Boy George Returns to Broadway After 20 Years for ‘Moulin Rouge!’ Limited Engagement
Culture Club lead singer Boy George will return to Broadway after two decades for a limited engagement in Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Boy George, whose birth name is George O'Dowd, will play the role of Harold Zidler at Broadway’s Al Hirschfeld Theatre in early 2024.
Deadline reports, “The Zidler character is the owner of the Moulin Rouge! nightclub and serves as a de facto emcee in the musical. The role was originated on Broadway by Danny Burstein, and is currently played by Tituss Burgess through Sunday, December 17. Eric Anderson returns to the role December 19 through February 4.”
Moulin Rouge! The Musical won 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Deadline reports, “Directed by Alex Timbers and with a book by John Logan, the musical, like the 2021 Baz Luhrmann’s film, features a wide range of pop music hits (or snippets of them), including ‘Lady Marmalade,' ‘Every Breath You Take,' ‘Children of the Revolution,' ‘Single Ladies,' ‘Firework,' ‘Your Song,' ‘Sympathy for the Devil,' ‘Up Where We Belong,' and many others.”
Boy George's Musical Taboo Became a Hit in London's West End but Hit a Sour Note on Broadway
Boy George wrote the lyrics and music for the stage musical Taboo, which debuted in 2002. Although based on the New Romantic music scene of the early 1980s, George did not play himself. Instead, he played the role of real-life Australian-born performance artist Leigh Bowery. Although Taboo proved successful in London's West End and George got nominated for a Best Musical Score Tony, the altered Broadway version produced by Rosie O'Donnell had a short run of 100 performances.
Fans best know English singer, songwriter, actor, and DJ Boy George as the front man of Culture Club, who had a string of hits in the 1980s such as “Miss Me Blind,” “Karma Chameleon,” “Church of the Poison Mind,” “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” “Time (Clock of the Heart),” “It's a Miracle,” and “Move Away.” As a solo artist, he scored an international hit with “The Crying Game,” the theme song for the Neil Jordan movie of the same name. George has since reunited with Culture Club and still records and tours with the influential New Romantic band. Culture Club's most recent album, Life, dropped in 2018.
Boy George will play the role of Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge! The Musical at Broadway’s Al Hirschfeld Theatre from Tuesday, February 6, 2024, through Sunday, May 12, 2024.
Robert DeSalvo is a professional writer and editor with over 25 years of experience at print and online publications such as Movieline, Playboy, PCH, Fandango, and The A.V. Club. He currently lives in Los Angeles, the setting of his favorite movie, Blade Runner. Robert has interviewed dozens of actors, directors, authors, musicians, and other celebrities during his journalism career, including Brian De Palma, Nicolas Cage, Dustin Hoffman, John Waters, Sigourney Weaver, Julianne Moore, Bryan Cranston, Anne Rice, and many more. Horror movies, sci-fi, cult films as well as gothic, postpunk, and synthwave music are what Robert geeks over.
