Tveit Sings A "Moulin" Tune!
Friday, May 4, 2018 at 8:00AM 
Chris here. Plenty of folks may be ho-hum about this year's Tony nominations and the past season in general, but the good news is that we have major Broadway events just ahead - namely the long awaited stage adaptation of Baz Luhrman's masterpiece Moulin Rouge!
Lucky folks in Boston will get to see its pre-Broadway tryout next month, but theatre lovers elsewhere just got the first sampling of what awaits us on stage.
An opulent music video of star Aaron Tveit singing the musical's signature ballad "Come What May" has arrived. While I'm not a much of a fan of Tveit's voice (sorry!), the video does quite a bit to assuage any doubts that the stage would be cheapening Luhrman's decadence and luxouriousness. Guys, the smoke and paper/rose set dressing and plushy simplicity is simply gorgeous!
Now all that awaits is a glimpse of Karen Olivo filling the very large shoes of Nicole Kidman as grand courtesan Satine - but we're fine with the wait if it makes her arrival half as iconic as Kidman's emergence onscreen. Theatre fans know what an event Olivo's eventual Broadway return will be (for the unawares: post West Side Story Tony win, Olivo left the profession and since has returned via regional theatre and the Chicago production of Hamilton). For now, we await the sparkling diamond. What do you think of Tveit's take?
Reader Comments (16)
I love, love Tveit. He's a phenomenal singer and performer. But his voice is a bit off with this song. Is it just because I'm SO used to Ewan's voice?
That said, I'm still going to see this of course and love it forever.
I would wash Aaron's dirty socks with my bare hands, but I don't like his version. It's too neat. Ewan has no technique but he sings with an honesty that is so fucking sexy.
If any film ever deserved His and Her Oscars, it was Moulin Rouge! McGregor and Kidman were perfection, especially in their rendition of this beautiful song.
Please someone remind me WHY Come What May was ineligible
Peggy Sue - The song was originally written for a different film prior to Moulin Rouge! I find it weird because it was written for film it just ended up being used in a different film than originally intended.
Thanks, Brian!
Tveit's a bit of a bit of a hit or miss performer for me-- I liked him in Next to Normal, but found him really bland in Catch Me If You Can. There's something about the vocals in this video that seems off to me, like it's not passionate enough or something. Assuming it will be better on stage.
I agree with everyone else. The way he sings this, I get the impression that there isn’t anybody he’ll “love...until his dying day.” He’s just singing a song. Ho hum.
Generally I love Tveit's voice, but this rendition was underwhelming at best. :(
Tveit's version is very Broadway. He's belting for the rafters, but the technical precision gets in the way of the emotion. Ewan's original is filmed in close up. It works because he's a naturalistic actor; it actually helps that he's not a professional singer.
Brian and Peggy Sue -- making the ineligibility ruling even stupider is that it was written for BAZ LUHRMANN's previous film... (romeo + juliet) so it's even the same creator but still somehow ineligible. ARGH.
Nathaniel- I’ve always hated the ruling. Song-writers write songs for projects all the time that end up not working for said project, but will end up dusting them off for something else. I feel if a song was originally planned for a movie, but just ends up in a different one it should still qualify because it’s intended purpose was still for film.
Brian -- exactly but in this case with the film having the same author it's even more maddening. he shouldn't be penalized for making a smart arttistic descions!
If someone sang a love song like that to me, I would dump them immediately. This version is so passionless.
This musical hinges on making us believe in over the top love - especially Christian's belief in it given Satine's reluctance. I'll still this musical, but hopefully this comes off differently on stage.
Love it; love Tveit's voice. To be honest, I've never really liked McGregor or Kidman in the roles, and I find the film a bit of a mixed bag - occasionally soaring, but too prone to excess. Both fine actors in other projects, but his strain-singing bugs me, and I never believed she loved him. And their lip sync is frequently offputtingly edited. This is encouraging as a promo and I'd love to see it on stage.
Ew... What's with the light '60s pop drums and horns? Not a huge fan of some of those key changes, either.
I like Tveit just fine (and dig the hair he's rocking), but this version is essentially the lounge lizard rendition.
I'll stick to the film version, untouchable as it is in all of its glorious excess. I would have loved had this version stuck to the strings from its opening and then segued into that admittedly delicious Lady Marmalade tease.
Ah well.