And then one day, one magic day, he passed my way.

Moulin Rouge, the Broadway musical — 3.5/5

What spectacle! Stage design and art direction that I've personally never seen before on Broadway. It succeeds in taking what Baz Luhrmann does on camera – everything is ever-shifting, plot moving forward at lightning speed with sound as its jet engine propulsion – and applies it to the stage. It's here, it's there, it's everywhere. Where it succeeds is its bigness. Larger than life, Barnum & Bailey's three ring circus. The songs are too often distractions, relying on familiarity and an easy cleverness, but when the music hits, its because it rises to that bigness, taking these modern day love songs and letting them loose to be these elaborate operatic constructions, free from the reins of radio, allowed to be as big as they are. It's fun. It's exhausting. I only wish the show had the courage to slow down and let us catch our breath. The plot, as thin as it is, could have used a moment to center itself before rushing us on to the next spectacle.

Also, I saw Jojo live, wheeee, you couldn't have fucking snuck a little "Too Little Too Late" in here?? I don't think you even tried.