Bob the Drag Queen is ready for his close-up on Broadway.
The “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star is set to make his Broadway debut in “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” at the top of next year.
Producers of the smash hit announced on Friday that Bob, whose real name is Christopher Caldwell, will star as Harold Zidler for an eight-week, limited engagement beginning Jan. 27 at New York City’s Al Hirschfeld Theatre.
“Being on Broadway has always been a dream of mine,” Bob said in a statement. “I moved to NYC almost 17 years ago to pursue it. Some roads take a while.”
Bob, who was crowned the winner of “Drag Race” in 2016, isn’t the first gender-bending star to take up the role of Harold Zidler in “Moulin Rouge!”
Evan Zimmerman; Matthew Murphy; Albert Sanchez and Pedro Zalba
Bob the Drag Queen (center) will take over the role of Harold Zidler, previously played by Boy George (left) and Wayne Brady. (Evan Zimmerman; Matthew Murphy; Albert Sanchez and Pedro Zalba)
Five-time Emmy winner Wayne Brady, who starred in “Kinky Boots” at the same theater in 2016, currently rules the roost as the desperate yet caring Parisian nightclub impresario.
Grammy-winning pop music veteran Boy George had two successful turns in the role in 2024 and earlier this year.
Tituss Burgess, who recently starred as Mary Todd Lincoln in the Tony-winning romp “Oh, Mary!,” made a showy return to Broadway in the Zidler role last year.
FilmMagic
Wayne Brady as “Lola” and Christopher Caldwell aka “Bob The Drag Queen” on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” pose backstage at the musical “Kinky Boots” on Broadway in 2016. (FilmMagic)
“Moulin Rouge!,” which has won 10 Tony Awards — including Best Musical — first premiered on Broadway in 2019.
An an adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 blockbuster film starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, the 1899-set jukebox musical features a score peppered with pop classics by Elton John, Madonna and The Talking Heads, juxtaposed with modern-day hits from Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Katy Perry.
Labelle’s 1974 R&B classic “Lady Marmalade” has served as the unofficial theme to both the stage adaptation and the film — snagging a Grammy Award for Pink, Christina Aguilera, Mya, Lil’ Kim and Missy Elliott for their new millennium rendition.
