Moulin Rouge the Musical Comes to the Orpheum Theatre

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Emory Sunger back here with you NewsRadio eleven ten kfab We thank you so
much for being a part of ourshow as always, and one of my
favorite things to do is to gowith my wife to the Orpheum and see
the amazing shows that they're able tobring in. These kind of productions all
year long have been fantastic, andwe're ending with a bang last night,
opening night Mulan Rouge and we arejoined by a couple of the stars of

(00:22):
the show. Gabrielle McClinton, whoplays Satine, is joining us. Gabrielle,
thanks so much for being on theshow today. Of course, thank
you for having me. And wehave Danny Burgos, who plays Santiago is
part of the very funny and veryathletic part of the show. Danny,
thanks so much for being here aswell. Of course, thank you first
for Satin. Wow, Satin,what a heart stealing situation for the crowd.

(00:49):
Right. I've never seen Mulan Rougebefore, and I go there and
they have the cocktail and mocktails thatthey always have themed for the different shows,
and I don't know what to expel. I know that rock Sanne plays
a pretty big part because you know, the police song and as you know,
like, I know that's coming.But then the mocktail name was Satine,

(01:10):
and I was like, okay,I have no idea who that is
or what that is, so I'mgoing to find out. And I'm waiting
and I'm waiting and I'm waiting,and then they build up for Satine and
then they interrupt and it's you know, we get the backstory of the guy
Christian who you know, he wasfantastic last night, and then finally we
get to get Sistine and she's onthis giant diamond and all these sparkles and
everything. This is an awesome role. So how do you get a role

(01:34):
like this? And did you knowof the movie? Where you inspired by
the movie? Just tell me everythingabout the background, how you became Setine
Gabrielle. Oh gosh, I saythat was a long set up, a
lot of pressure. I was like, where we're going with this? Yeah,
it's I have a very long journeywith Mulin Rouge. I'd seen the
movie way back in the day,but I wasn't obsessed with the movie.

(01:59):
I wasn't a crazy fan of it, but I did enjoy it. I
liked it and then I remember whenauditions came up for Mulan Rouge for the
original company. I actually auditioned forone of the lady m's like in the
very beginning, and me and oneof my best friends who ended up being
cast as Nini, we came togetherand matching outfits and we were we told

(02:23):
ourselves, we're going to book thistogether. We were going to get the
job. And I got all theway to the very end, and I
think they brought me in about fiveor six times, and it was one
of those shows where I went,oh, I'm getting this, this,
this is it, this is it. I'm gonna get to dance and sing
these songs. I'm like, thisis happening. And I didn't get it,

(02:43):
and I was heartbroken. But mybest friend ended up getting cast as
Nini, and so I watched herwhole journey with that, and so I
let go of Mulan Rouge. Andthen she had always told me I was
a seten, but I just keptsaying no, no, no, no,
no no no. But secretly Iwas just really afraid of it.
And then like down the road,I guess they had me come in for

(03:04):
an alternate on Broadway, and Isent him a tape for that. I
didn't get that, and then theyhad me come in for the tour and
I got a little bit further,but I didn't get that, and then
COVID happened, and then it cameback around for the tour to replace.
And it was one of those Itwas just perfect timing where I just felt

(03:27):
like I was at a time inmy life where I went, oh,
yeah, I'm ready to do thisnow, and just everything felt different.
I was older and had more lifeexperience to give to the role, from
being in my twenties and now beingin my thirties. And yeah, it
was a very easy process that timearound. I literally came in twice and
did two or three things, andthat's how my journey started. Yeah,

(03:50):
and now you're on the stage.That's interesting the life experience, Danny,
this is a bad experience. Theshow in and of itself is kind of
a would you say that Christian's reallykind of the main character that we're following,
because obviously Setine's an important part ofthe story, but when you meet
Christian, you recognize, okay,like this is the person we're really cheering

(04:11):
for and trying to get and yourcharacter you know, plays a big role
in trying to get him settled intothat. But how did you would you?
You know, I didn't see them. I haven't seen it yet.
And there's a lot of people listeningthat have no idea what Mulon Rouge is
about. How would you explain kindof the story. Because it is so
important to have good people in theseroles, especially these lead roles, because
you laugh, you cry, youwant to sing as loud as you can

(04:32):
because you know the songs, Buthow would you explain what this show really
is about? So I like toexplain Mulan Rouge to people who don't know
it or haven't seen it, asit's your normal run of the mill love
story and infused with all the songsthat you know in love. So my
favorite part of Mulon Rouge is actuallythe end of Act one. I'm not

(04:56):
a part of it, but wecall it elm. It's called the Elephant
Love Medley, and and I don'tknow how Justin Levine did it, our
music coordinator and supervisor, but hegot every great love song known to man
and threw it into what is itlike an eight minute number? It's so
long. They sing every single lovesong. But what I love about Mulan
Rouge, both the movie and ourmusical, is they took everything from the

(05:19):
movie that really really works and theykind of brought it into this you know,
time period eighteen ninety nine and alsoyou know, the late twenty tens
and early twenty twenties. So theymade that love song, which is universal.
You know. We have Romeo andJuliet, we have every single the

(05:41):
Notebook. You know, we haveevery single love story ever told, and
it's always you know, boy meetsgirl, boy wants girl, boy can't
have girl, boy gets girl.You know, so it's the normal run
of the mill love story, butit's told with all of these songs.
I tell people, even if you'renot a fan of musical theater, this
is the show that's going to getyou. Maybe not into musical theater,
but you will know at least onesong and you'll be like, oh my

(06:05):
god, I know that one?Why do I know that one? And
it's because these are all songs thatwe know and love. You know,
even if you love classic rock,you know, we have Sympathy for the
Devil, we have rock sam bythe Police. We have something for everyone.
Even as as much as like Chandelierby Sea, which that number,
I mean that blew me away.What a fun role the Ziegler like that,

(06:30):
I mean it just you laugh.There's a lot of laughing in it
as well, which you know Ilove about live theater. We're speaking with
Danny Burgos, who plays Santiago,as well as Gabrielle Mclinton, who stars
as Setine in Mulan Rouge, whichyou can find at the Orpheum this week.
Now, Danny, how do youbecome Santiago? So I have a

(06:50):
very similar and different story. Igot my first audition from Lulan Rouge ever
in twenty eighteen, when they wereauditioning for the out of town tryout in
Austin. I came in for Santiagoand they very easily told me like we
loved your tape, we love you. You're way too young, and I
was like, okay, I understand, that's fine. So I didn't even

(07:12):
go into dance or do any ofthe ensemble stuff because they were just like,
we see you as a Santiago.Twenty eighteen came and went. I
was on the national tour on yourfeet and I was just like running around
the country. I left that tour, went back to New York City and
they brought me in for an ensembletrack to understudy Christian and the Duke.
Now, I'm a singer, butI don't sing like that. And those

(07:34):
guys got a you know, theygot pipes of steel. Our Christian,
Christian Douglas is I don't know howhe does what he does eight times a
week, but it is flawless singing. His instrument is just amazing. But
naturally, that audition did not gomy way. And then they brought me
into dance, and again, Iam a dancer, but I am not

(07:57):
a dancer like that, and theyhad me dance for a swing track,
and that just didn't go my wayeither, and COVID came. I went
back to school and I actually studiedto become a nurse. I was working
as a nurse for a year ina hospital and I got a call from
my agent saying, Hey, theywant to see you for Santiago again.
Are you interested? I know thatyou're working as a nurse. Now do

(08:20):
you even want to do this?And I was like, if there were
ever a show that I want tobe in that I want to try to
get back into musical theater with itwould be Mulin Rouge. So I went
in and it was kind of afever dream. I went in at the
end of June, and by thebeginning of July I had an offer for
this role. And I was justlike, I mean, of course I'm

(08:41):
going to say yes. But itjust happened so quickly that I was like,
oh, it is true that,like when an opportunity is right for
you, it will find the timeto be right for you. So I
was just very taken aback by Wow. I guess it's not just like a
popular trope that we say. Iguess it is really true. Well,
it's funny they remembered you, right, I mean that after all that time,
they were like, you know what, who would make a good Samiraco?

(09:03):
That guy who was too young,like a long time ago. Not
that you're old now by any means, but you know, Gabrielle, you
talked about the role being a littlebit maybe not like easier, but a
little bit more relatable for you nowthat you are a little more experienced in
the world as you into your thirties. This character setine. It's the lead

(09:26):
female role, but it has alot to do with the experience, and
she's constantly telling Christian throughout it's justlike, this is my life, Like
my life has been like this,and I have chosen my life. And
he's constantly reminded that she has chosenher life. I know it's a show,
and I know that it's a lotof fun, but is there a
lot of relatability to setine in maybenot direct ways, but in the way

(09:50):
of, like, you know,we can adjust who we are as our
lives go on. It just becomesa little harder the older that we because
she does, she goes on quitea journey throughout the entire show. Yeah,
I mean it's extremely relatable, sometimesalmost too relatable, where I'm just
whoo, where's Gabby and where's theteen? But that's why I love playing

(10:16):
her so much, because she's soreal and she really shows every aspect of
humanity. I mean, I getto do comedy, I get to do
drama, I get to fall inlove, like you really get the full
spectrum of what it is to behuman and to be a woman, and
to have these struggles during that timewhich are the same during this time.

(10:39):
And I think for a long timeI always had the fantasy of oh,
yeah, you have the man likecome and sweep me off, you know,
sweep me off my feet. Butthen I think her situation with the
Duke and actually having someone that canprovide you stability and security when you've worked
your butt off your entire life toget something. At first, I couldn't

(11:00):
relate to that, but then Iwent, no, there is something to
that. And I think the moreI kind of dove into the duke storyline,
it made me have to fight harderto be with Christian. And that
was so fun for me to playwith the two of them. Where I
thought it was just going to beeasy for me to just, oh,
just fall in love with Christian,I pick and that's easy. I don't
like the Duke, but I've reallybeen able to have a nice tension between

(11:24):
both of those characters. But it'sa dream to play her. She's taught
me more about myself than I couldhave ever imagined, and it's been a
true blessing. It's really fun.We're speaking with Gabrielle Mclinton, who plays
Seteine in Mulan Rouge, along withDanny Burgos who plays Santiago. Can we
talk about the costuming Oh my gosh. I mean, you go through some

(11:46):
of the best costumes I've seen allyear at the Orphan with the diamond one,
Like, can we start with thatwith the shiny stuff and the you
look like a disco ball up there? Can you explain, like, first
of all, kind of what thatlooks like it's made of. You know,
it's hard to tell from where Isit, but it's just an incredible
effect. When we first get tomeet Setine. Yeah, I mean Catherine

(12:09):
Zuber, our costume designer, didan incredible job with the costumes, and
they're all custom made to my body, which I don't know if I've ever
really had before, so that wasvery exciting. But yeah, the diamond
costume is basically a lot of rhinestones, a lot of diamonds, and I'm
in corse. It's the entire show, which isn't the most fun part,

(12:31):
but they look great, and yeah, I'm basically in a corset. And
then on top of that, Icall it my bird that I get into,
which is kind of this contraption costumethat they put me in, and
then there's a magic trick if yousee the show, and how I get
out of the bird. But yeah, the costumes really make me feel like

(12:54):
a sparkling diamond. She really dida good job with that. And she's
also so in tuned to being orwhat actors deal with and how I come
at my acting. I use colorsa lot, so my costumes always inform
like how I'm feeling or my choices, like an Elm, I'm wearing pink
that makes me feel very flirty andlight, and Roxanne, I'm wearing red

(13:16):
and that is my standing and mypower and just you know, fighting for
what I want. So Kathy didsuch an amazing job at helping make my
job easier to tell my story moreeasily. You go off stage for very
short periods of time and then youcome back wearing something completely different. Yeah,
can I can I ask how thatis done? Like how do you

(13:37):
guys pull that stuff? Tephany's Sweegard, that's what you say her last name.
I have an incredible dresser who travelswith me, and we have the
local dressers in all the different citieswho also help as well. But Stephanie
is my godsend. She is withme every step of the way, and

(13:58):
it's a lot. The changes arevery, very very fast, but there
is a very intricate system to howit is done, and we make it
work. And there's been maybe onlya couple times where we've had snafus,
but overall it's been pretty seamless,and it takes some having amazing people in
your corner to help you out.It's cool, Danny. You don't have

(14:18):
the kind of costume changes she has, but your costume is very memorable as
well. You get to show quitea bit of skin up there, and
you know, the Argentinian you knowin the dance moves right. So you're
not just comedic relief because you're reallyan important part of Christian's life as he's
trying to get on his feet ina foreign place. But you know,

(14:41):
for you, the costume makes ahuge part of it is a huge part
of your character as well. Whatkind of joy do you get when you're
you know, in Santiago mode,because there are multiple spots, I mean,
when Bad Romance starts in the secondact, another banger that you know,
it's just you guys like you mashup so many songs you don't really
get to like really go to churchin like a song, but you guys

(15:03):
got to go to church in thatone a little bit and you're laughing while
you're also just like kind of blownaway by the sound. So explain,
you know, Santiago's plight is inhis part in all of this. Yeah,
So our director Alex Timbers did agreat job of like relaying what I
should infuse Santiago with without telling melike copy what they did on Broadway,

(15:26):
and between him and Sonya Taia orchoreographer, they were able to kind of
like build something on me that isvery uniquely me. And they said,
hey, Danny, so you toloose Ziedler and Christian, y'all, are
you stand as these like four Bohemiantruths like truth, beauty, freedom,
and love. And that's why yourword is beauty. You have to manifest

(15:50):
like the physical body of this piece, the same way that Setine is a
physical body of this piece. Christianis a physical body of this piece.
You represent like the beauty of whatit is to be a Boohemian quite literally,
just like Christian emphasizes the love ofbeing a bohemian, to loose is
the freedom of being a Bohemian.And so I think my costume being built

(16:11):
the way that it is with myshirt cut down to hear and exposed.
You know, I'll never forget thefirst day that they like built my costume
on me. Catherine Zuber came inand was like, is that chess tattoo
real or did you do that forthe audition. I was like, no,
it's real, and she goes,oh, I've always wanted a Santiago
with a chest tattoo, and soit was really fun for me realizing like,
wow, I fit into this worldand putting the costume on. It's

(16:36):
nothing I would choose to wear onmy own, but when I put it
on, I'm like, oh,it helps me get into what it is
to be this person, especially itbeing something that I would never choose to
wear on my own, you know. So I think, like, that's
what makes this role so fun,the fact that it's somewhere in Danny,
but then I get to like fullyembrace it, Like that's why at the

(16:59):
top of we do have that awesomenumber backstage Romance, and it starts with
Lady Gaga's Bad Romance, which isa song that I never thought I would
get to sing in front of thousandsof people. But it's so easy to
fall into this character, especially withmy nini Ak natter who's amazing and has
been doing it for two years inGermany, and it was so easy to

(17:22):
build a relationship with her. Thecostumes help, the dialogue helps, but
these people that I'm surrounded by,like Gabby is an incredible person to get
to play off of, like inany scene, no matter how little or
how much interaction I have with her, anytime I catch eyes with Gaby,
I'm like, oh wow, likewe're really in there. We're here,
you know, we're here. We'rehere to have a good time and play.

(17:45):
And I think that's another I'll endit on this. I love our
job because what we get to dois a play, and we're literally like
that is the name of what wedo. We're playing up there. It's
like we get to have a goodtime for two and a half hours,
and then we get to thank thisaudience for being with us. And that's
why my favorite part of the showis curtain call, because a lot of
people think it's like, yay,I'm going to get a bunch of applause

(18:07):
now, but it is genuinely athank you, thank you for sharing two
and a half hours of your lifewith us so that you can get this
beautiful story that we really do loveto tell night after night after night,
and I can tell you this,it's two and a half hours well spent
and you can find the tickets ticketOmaha. You can also just go to
the website for Omaha Performing Arts.As Mulin Rouge in town through June the

(18:29):
ninth, Gabrielle mcclinton's going to bestarring as a teen. You'll also see
The Last the Dances and the Beautyof Danny Burgos of Santiago. Thank you
guys so much for being here andtalking to us. An excellent show and
I can't wait to hear what otherpeople think about it as they see it
in Omaha. Great. Thank youso much. Thank you