Moulin Rouge! The night the old lady was out way past her bedtime.

Several weeks ago, a friend texted me and another friend to see if either one of us wanted to join her at the Tanger Center to see the Broadway production of Molin Rouge.  Her husband wasn't able to go with her and another friend was going in his place but ended up not being able to go either. So she texted us.

When I got the text I paused.  My first thought was "There's no way I'm going out on a Wednesday night". Because the Tanger is in Greensboro, the show didn't start until 7:30 and I knew I wouldn't be in my bed until Midnight.  That's two hours past my normal weeknight bedtime!  And I had work the next day.

My second thought was "Hmmm...maybe the other person she texted realllllllly wanted to go so I better wait a bit before responding".  But after a bit I thought to myself, "Dan will be out of town, the kids are at school, I never do anything fun any more, it sounds like a great idea!"

So we made the plan to go and I was looking forward to it until the actual day of.  I woke up on the 24th and kept thinking "Why did I say yes???? I'm going to be so tired.  What is this show even about?? I bet it's going to be horrible!"  

And to be fair to my friend Wendy, it had nothing to do with the show or the lateness of it on a week night, it's my old lady brain.  I used to go out on a whim all the time in my 20s but the older I get , the less adventurous I get (and isn't it sad that seeing a Broadway play on a Wednesday night is now considered adventurous?  24-year-old me would be so disappointed in 54 year old me! :)

And to make matters worse, everyone at work kept asking me what I was going to wear?  I hadn't even given that a thought but quite a few customers had been in shopping for outfits to wear to the show.  This is the downfall of working at a ladies boutique - everyone is very focused on clothing and outfits and what to wear and getting new things for every event.  Guess what I am NOT focused on?  Yep....what to wear.  So that added an extra layer of stress worrying that I was not going to be dressed properly.

I got home from work, put on black pants and a sweater and Wendy picked me up at 6:00 pm.  We headed to Greensboro, got parked and went inside.  And the first thing I saw was a woman wearing a bright red ball gown.  And I panicked a bit.  The black pants and sweater was probably not the way to go but then everyone started pouring in and there was every kind of outfit you could imagine.  

There were people in blue jeans, there were groups of women doing a girls night out dressed in cute short dresses, there were older couples dressed like they were going to church, there were trendy couples who looked like they shopped at expensive boutiques in NY City and there were people dressed in shorts.  So, note to self  - wear whatever the heck you want and don't waste a second of worry on it!

We walked in and found our seats and the whole stage was red. About 10 minutes before the show characters started coming out on to the stage and slowly dancing around the props.  The women were scantily clad because the Moulin Rouge in France was the birthplace of the can-can (which at the time was a provocative dance) and I was thinking "What have I gotten myself into?  This is going to be horrible!" 

And then the show started and Y'ALL!  I can not even begin to tell you how FABULOUS this show was!!!!!  The music, the characters, the story line!  It was funny, it was sad, it was AWESOME!!!!!!!!

I was entertained the entire time.  I never once looked at my watch.  I actually would have been fine it was LONGER!  If you get a chance to see this show - do it!!!!!!!!  And I can only imagine how much better it would be to see it on Broadway.

I know I don't have much to compare it to.  I saw Les Miserables in NY City in 1987.  And it was wonderful.  After that show, I immediately bought the cassette tape and played the songs in my car on repeat.  And then the off Broadway production came to Charlotte in the early 2000s and I drug Dan to see it.  The off Broadway version was good but not nearly as good as the original.  I think that was because in New York, they had a fantastic stage that rotated around and the traveling production did not.  

Right around that time, I also drug Dan to see Rent.  We both HATED that (Dan actually fell asleep if memory serves) and I haven't seen any other Broadway play since then. So I was expecting to be completely underwhelmed with Moulin Rouge but boy, was I wrong.  

Wendy, who frequents Broadway shows at the Tanger Center said it was the best one she had seen yet so lucky me that I got to go to that one!

After the show we even got pictures with some of the cast members.  Overall, it was an awesome night!  I'm glad I said yes to something on a weeknight and something that I thought wasn't going to be my cup of tea.  

And here are a few pictures of the event:

You have to take a picture in front of the sign,

We had great seats and of course we got there early because we are old ladies! 

This is Harold.  He was my favorite character in the show so I was super excited that we got a picture with him!

And this is Santiago!  Another great character from the show.  They were raising money for Broadway Cares which uses the funds to support AIDS related causes hence the buckets.

Have any of you seen Moulin Rouge?  What did you think?