“Moulin Rouge” will welcome three new principal performers. Solea Pfeiffer, John Cardoza and Pepe Muñoz will join the long-running musical on Oct. 15 in the roles of Satine, Christian and Santiago, respectively. Pfeiffer and Cardoza will succeed Joanna “JoJo” Levesque and Aaron Tveit, both of whom will play their final performance on Oct. 13. Muñoz will take over for Ricky Rojas, who will exit the production on Sept. 8. During the interim from Sept. 10 through Oct. 13, company understudies Alexander Gil Cruz and Ricardo A. Zayas will alternate in the role of Santiago.
Pfeiffer’s most recent Main Stem credit was 2022’s “Almost Famous” in the role of Penny Lane. She replaced as Eurydice in “Hadestown,” opened the Los Angeles company of “Hamilton” as Eliza and most recently appeared as Myrtle in the premiere of “Gatsby” at the American Repertory Theatre.
Cardoza, no stranger to the world of “Moulin Rouge!,” played a six-month tenure leading the touring production as Christian. Currently featured as Younger Noah in “The Notebook,” Cardoza made his Broadway debut in the ensemble of “Jagged Little Pill.”
Muñoz will make his Broadway debut in “Moulin Rouge!,” having previously appeared as a swing and the understudy for Santiago on the road. He has performed in the West End production of “Chicago,” the German staging of “Dirty Dancing” and international tours of “West Side Story” and “Cats.”
Cruz and Zayas are also alums of the “Moulin Rouge!” national tour. Both performed in the ensemble and understudied the role of Santiago across the country.
In addition to Levesque, Tveit and Rojas, the current principal company of “Moulin Rouge!” includes Austin Durant as Harold Zidler, André Ward as Toulouse-Lautrec, David Harris as the Duke of Monroth, Ricky Rojas as Santiago and Sophie Carmen-Jones as Nini. Casting is by Jim Carnahan and Stephen Kopel.
Set in Belle Époque Paris, the musical follows young writer Christian as he arrives in France and falls in love with Satine, the star attraction of the infamous Moulin Rouge nightclub. Featuring Tony Award-winning direction by Alex Timbers and Tony-winning choreography by Sonya Tayeh, “Moulin Rouge!” opened on July 25, 2019, and went on to win 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The production recouped in 2022.
“Moulin Rouge!” is produced by Carmen Pavlovic and Gerry Ryan OAM for Global Creatures and Bill Damaschke.
