When director Baz Luhrmann visited India to conduct research for his 1993 opera A Midsummer Night’s Dream, he unexpectedly fell in love with the first Bollywood film he’e ever seen.
“What was incredible about that experience was ... there were 2,000 people at a cinema, but that form – it could have quite serious drama, then wild musical numbers, stand-up comedy,” he said.
Luhrmann found a wealth of inspiration from the Bollywood movie’s storytelling, which influenced his movie musicals Romeo And Juliet and Moulin Rouge. With a love for musical theatre, he hoped to explore new ways to carry over its unique elements on stage to the screen.
“I had a great love of musicals growing up,” he said. “I always thought, ‘If you look at it, musicals have a form that they take based on how well you decode musical form in a given period of time.”
Even though Moulin Rouge debuted on Broadway two years ago, Luhrmann believes the story feels more relevant than ever, especially during a challenging year for Broadway, local and international theatres. However, he is hopeful for young artistes who are continuing to tell uplifting stories through different art forms.
“Things are bad. Shakespeare knew things were bad when you had to close theatres, and so I think the idea of creative ideals and fighting to put on a show and tell a story that has a point to it – that means something that uplifts the spirit, ” he said. – Reuters
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