Want to get to Broadway? Go into the Army first.
That’s what Christian Douglas did and now he’s the star of the national touring production of “Moulin Rouge.”
“I started opera singing as an undergrad and I didn’t immediately know what direction I wanted to go in,” he says. “I had only done a couple of musicals by then, but I heard about the military bands and the choral ensembles they had. It just so happened they had an opening for a tenor the summer I graduated from school.”
Douglas auditioned, got the gig and, yes, went through two-and-a-half months of boot camp. “Looking back now, it felt like a crazy dream,” he says. “It allowed me to lay some foundation financially and I got to perform with the Army Band. I grew as a singer. When I decided to leave and moved to New York, I felt I was a little more mature and equipped to step into that musical theater world.”
Christian Douglas stars as Christian in the national touring company of "Moulin Rouge! The Musical."
Once out of the Army, Douglas started his professional career in the ensemble with the “Pretty Woman” tour, then covered for the lead. In no time, he was the star of the reboot of “Kinky Boots” off-Broadway and now finds himself playing Christian in the Tony-winning musical, “Moulin Rouge.”
Christian as Christian? “I always had it in the back of my mind that it’d be so cool to play Christian…so the universe really seemed to answer: Christian the songwriter playing Christian the songwriter.”
A mash-up of more than 70 contemporary songs, “Moulin Rouge” tells the story of a young poet who has moved to Paris at the turn of the 20th century. He falls in love with a night club star and, together, they try to save the failing club. Based on Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 film, it tests the talent (and range) of its stars.
“Christian goes through quite a vocal journey,” Douglas says. “It’s a big lift in terms of high belting. The emotional stakes are high, so it’s a matter of just trying to stay healthy, keep the energy up and deliver.”
Christian Douglas and Gabrielle McClinton play lovers in the Tony-winning "Moulin Rouge! The Musical."
To be able to sing eight shows a week, Douglas limits his activity, works out and realizes “a lot of my choices revolve around the show: ‘Will I be able to do my show tonight if I do this?’”
Touring for more than a year-and-a-half, Douglas is contracted through September, then regroups.
“I haven’t decided yet what I want to do but I’m in the process of writing a show with two playwrights based in New York. That’s on the back burner for me. We’ve done a couple of Zoom readings and, hopefully, in the fall we’ll do a full-fledged workshop.”
A bucket list of shows looms, too. “I’ve always wanted to play (‘Newsies’) Jack Kelly, but I might be aging out of that one. I played Tobias in ‘Sweeney Todd’ in college and I’ve been grateful to be cast in these awesome pop/rock shows but my chops are more operatic.”
A return to that world, however, is unlikely. “I was never super keen on opera,” Douglas says. “I liked singing arias and mastering the vocalism of it but, in terms of story, I always gravitated toward musical theater.”
Last summer, he played “West Side Story’s” Tony at the Muny in St. Louis and “that was such a blast to get to sing. I sang ‘Maria’ a number of times in recitals but to get to do it in a production for 10,000 people was pretty surreal.”
Still running in New York, "Moulin Rouge! The Musical" is currently crossing the country in a North American touring edition. Set at the turn of the 20th century it features plenty of 21st century songs and an elaborate set (complete with elephant).
The mission, of course, was to trust that he had what it takes to hold the audience’s attention.
“Whether it’s 300 people or 10,000 people, you just have to stand in your power and say, ‘All right, I’m going to trust that this B flat is going to come out’…and it will.”
