Aaron Tveit, Karen Olivo lead 'Moulin Rouge' stage adaptation

Aaron Tveit and Karen Olivo will headline the new musical adaptation of “Moulin Rouge,” the stage adaptation of the 2001 Baz Luhrmann film.

Tveit, a Broadway fan-favorite whose screen work has included the film version of “Les Miserables” and TV outings “Graceland” and “Grease Live,” will play the role Ewan McGregor played in the movie, with Tony winner Olivo (“West Side Story,” “In the Heights”) on board in the Nicole Kidman part. Also on the cast list are Danny Burstein (“Fiddler on the Roof,” “Cabaret,” “Follies”), playing the host of the Moulin Rouge, as well as Sahr Ngaujah (“Fela”), Ricky Rojas, Robyn Hurder and Tam Mutu.

Alex Timbers (“Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” “Peter and the Starcatcher”) directs the musical, with a book by John Logan (“Red,” “Gladiator”) adapted from the screenplay by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce. Sonya Tayeh (“So You Think You Can Dance”) choreographs.

“Moulin Rouge” centers on the romance between a struggling poet and a chanteuse in Paris. Like the film, the musical will draw its score from popular hits,” which for the movie included “Lady Marmalade,” “Diamond Dogs” and “Your Song.”

Produced by Global Creatures, the company behind the upcoming musical version of “King Kong,” and exec produced by DreamWorks Animation alum Bill Damaschke will premiere at Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre in a run that begins previews June 27. The specifics of the presumed Broadway run have yet to be set.

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