- Moulin Rouge! The Musical will premiere in Madrid in 2027 and will open the new Stage Gran Teatro Musical.
- The old IMAX cinema will go from 447 seats to more than 1,500 after its renovation.
- The production won ten Tony Awards in 2021, including Best Musical.
Moulin Rouge The Musical Madrid 2027 will inaugurate the new Stage Gran Teatro Musical. Stage Entertainment is preparing the arrival in Spain of the stage adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s film in the old IMAX cinema in the capital, currently under renovation to become a theater with more than 1,500 seats.
An international musical to inaugurate a new theater
The producer has chosen one of the largest titles in the international circuit to present its third major space in Madrid. The Stage Gran Teatro Musical will be located in the former IMAX cinema facilities, next to Enrique Tierno Galván park, in the southwest of the city.
The transformation will increase the capacity from 447 spectators to more than 1,500 and will equip the building with technology designed for large-format musical productions. Stage places the opening in the fall of 2027.
The project expands the company’s presence in Madrid, where it already owns the Teatro Lope de Vega and the Teatro Ocaso Coliseum, both on Gran Vía. The new venue will allow for programming productions whose technical and scenic needs require specific spaces.
The production’s page announced during 2026 a selection process for dancers for lead, supporting, and ensemble roles. The first round of auditions was scheduled in Madrid between June 25 and July 3. The general audition website of Stage currently indicates that there are no new calls planned.
From Baz Luhrmann’s film to the stage
The film Moulin Rouge!, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001, turned the romance between Christian and Satine into a celebration of visual excess, popular music, and melodrama. It received eight nominations at the 74th Academy Awards and won two awards.
The theatrical version retains that universe and expands its repertoire. Stage explains that the musical spans over 160 years of music, from Offenbach to Lady Gaga. It includes songs from the film and hits released after its cinematic premiere.
A creative team awarded with ten Tonys
- The direction is by Alex Timbers, the book by John Logan, choreography by Sonya Tayeh, and musical supervision, orchestrations, and arrangements by Justin Levine. The four received recognition from the Tony Awards for their work on the production.
- The production won ten Tonys in 2021, including Best Musical. It also received two Drama League Awards, five Drama Desk Awards, and ten Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Best New Broadway Musical.
- The set design is by Derek McLane; the costumes by Catherine Zuber; the lighting by Justin Townsend; and the sound design by Peter Hylenski. David Brian Brown is responsible for hair and wig design, Sarah Cimino for makeup, and Matt Stine serves as the musical producer.
- The production is led by Carmen Pavlovic and Gerry Ryan OAM for Global Creatures, along with Bill Damaschke. Stage Entertainment Spain takes on the general management of the version that will arrive in Madrid.
A phenomenon that has already traveled the world
The Broadway production premiered on July 26, 2019, at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. According to official information, it became the highest-grossing production in the history of over a hundred years of theater.
The musical has attracted 13 million spectators in 15 international productions. The expansion includes productions in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia, with new openings announced in Hamburg for November 2026 and Sydney for March 2027.
Its recording of the original cast debuted at number one on the Billboard cast album chart. This global circulation places the Spanish premiere within a well-established franchise, but the future cast and local adaptation decisions will still need to define its own identity.
Madrid strengthens its map of major musicals
Stage Entertainment has accumulated 26 years of activity in Spain and claims to have welcomed 20 million spectators. Its production of The Lion King surpassed seven million attendees and 5,000 performances in 2026.
The company sells around one million tickets annually in Spain. The opening of a third theater does not just mean adding another program: it creates stable infrastructure for shows that, due to their size, do not easily find a venue available for long seasons.
Before Moulin Rouge!, Stage will premiere on October 1, 2026, El alma al aire, a musical developed in Spain based on the songs of Alejandro Sanz. The coexistence of both projects shows the two lines of the producer: local creation and adaptation of major international titles.
The repertoire of Moulin Rouge! revolves around freedom, beauty, truth, and love. Its cabaret aesthetic, romantic narrative, and mix of songs from different decades have given it a particularly visible connection with LGBTQ+ audiences.
The Spanish cast, the exact premiere date, and the ticket sales schedule have not yet been communicated. These details will be crucial for the next informational phase. What is confirmed is the year, the space, the renovation, and the international creative team of reference.
The combination of a new theater, a production that has won ten Tonys, and a brand known to the cinematic audience makes the 2027 premiere one of the most significant movements of the musical in Spain.
