Duke as perfectly smarmy and made you easily hate him. The rest of the cast was good and you could tell they are professional Broadway actors.
The story was mostly the same as the movie, with a few differences, some of which were: (a) Lautrec was nursing a love for Satine, though he had gotten over the fact that they would never be together; (b) the musical within a musical didn’t have an Indian theme; and (c) a more charismatic Duke, who was more of a competitor with Christian. You did get a nice backstory about how Satine and Lautrec met, how Satine and Zidler came to work together, and you saw a more vulnerable side to Zidler than you did in the movie.
The biggest change to the musical from the movie was the music. While many of the same songs from the movie were featured in the musical, almost half of the music was new and made for a fun game to see how many songs you recognized as being new to the story. My favorite new musical number was set to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” which brought the house down.
While the ending of the story is sad (I won’t spoil it for those you have yet to see either the movie or musical), I liked how the entire cast came out at the very end and performed a few more musical numbers that were peppy and left you feeling upbeat and excited. As is appropriate, the musical both started and ended with “ Lady Marmalade”, which was very fitting.
Following the musical, Dan and I met Penny for dinner at one of our favorite places in town — Little Donkey in Central Square, Cambridge.
For dinner, we started with Razor Clams Casino with smoked kielbasa, Parmesan breadcrumb, and lemon; and Mexican Style Shrimp Cocktail with avocado, cilantro, and saltines. While I’m usually not much of a clam fan (I’d much rather have an oyster), I love these razor claims (which I’ve had before). They are cooked perfectly so the clams aren’t rubbery and I love the seasoning on top. The shrimp cocktail wasn’t at all what I was expecting, but I did enjoy it with the saltines, which gave the cocktail the perfect touch of salt to balance out this dish.
Next, we had the Sugar Snap Pea Tonnato with watercress and ricotta salata; and the Manti (Istanbul meal ravioli) with garlic sour cream and red pepper butter. I love sugar snap peas when they are in season, as they have a perfect touch of sweetness to them that is nicely balanced with their crispiness. The Manti is one of my all-time favorite dishes at Little Donkey, and I have to order it every time I go because I love it that much.
We also ordered the Sweet Cheesy Corn with shishito, garlic scapes, miso, and bonito; and General Tso Chicken Wings with arbol chile, and sesame seeds. The corn was good, but not overly memorable. I do, however, appreciate that they don’t make you eat it off the cob, as I have a difficult time doing that. I loved the chicken wings and thought the spiciness level of the sauce was perfect — just enough to give you a little zing but not too much that it left your mouth on fire.
For dessert, we shared the Churro Ice Cream Sandwich with cinnamon, French vanilla, and chocolate. While I love the idea of this dessert, and the flavors were spot-on, I found the Churro part of the sandwich too hard, which made it very difficult to eat. Churros are supposed to be soft, and while I understand they need to be more dense to support the ice cream, I thought they were too hard and crumbled when you ate them.
All-in-all, we had a great Saturday, watching a brilliant musical, followed by a great dinner at one of our favorite places in town. If you are a fan at all of the movie Moulin Rouge and/or you love musicals, be sure to check out this musical when it opens in New York City — you won’t be disappointed.
(Saturday, August 18, 2018 / @julieschultz79 / #mycrazylifeblog)
