MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL to Receive New York Staged Reading

A new casting notice from Actors Equity has revealed that a spring staged reading of Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge is currently in the works.

Union auditions will be held at Pearl Studios in Manhattan on February 17 seeking an actress to fill the lead role of Satine, a role originated by Nicole Kidman in the 2001 film.

The casting noitce description notes: "Satine is a star. Beautiful, glamorous, commanding. Fully aware of her worth. Wicked sense of humor and smart as a whip... but beyond this, our heroine has a deep humanity. She has suffered and her wounds are very close to the skin. Heartbreaking, in her way."

Other roles, including Christian, Lautrec, Zigler, and Argentinian have already been cast for the reading. The presentations are scheduled to take place April 24 through May 5 in New York. The staged adaptation titled, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, will have a book by Tony Award winner John Logan and direction by Tony nominee Alex Timbers.

Released by Twentieth Century Fox, Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! premiered at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival and has earned over $179 million worldwide. At the 74th Academy Awards, film was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture, and won two.

On the announcement that John Logan and Alex Timbers had signed on to create the new musical, Moulin Rouge!, Baz Luhrmann, the film's director, producer, and co-writer, said, "I first encountered Alex Timbers through the remarkable and inventive production of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jacksonand the brilliance of Here Lies Love. I immediately recognized the young director's creative spirit and felt we shared similar sensibilities and instincts. So I'm tremendously happy to celebrate that Moulin Rouge!will be under his direction and that the book will be the creation of the gifted Tony Award-winning playwright John Logan whose writing I also admire deeply. It's immensely gratifying to know that a new wave of artists will be leading Moulin Rouge!into its rightful theatrical realm."

Carmen Pavlovic said, "Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin are so special to Global Creatures and I'm thrilled that we have the opportunity to partner with them once again to bring their ground-breaking work to the stage. Moulin Rouge! is a film begging to be theatricalized. I can think of no better creative collaborators than Alex Timbers and John Logan to realise this new musical."

We are also delighted to be partnering with Twentieth Century Fox and Moulin Rouge in this hugely exciting venture."

Moulin Rouge! tells the story of a young poet/writer, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and courtesan Satine using the musical setting of the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, France.