Renovations of Boston's Colonial Theatre Restore it to Former Glory

The soon to be home of the pre-Broadway run of MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL., the Emerson Colonial Theatre has nearly completed its renovation. The Boston Globe has an inside look at the refurbished theatre, check it out here!

The renovation has included over 37,0000 hours of work as crews replaces gilding, plaster, carpet, and the marquee. General Manager Erica Lynn Schwartz explained that the goal was to restore the theatre to its historical elegance, but to make sure it was up-to-date as well. 'We keep calling it history meets modern,' she says.

The Colonial came close to facing a full shut down when owner of the building Emerson College considered turning it into a cafeteria/performance space. The national uproar of protest from the theatre community included a petition to save the theatre signed by thousands, including Stephen Sondheim.

"I've had shows which tried out in the Colonial," says Sondheim, "and it's not only beautiful but acoustically first-rate, two qualities which are rare in tandem, even on Broadway. For those of us involved in musical theater, it's a treasure and to tear it down would be not only a loss, but something of a crime."

Luckily the theatre was saved and is now preparing to open the world premiere of MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL.

MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL. will star the previously announced Karen Olivo (Tony Award® for West Side Story, In the Heights), Aaron Tveit (Catch Me If You Can, Next to Normal), Danny Burstein (six-time Tony Award®-nominee, Fiddler On the Roof,Cabaret), Sahr Ngaujah (Tony® and Olivier award-nominated for Fela), Tam Mutu (Doctor Zhivago, Encores' Hey, Look Me Over!and The New Yorkers), Ricky Rojas (Burn the Floor) and Robyn Hurder (Nice Work If You Can Get It, Chicago).

The ensemble and swings include Jacqueline Arnold, Olutayo Bosede, Kyle Brown, Sam Cahn, Joe Carroll, Max Clayton,Natalie Cortez, Jennifer Florentino, Paloma Garcia-Lee, Bahiyah Hibah, Ericka Hunter, Holly James, Brandon Leffler, Reed Luplau, Jeigh Madjus, Daniel Maldonado, Morgan Marcell, Brandt Martinez, Jodi McFadden, Kevyn Morrow, Fred Odgaard,Dylan Paul, Khori Petinaud and Benjamin Rivera.

Set in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, France at the turn of the century, a world of indulgent beauty and unparalleled extravagance, of bohemians and aristocrats, of boulevardiers and mademoiselles, Moulin Rouge! The Musical tells the fictional story of an ambitious, lovesick writer, Christian (Aaron Tveit), and a dazzling, entrancing chanteuse, Satine (Karen Olivo). Their lives collide at the Moulin Rouge with its many characters including the host of the Moulin Rouge, Harold Zidler (Danny Burstein); the brilliant and starving artist Toulouse-Lautrec (Sahr Ngaujah); the greatest tango dancer - and gigolo - in all of Paris, Santiago (Ricky Rojas); the tempting Nini (Robyn Hurder); and The Duke of Monroth (Tam Mutu), the wealthy and entitled patron of the club who thinks he can buy anything he wants, including love.

Tickets for the run of MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL are now on sale. Tickets start at $55 and are available at EmersonColonialTheatre.com or by calling 888.616.0272.