Hit show Moulin Rouge! The Musical will play a special gala performance in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust at the Piccadilly Theatre on 29 September 2022.
The exclusive event which will feature VIP guests and a glitzy Rouge carpet experience will raise money to fund the charity’s specialist nurses, youth support teams and hospital units that help teens and young adults as they undergo cancer treatment.
Announcing the gala performance, Teenage Cancer Trust honorary patron, The Who’s Roger Daltrey said: “Like all charities the last two years have been really tough, especially for Teenage Cancer Trust and the young people we support. However, it goes without saying that the unconditional support myself and the charity have received from the music and entertainment industry throughout this time has been unwavering and I cannot thank them enough for that.
“Teenage Cancer Trust relies completely on public donations and with music and entertainment fundraisers such as our flagship week of Teenage Cancer Gigs at the Royal Albert Hall, the charity is able to continue to support young people living with cancer.
“It is so wonderful to see another entertainment event supporting the charity. And what a brilliant collaboration Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Teenage Cancer Trust make – especially as the musical includes 75 of the greatest pop songs of all time. This very special performance really won’t be one to miss.”
Moulin Rouge! The Musical’s producer Carmen Pavlovic commented: “We are honoured to collaborate with the Teenage Cancer Trust, one of the most vital charities in the UK. Moulin Rouge! the Musical is where dreams come true, independence of spirit is prized, and a spectacularly diverse range of identities are celebrated.
“Teenage Cancer Trust’s heritage with popular music, and Moulin Rouge’s showcasing of 120 years of iconic songs create a partnership of kindred spirits and ideals. We are excited to dream up this very special evening together.”
The Trust’s director of fundraising Paul McKenzie added: “We are so thankful to the team at The Moulin Rouge! for supporting Teenage Cancer Trust with this very special performance. Cancer doesn’t just devastate a young person’s health, it threatens to take away everything they care about – their identity, their independence and their dreams.
“Our incredible nurses and support teams do all they can to stop that happening, and make sure that cancer doesn’t stop young people living their lives. But all of their work is entirely dependent on fundraised income, so events like this truly are lifesaving.”
Starring Liisi LaFontaine (Dreamgirls, Savoy Theatre) as Satine, and West End newcomer Jamie Bogyo as aspiring writer Christian, the stage musical version of Baz Luhrmann’s vibrant double Oscar-winning tale of love among the artists in the Montmartre area of Paris is brought to life on the London stage by a team led by award-winning director Alex Timbers (Here Lies Love, Rocky).
The West End cast also includes: Olivier Award nominee Clive Carter (Into The Woods, Come From Away) as Moulin Rouge impresario Harold Zidler, Simon Bailey (Heathers, Jersey Boys) as The Duke, Jason Pennycooke (Hamilton, La Cage Aux Folles) and Elia Lo Tauro (On Your Feet, Carousel) as the Bohemians Toulouse-Lautrec and Santiago. The showstopping ‘Lady Ms’ – Nini, Arabia, Baby Doll and La Chocolat – are played by Sophie Carmen Jones (Chicago, Jersey Boys), Zoe Birkett (Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Hair), Johnny Bishop (Hamilton, In The Heights) and Timmika Ramsay (Cinderella, Madagascar).
With a book Tony and Golden Globe-winning writer John Logan, Luhrmann’s highly-stylised vision of turn of the century Paris is played out to the sound of an eclectic ‘jukebox-style’ trip through the music of the last 50 years.
Winner of 10 Tony Awards, Moulin Rouge! The Musical features choreography by Emmy Award-winner Sonya Tayeh with music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Justin Levine.
The design team also includes: Tony Award-winning set designer Derek McLane and Olivier Award-winning costume designer Catherine Zuber, with double Tony Award-nominee Justin Townsend on lighting, Peter Hylenski on sound, Drama Desk Award winner David Brian Brown on wig and hair design, and Sarah Cimino on make-up design. Casting is by Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher.
A decade in the making, the ambitious production premiered in Boston in 2018 and debuted in New York in 2019 – 18 years after the big screen debut of Luhrmann’s evocative story of a doomed love affair between a writer and a dancer starring Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman.
The Moulin Rouge! The Musical original Broadway Cast Album, which debuted at number one in Billboard’s Cast Albums Chart, is available on Baz Luhrmann’s label, House of Iona, and RCA Records.
Angela Thomas
SHARE THIS POST:
Comments are closed.