Moulin Rouge – The Musical at Kennedy Center Opera House

Set in the artistic period during the late 19th century, Moulin Rouge! The Musical was heavily based on French history. The show takes places and is centered around the happenings of a real nightclub in Montmartre, Paris, called the Moulin Rouge, where the patrons come for unadulterated fun. By the turn of the 20th century, the Moulin Rouge nightclub became well-known for its French Cabaret cultural aspect – ecstatic, full of spirit, and pure party entertainment. This Parisian entertainment venue that the staging was based on also affected the creative team, with Baz Luhrmann and the Broadway play's creative team mentioning that they did take pieces of the actual French period, and it can assuredly be viewed in the production. The set design, clothing, music score, and actual performances (which features a lot of can-can dance) all clearly pay homage to to the film version of Moulin Rouge.

It is in this time of history leading up to the 1900s and during the peak of France's La Belle Époque, a time thought to be the height of lasting peace and harmony, where the forbidden tale of two lovers finally happens. Christian, an American writer who moves to Paris seeking a successful passion, meets Satine, the premier performer of the Moulin Rouge. Christian and Satine, despite many oncoming trials and tribulations, fall crazily in love and settle for a hidden affair with each other caused by their uncontrollable feelings.

Contrary to other accounts, the time of La Belle Époque was denounced by many not as a time of cultural and artistic development. Many are convinced that this decade were all about rising tension beneath the surface. the Broadway play, however, chose to present the era in a more endearing viewpoint by focusing on the hopeful Bohemian values of truth, beauty, freedom, and love, as perceived through Christian and Satine’s evolving love story throughout the play.

This June, viewers and audiences have the opportunity to relive the passion most likely also enjoyed by the original patrons of the Moulin Rouge, as Moulin Rouge! The Musical will be produced at an equally vibrant and epic venue, Kennedy Center Opera House. With interior decor just as beautiful as the set design that it is staging, Kennedy Center Opera House is the perfect fit for Moulin Rouge’s limited showing on Friday 26th June 2026. Tickets are now available for purchase through the links that can be found at the top of this site.