Moulin Rouge! The Musical is gorgeous at Chicago’s Nederlander Theatre, a thrilling Parisian night out

Not since the emerald hues of Wicked has a show looked more glorious in Chicago’s Nederlander Theatre than Moulin Rouge! The Musical. That’s partly because the visual excess of Moulin Rouge, taking its cue from its sourcing of the famously outré Baz Luhrmann musical, matches the gestalt of the palace formerly known as the Oriental Theatre. But it’s also due to the expansiveness of the new touring production, which has packed its trunk with all the toys from Broadway, including the stuff that sits far beyond the proscenium, the windmill, elephant and all. That’s very rare these days but the producers clearly realized the difficulties of creating truly immersive theater in massive road houses.