Natalie Mendoza completes cast of Moulin Rouge for Broadway opening

According to Playbill,   Natalie Mendoza will play the lead role of Satine when Baz Luhrmann`s hit Moulin Rouge! Musical reopens on Broadway on September 24th at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.

Mendoza, who also appeared in the original Baz Luhrmann film, replaces Tony winner Karen Olivo who  announced in April she would not lead the show upon its reopening, citing a commitment to activism and humanitarian efforts in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and abuse allegations against producer Scott Rudin.

Australian performer Natalie Mendoza played China Doll in the 2001 film of  Moulin Rouge, with other theatre and TV credits including Miss Saigon in the West End, The Descent horror franchise, and the BCC’s Hotel Babylon. She appeared as Arachne in early performances of the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, though departed during its long preview period due to injury. 

She joins  a principal cast which  also includes the previously reported returning players: Tony nominees Aaron Tveit as Christian, Danny Burstein as Harold Zidler, Sahr Ngaujah as Toulouse-Lautrec, and Robyn Hurder as Nini, as well as Ricky Rojas as Santiago and Tam Mutu as the Duke of Monroth. Ashley Loren will continue as the Satine Alternate.

Completing the company are a mix of new and original cast members: Jacqueline B. Arnold, Holly James, Jeigh Madjus, Joe Beauregard, Keely Beirne, Giovanni Bonaventura, Olutayo Bosede, Maya Bowles, Kyle Brown, Sam J. Cahn, Bobby Daye, Mia DeWeese, Karli Dinardo, Tilly Evans-Krueger, Aaron C. Finley, Bahiyah Hibah, Ericka Hunter, Cameron Mitchell Jackson, Tasia Jungbauer, Jose-Luis Lopez Jr., Reed Luplau, Kara Menendez, Kaitlin Mesh, Fred Odgaard, Dylan Paul, Khori Michelle Petinaud, Benjamin Rivera, Julius Anthony Rubio, and Brandon Stonestreet.

Moulin Rouge makes its London debut  at the  Piccadilly Theatre from November 12th (Opening night December 8th ) The American creative team have been holding auditions but no casting news is forthcoming at the moment.