This story was originally published by ArtsATL.
The posting caught her attention immediately. When former Atlantan Tamrin Goldberg saw that Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 film “Moulin Rouge” was being turned into a stage musical and auditions were being held for the pre-Broadway run in Boston, she knew she had to be part of it. It’s taken a while, but the performer — who auditioned for the early run yet didn’t make it — is now in the national tour of the show.
Credit: Courtesy of Tamrin Goldberg
Credit: Courtesy of Tamrin Goldberg
“Moulin Rouge! The Musical” swings into town courtesy of Broadway in Atlanta, running through April 30 at the Fox Theatre. It’s the winner of 10 Tony Awards, including best musical. Goldberg was busy on tour with “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical” when the show was prepping for Broadway but had the chance to audition for the touring version afterward and made the cut. Then she had to wait ... a while. The tour was scheduled to start in October 2020 but didn’t officially hit the road until early 2022.
She is now a swing for the tour, covering the six ensemble heel tracks. (In this production, men are called flats and women heels to be more inclusive). She’s also an understudy for two of the “Lady Marmalade” singers who open and close the show — La Chocolat and Nini. While she doesn’t find herself on stage every single night, she has performed in roughly half of the 400 engagements she’s attended.
“It’s because of the current climate with COVID, but also companies are making more of an effort to give people time off when they need it,” she says. “We are trying so hard to move beyond the ‘show must go on’ mentality where even if you’re sick you show up at the theater. People are taking more time off.”
Credit: Matthew Murphy
Credit: Matthew Murphy
Because of her Atlanta ties, she has put in some special requests, and the company thus far has been very accommodating. She feels confident she will be in several of the local performances.
La Chocolat is one of the “Lady Marmalade” singers, whom Goldberg calls the lifeblood of the show. They are featured performers at the club. “They introduce and sing ‘Lady Marmalade’ and bring the audience into the world of Moulin Rouge,” she says. “La Chocolat is a Black woman at the Moulin Rouge who represents living who you are and being proud, presenting your full self.”
As a swing, sometimes Goldberg knows months in advance when a cast member is taking vacation or a personal day so she can prepare. But she has also had to go on mid-show if a performer gets injured or sick and can’t complete the show. “We are at the theater every performance. The latest I have had to go on is 15 minutes before the show was over. It was our last performance in a city, and all my makeup was packed up. I was hanging out in the lounge eating cookies for the final performance and heard over the intercom that someone was injured. I ran to the costume and wig departments, and our dance captain literally glued my eyelashes on my face. I was on stage in three minutes.”
When Goldberg, 33, saw the film version, she was immediately taken with it, especially its “Roxanne” dance sequence. She had literally never seen anything like it before. “As a dancer who started when I was 3, seeing ‘Roxanne’ — and seeing a film dedicating an entire sequence to pure dance — was life changing. I had my ballet VHS tapes, but other than that, it was so rare to see dance treated in such a way, especially within a blockbuster movie. It was so passionate and sensual. It gets all your senses involved.”
As a fan of the film itself, she understands why it has become so beloved over the years. She especially loves Luhrmann’s aesthetic, the oversaturated look that brings in audiences. “When you watch the movie, it’s hard to sit back and feel a separation. The way the camera swirls and the colors and makeup and design pull you in. Our team has done an incredible job of having a similar effect between our sets and costumes. It truly has something for everyone. Every element of it could be a show itself. You could watch it or close your eyes and just listen.”
Born in Seattle, Goldberg moved to Atlanta when she was in eighth grade. Her father took a job at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2003. Once here, Goldberg started studying at the Atlanta Ballet, which she calls very technical and high level, with six days of practice a week. At roughly the same time, she was asked to audition for a high school performance of “The Pirates of Penzance” at The Paideia School and landed a role in the ensemble.
“I had seen musicals growing up but had never seen myself going into musical theater because I wanted to be a ballet dancer. Learning more about musical theater and being able to sing and act on stage was so fulfilling in a new way.”
She moved away after high school and eventually landed in New York but did return to Atlanta as part of the Alliance Theatre’s world premiere musical “Ever After.” That production was the first in the Alliance’s newly renovated stage, and she was part of the ensemble and played the Spanish Princess. The “Summer” national tour was also supposed to bring her back until it was canceled because of COVID-19.
As a performer, Goldberg is constantly seeking new gigs, yet she’s not in a hurry to leave the “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” tour. She recently signed on for six more months through September. “Much of the original cast is still with us. The original contract is a year long so several people are on to other projects and adventures. But a good group of us are staying on for year two and what’s to come. I am taking it as it goes — being a swing has given me longevity. I love the challenge of the eight tracks [I have] and having to be ready to do it at a given moment.”
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Jim Farmer covers theater and film for ArtsATL. A graduate of the University of Georgia, he has written about the arts for 30-plus years. Jim is the festival director of Out on Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQ film festival. He lives in Avondale Estates with his husband, Craig, and dog, Douglas.
Credit: ArtsATL
Credit: ArtsATL
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