It’s going to be a Hot Girl Spring at the Moulin Rouge on Broadway.
Megan Thee Stallion, the Grammy-winning rapper known for songs like “Hot Girl Summer” and “Savage,” will spend eight weeks starring in “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” as the show’s New York company looks to generate fresh interest before closing this year.
She will be the first woman to play a character previously called Harold Zidler — just Zidler during the rapper’s tenure — who is the impresario of the Moulin Rouge nightclub and the de facto M.C. of the show. She is scheduled to appear from March 24 to May 17; the Broadway production is set to close on July 26 after a seven-year run interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
“We want our show to go out with a spectacular bang, and Megan is the force of nature to lead us there,” Carmen Pavlovic, a lead producer of the show, said in a statement.
“Moulin Rouge!” is set in late-19th-century Paris, but its score is made up of contemporary pop songs, and the production said in the statement that there would be “a hint” of Megan Thee Stallion’s music added during her run. She has three Grammys, including best new artist.
“I’ve always believed in pushing myself creatively,” Megan Thee Stallion said in the statement, “and theater is definitely a new opportunity that I’m excited to embrace.”
It is not unusual for Broadway shows, particularly those deep into their runs, to hire musical artists and other celebrities in an effort to goose their grosses. The Zidler role has previously been played by Boy George, Wayne Brady and Tituss Burgess, and is currently being played by Bob the Drag Queen; it was originated by a Broadway star, Danny Burstein, who won a Tony Award for his performance.
The musical, like the 2001 film on which it is based, tells the story of a writer who falls in love with a courtesan at a Paris cancan club. The show, which in 2021 won the Tony for best new musical, has been profitable on Broadway and continues to tour North America and to run in London and other cities.
Michael Paulson is the theater reporter for The Times.
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