Hangin' on 45th Street with MOULIN ROUGE!'s Natalie Mendoza!

Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World

The Tony Award-winning best musical Mulan Rouge is back on Broadway, and I'm here at the Al Hirschfeld Theater to catch up with the latest Sateen, Natalie Mendoza

Ladies and gentlemen, bohemians and artists, coquettes and boulevardiers. May I present you our sparkling diamond

the unique, the indomitable, the one and only. Seteen. Welcome to the Moulon Rouge

How excited are you to be standing out here in front of the L. Hirschfeld

I'm absolutely thrilled, you know, to come back to Broadway, especially after COVID

This is just a dream come true to be part of this story. It's beautiful. Full circle moment for you

Of course, you were in the film version as China Doll and now you're playing Satine. Yeah

How incredible is that? So it's incredible. I, you know, 20-something years ago, I auditioned for the role of Sartine

and then off the back of that, Baz cast me in the role of China Doll

And so to be actually playing the character I originally auditioned for

is totally mind-blowing 20 years later. Okay, so what was it like going back into rehearsal

like that first day of rehearsal, being back with a company? What was that like

It was pretty daunting, to be honest. But I think just, you know, stepping outside into the big wide world

felt daunting because I'd been cloistered away at home during COVID and to be around so many people

was incredibly new but thrilling and you know I just had to take one step at a time and I do that

every night just one step at a time one quick change at a time okay so of course of people who

may not know you're lowered from the ceiling and this just the most incredible entrance in this

show what was it like being up there for the first night when you were lowered in front of a live

audience it was so wonderful it the whole thing is breathtaking You know, it's very, the entrance is very, it feels very much like a Greek myth, you know, coming up from the, descending from the heavens

But it was so beautiful. I mean, it's a dream to be able to have an entrance like that for sure

And just being in front of a live audience again, we missed this for almost two years

So that first night you had a live audience, you're up there, you hear the applause happening

What was that first night like? You know, I was actually, I felt I was welling up with tears

It was incredibly emotional and it was such a beautiful reminder of how much our what we do as actors completely relies on the relationship we have with our audience So it really reminded you of the value of community not just with the community backstage but the audience is part of our community

So it was beautiful. Okay. You work with Alex Timbers before. Of course, here lies love

I mean, he's directing you again in this. What was that like reunion like? Oh, you know, Alex Timbers is one of my favorite directors

he's an absolute dream. He's such a visionary. I felt so blessed and so humbled to work with him again

We have such a beautiful working relationship. We have a real relationship of trust

I think that was what was fantastic, was that we had already worked together

So I kind of knew the way he worked. And he trusts his actors

He casts who he wants to cast, and then we find our way together. And he really gave me permission to

create the role for myself in a completely new light. And it's been such a beautiful gift every single night

What's it like being a part of the world of Moulin Rouge? It's such an incredible musical

People fly in from all around the world to see this musical. They fall in love with it

What's it been like? I think there's a really glorious message that Baz created in the film, actually

and then to suddenly experience it on stage, you know, the whole, his

whole attitude of inclusion, you know, Danny Bernstein's speeches as Ziedler. Actually, if you actually listen to what he's saying, it's so beautiful the way it encourages

the Bohemian in all of us and also is so accepting of everybody in society

And that's what I love. It's beautiful. It's this home for every kind of person, every kind of misfit

Everybody's welcome. It's gorgeous. Remember the first time you saw yourself done up as that teen in the mirror

wig, costume, everything, and makeup? Like, what went through your mind? Well, that was actually the first time the poster behind me

I was actually in shock. It would have been a long time since I'd, you know, put any makeup on

So, you know, wonderful, because it helped me transform. It's very helpful as an act of that preparation to be able to transform into something

that's quite different to who I am, really, as a person. So, yeah, I mean, I love it

This is all the noise on the street. Like, you know, these streets were like, there was no

energy on these streets during the shutdown. Broadway is back. All the marquise are lit. People are

lining up to buy tickets I mean this is right before a performance tonight Just like the first time you walked in a stage door at the Al Hirschfeld how exciting was that for you It was you know I just every single day I would pinch myself

And, you know, I was really, every single day I wondered whether we would get to opening night

It just felt like we were all holding our breath. And there was always that thing with COVID

is it really going to happen? And now it's happening. And it's just, it's so joyful

And really, the message of Moulon Rouge is, it's such a, it has such a message of

that I think it's the medicine that the entire universe needs right now

So to be part of that is so beautiful. We also let people know the theater is one of the safest places to be right now

I mean the COVID precautions that everybody looks out for, I mean the testing and everything else

Just talk about how safe it is to be in a Broadway theater now and to see theater

Yeah, well, I mean, even working at the theater, we're hypervigilant. We get tested every couple of days

We have to, you know, obviously adhere to all the protocols. Everybody's masked. Everyone, the theater's cleaned, you know, beyond. So it's

it actually feels like one of the safest places to be in the city. Yeah. Yeah. Do you remember the first

time you walked into your dressing room here at the Al Hirschfelds? I did. I was, I couldn't believe it

You know, it's one of the biggest dressing rooms I've ever had. And then they actually told me I

could paint my dressing room the color I wanted, which was so bizarre to me. And I felt so spoiled

And it just looks like, you know, you're inside a candy shop. What colors did you paint it

I painted it a light lavender and lots of pastels and, you know, it's very girly

I mean, it's your home away from home. You're here eight times a week, you know, right

I mean, it's your new home. It literally is my new home, you know. It's got all my teas and all my goodies and my sage, you know, and everything, so it's beautiful

What's your go-to? What's one of the last things you do before they hoist you up there before you're lowered

What's one of the last things you do? You know, I have such a close relationship with my dresser, Michelle Sesco

SESCO. She is an absolute angel and she always says, make it your best one. And we have our little

sort of ritual that we have. And I have my angels and Daniel, my Wig person, you know, they sort of

follow me throughout the entire evening and they get me through. So yeah. And just what it means

to be a part of Broadway. I mean, it's so exciting again. Like everything is open again

Yeah. It's, it's beautiful to be a part of the, you know, this bubbling atmosphere that is

continuing to build and we want to just keep building this story of positivity and you

know you remember really what Broadway is all about which is to remind us of how we can you know understand our human condition and stay inspired and hopeful And that what we all doing here is sharing in the healing of this city

It's beautiful. Because you've had so much success in films and TV, many people may be coming to the theater for the first time because you're in this show

and you're going to introduce them to this whole new world of theater. What that means to you

You know, it's funny because theater is really my first life. love and it's the place where I'm really able to delve into my entire skill set

I trained classically as an actor and I've never felt that that has been demonstrated on

film or TV, you know. So for the fans to come and experience me in this light, this is really

I think, what I was born to do and it feels really, really special

The Moulin Rouge fans is nothing like them. And I know you can't meet them afterwards

but you wave to them and everything else. But just when the second, music starts in that theater. You must feel their energy. Oh, I do. And they're so, so sweet and so

devoted the fans. I do sometimes photo bomb them from behind. They don't realize, and I pull my mask

down just quickly. And so when they get home, they might see me in the back of a photo

because it does feel a little heartbreaking that I can't spend that time with them at stage

door like we used to. But hopefully someday soon we'll be able to, you know, chat in person and

do all that again. And what it means, you just to be a New York at this time with Broadway back

It's absolutely unbelievable. I never thought I'd have this opportunity again to perform

on Broadway and, you know, especially coming from Australia. I came from a little suburb in Australia

and this is beyond any dream that I could have had. And again, I think this is, this will be

a role I'll never forget. It's truly an astonishing role for any woman. It's wonderful

As we're standing here, you're getting ready to do a show and I thank you very much for that. because you have a seven o'clock show tonight to do

What's going through your mind right now? The marquees are all lit. People are lining up to come in to see the show

Like, how are you feeling? You know, I always try to take, I love walking past as people are lining up

because it really reminds me, oh, this is their first time. And I've got to, you know, this is really special for everybody that's coming every single night

So that's always such a beautiful reminder. And I have my, you know, a set of practices and rituals that I go through of warming up

and focusing and meditating. So I do all that just so that I can do the best show possible

Well, thank you for doing this for me. It's so great to see you and welcome back to Broadway

Thank you so much. Such an honor to be here. Allie, thank you, my love