Question: Was Moulin Rouge the only musical to purely use pre-existing songs, or have there been others?
Phixius
18th Sep 2013
Moulin Rouge (2001)
Answer: Knights Tale being another.
Answer: Musicals that use pre-existing songs, or unreleased songs (i.e. songs written before the musical was written), are often called "jukebox musicals" and there's a long list of them going back to the 40's. Jukebox musicals also included musicals centering around an artist or band's album (sometimes these are referred to as "rock operas" and included "Tommy" by The Who and "The Wall" by Pink Floyd.
Answer: Also Rock of Ages is another example.
Answer: A musical that used preexisting songs is called a jukebox musical.
20th Feb 2013
Moulin Rouge (2001)
Question: During the Tango de Roxanne scene, it seems that there is a lot of tension between Nini and the Argentinean. Also, when he yells at Christian for falling in love with Satine, it is almost as if he is speaking from experience. Is this because he is actually in love with Nini or is it just a part of the song itself?
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Answer: Come What May was an original film composition, albeit for Romeo + Juliet, but it ended up not being used until Moulin Rouge! So, depending on how you want to look at that technicality, there could be an argument made that Moulin Rouge! did not use only "pre-existing songs." However, there have been other such musicals; Mamma Mia! being an example. Interesting to note that they both have exclamation marks as part of their titles.
Phixius ★