On the surface,Sing StreetandMoulin Rougecouldnt be more different.
In 2019, Tayeh made her Broadway debut with the premiere ofMoulin Rouge!
On television, things need to move swifter.
Credit: Jayme Thornton
Theres a timeline to hold on to.
Thats why I attached to this world because of the time.
Im in a room filled with people that have great minds and ambitious minds and want to collaborate.
Matthew Murphy
Before I jumped in the theater, I felt lonely.
I wanted to collaborate.
Sing StreetandMoulin Rougefeel elementally different.
© Matthew Murphy, 2019
What separates and/or connects them for you?I always attempt to find the emotional scale of a show.
What am I trying to say emotionally?
I have to feel it.
Its always a feeling for me.Moulin Rougethrives in excess.
It gets sad when it doesnt have it.
You have these beautiful reference points of the movies.
[Moulin Rougeis] so excessive the swift cuts, the angular action, the momentum.
The heartbeat was the momentum of the film, and I wanted to portray that on a live stage.
That was a beautiful challenge because you dont have the cameras, you just have the human body.
Moulin Rougehas such a frenetic energy that comes from the editing in the film.
It seems impossible to translate that to a stage, and yet you did.
How?I work in a highly physical way.
Pushing the body and challenging momentum.
Highly physical activity is what I thrive in.
I celebrated that inMoulin Rougein terms of swift, dynamic shifts and building tension through physicality and partnering.
Those dynamic shifts are because I found a really incredible company.
Theyre excellent at their craft.
Its a difficult, octane-filled show musically, vocally, and physically.
It takes a specific key in of performer, and they really stand and deliver.
I wanted that to be in the space, and it took a lot of difficult partnering.
[Laughs] What a hyper-experimental time.
And a highly emotional time.
We had music video parties and a big study of the 80s with these kids.
This company theyre young, but they have such a such a vocabulary.
Theyre incredible musicians as well.
Theyre such imaginative directors.
Its just amazing and jaw-dropping to watch them.
Im so honored to be a part of their palette.
The beautiful thing about working with both of them is they honor my work.
We have beautiful conversations, and they challenge me and I challenge them.
They both have a similar way in terms of needing to see.
That sparks more inspiration.
Thats why their work is so colorful, because every collaborator is inside of the work.
In both cases, youre working with movies and music that audiences are somewhat familiar with.
I feel theres a safety there.
When I feel lost, or far from an idea, I can go to the movie.
I can listen to the songs, and it brings me back.
If you let it restrict you, thats what can be challenging.
I use it as a freeing reference point.
Here is a crystal that you’re able to break open and see all the particles inside.
Its not just, This is the reference, I must do it this way.
Its a way to What is the evolution of it?
How can I break it open and see deeper inside of it?
Thats what can get you in trouble.
If you start to spread it out to the ether, thats where you lose the truth.
Bad Romance inMoulin Rougeis just astonishing.
I mean, 30?
I think theres that many of Roxanne.
Both Roxanne and Bad Romance have a double-digit archive for sure.
Both of those pieces are monsters.
I just kept pushing and pushing and pushing and pushing.
I remember when I found Bad Romance and I remember when I found Roxanne in rehearsal.
I remember the feeling of finding it and saying, This is it!
I was screaming and running around the studio.
The story lines in Bad Romance are so crucial.
And the break of Christian in Roxanne is so crucial.
You have this secret affair and the simmering of Uh oh, theres trouble in Bad Romance.
They need to be clear and precise and extravagant and emotionally sound.
Thats why there was so many versions.
You get your dancers to contort their bodies into unthinkable positions that are just so striking.
What are those conversations like?
What else you got?
Thats the dance I want to see on a Broadway stage if I was going to do it.
My heroes are people who have pushed boundaries and focused on having their own voice.
Thats the voice that I wanted.
Every step ofMoulin Rougecame from my insides.
I really put my everything inside of it.
It was birthed because of this company.
Was that the same cast forSing Streetand that company?Its just a different show.
I dont come in expecting that throw in of dance in every show.
They come from nothing.
And so we talked about What is the weight feel when you put this guitar on?
Utilize it as weight or utilize it as a trophy or someone you love or an obstacle.
Thats how we build a show.
The versatility is is important to me.
