Glitzy musical 'Moulin Rouge' is a visual spectacle at Marcus Performing Arts Center

Through May 26, the Marcus Performing Arts Center's Uihlein Hall has been transformed into a romantic Parisian fantasy world.

The North American touring company of "Moulin Rouge! The Musical" is creating a fin-de-siècle spectacle on Water Street. If you like riotous color and a steady stream of big dance numbers, this is the show for you.

This musical is adapted from Baz Luhrmann's 2001 movie, written by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce. John Logan wrote the book for the stage show.

The plot draws on "La Bohème": Penniless young songwriter Christian (Christian Douglas) falls in love with cabaret star Satine (Gabrielle McClinton). But Moulin Rouge impresario Zidler (Robert Petkoff) needs Satine to cozy up to the slimy Duke of Monroth (Andrew Brewer) for the money they need to keep the club open. Oh, this being 1899, Satine is also dying of consumption, but hiding that from everyone.

The score is a wildly anachronistic bricolage of pop and rock songs, often in snippets or medleys, with a fewer older tunes sprinkled in: "Lady Marmalade," Beck's "Where It's At," T Rex's "Children of the Revolution," "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" and Adele's "Rolling in the Deep," to name only a few. Everyone's mileage will vary on how well this works dramatically, but it certainly gives the ensemble plenty of fuel for high-energy dancing.

McClinton and Douglas have the compelling voices that carry a show like this.

"Moulin Rouge" is more about glitz than character. Excepting McClinton's Satine, the character we see the most facets of is Christian's wingman Toulouse-Lautrec (Nick Rashad Burroughs), who also has one of the show's finest musical moments with a lovely version of "Nature Boy."

Alex Timbers directed and Sonya Tayeh choreographed this production, which winks at its own sexiness without ever getting raunchy. Derek McLane's elaborate scenic designs and Catherine Zuber's costumes continually delight the eyes.

If you go

"Moulin Rouge! The Musical" continues through May 26 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, visit marcuscenter.org or call (414) 273-7206.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Glitzy musical 'Moulin Rouge' is a visual spectacle at Marcus Center