--- title: "From Moulin Rouge! to Buena Vista Social Club: Choosing Stories Worth Telling — Notes from the Wings" description: "Sue Gilad on producing both Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Buena Vista Social Club — and the single question she asks before saying yes to any project." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Suzanne Gilad", "alternateName": "Sue Gilad", "jobTitle": "Broadway Producer, Author, Editor, Speaker", "description": "Grammy and five-time Tony Award–winning Broadway producer, published author, professional editor, and arts-education advocate.", "award": [ "Grammy Award", "Tony Award for Best Musical (5x)", "30 Tony Award wins across productions" ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "From Moulin Rouge! to Buena Vista Social Club: Choosing Stories Worth Telling", "description": "Sue Gilad on producing both Moulin Rouge! 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The Musical won?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Moulin Rouge! The Musical won 10 Tony Awards including Best Musical in 2020." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is Buena Vista Social Club based on a true story?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Buena Vista Social Club is rooted in the real history and music of the Cuban musical collective of the same name, brought to the stage as a Broadway musical." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What does Sue Gilad look for when choosing a production?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "A story that demands to be told at scale, genuine emotional truth beneath the concept, and a creative team equipped to honor the material's stakes, regardless of whether the production is intimate or spectacular in scope." } } ] } ] --- [Suzanne Gilad ](/) [About ](/about)[Producer ](/producer)[Author & Editor ](/author-editor)[Speaking ](/speaking)[Philanthropy ](/philanthropy)[Notes ](/notes)[Glossary ](/glossary)[Contact ](/contact) [Notes from the Wings](/notes)/ Producer # From Moulin Rouge! to Buena Vista Social Club: Choosing Stories Worth Telling A look at what connects two productions that, on the surface, have almost nothing in common. By Sue Gilad May 28, 2026 6 min read ![Split composition of opulent red Moulin Rouge curtains with a chandelier and a weathered Cuban guitar against painted wood.](/notes/post-6-moulin-buena-vista.jpg) Share [](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsuzannegilad.lovable.app%2Fnotes%2Ffrom-moulin-rouge-to-buena-vista-social-club)[](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=From%20Moulin%20Rouge!%20to%20Buena%20Vista%20Social%20Club%3A%20Choosing%20Stories%20Worth%20Telling&url=https%3A%2F%2Fsuzannegilad.lovable.app%2Fnotes%2Ffrom-moulin-rouge-to-buena-vista-social-club) Moulin Rouge! The Musical is a maximalist spectacle, ten Tony Awards, a jukebox score, and a love story set against the excess of fin-de-siècle Paris. Buena Vista Social Club is its near opposite: an intimate, music-driven story rooted in the real history of Cuban musicians rediscovering their own legacy. I've produced both. They share almost nothing on the surface, and everything underneath. ## The question I ask before saying yes to any project People assume producers choose projects based on commercial potential, and that's part of it, but it's never the deciding factor. The question I actually ask is simpler: does this story deserve to be told at this scale, to this many people, right now? Moulin Rouge! earned a Broadway stage because of its sheer ambition, the way it turned spectacle into genuine emotional catharsis rather than empty excess. Buena Vista Social Club earned its stage because it told a true story about art surviving displacement and time, with a specificity and respect for its source material that demanded the biggest possible audience. ## Spectacle and intimacy aren't opposites The instinct to separate "big" shows from "small" shows misses what actually makes a production work. Moulin Rouge! succeeds because, underneath the spectacle, there's a genuinely intimate love story the audience cares about. Buena Vista Social Club succeeds because, underneath its intimacy, there's a story big enough to fill a Broadway house. Every production I take on through In Fine Company has to earn both halves of that equation. > Every production has to earn both halves: a story big enough for a Broadway house, and an intimacy the audience can actually feel. Sue Gilad ### What I Look For Before Committing to a Production 1. 01 A story that needs a stage, specifically Not every good story is a good musical. The best material has something that can only be expressed through live performance, music, movement, the physical presence of actors. 2. 02 Emotional truth underneath the concept Whether the concept is a jukebox spectacle or a historically grounded music story, the emotional core has to be real, not borrowed. 3. 03 A creative team who understands the material's stakes Buena Vista Social Club required collaborators who understood the cultural and historical weight of the source material, not just its commercial appeal. 4. 04 Respect for the audience's intelligence Whether the show is maximalist or intimate, audiences can tell the difference between spectacle that's earned and spectacle for its own sake. ## Why range matters to me as a producer I don't want to be known for one kind of show. Producing both Moulin Rouge! and Buena Vista Social Club reflects something I genuinely believe: that Broadway is strongest when it can hold wildly different kinds of stories at the same time, and that audiences are hungry for that range even when they don't articulate it that way. Frequently asked ## Questions about this piece ### What awards has Moulin Rouge! The Musical won? ### Is Buena Vista Social Club based on a true story? ### What does Sue Gilad look for when choosing a production? SG Written by Sue Gilad Grammy & five-time Tony Award–winning Broadway producer, author, editor, and arts-education advocate. [More about Sue](/about) · [Contact the office](/contact). Related reading ## More notes from the wings [ ![Open manuscript with red editing marks beside a vintage Broadway playbill and a brass pocket watch.](/notes/post-1-books-broadway.jpg) Author & Editor ### What 1,200 Books Taught Me About Producing Broadway Twenty-five years editing manuscripts and twenty-five years producing Broadway shows aren't two separate careers. They're the same instinct, applied twice. June 15, 2026· 6 min read ](/notes/what-1200-books-taught-me-about-producing-broadway)[ ![Silhouettes of young performers in leather jackets on a dramatically lit Broadway stage.](/notes/post-2-outsiders.jpg) Producer ### Inside The Outsiders: From Tulsa to Tony Award How a 1967 coming-of-age novel about teenage greasers in Tulsa became the 2024 Tony Award winner for Best Musical. June 12, 2026· 7 min read ](/notes/inside-the-outsiders-from-tulsa-to-tony-award)[ Producer ### Broadway Recoupment Schedule Management and Strategy Reaching recoupment is not a finish line; it is a complex transition involving royalty shifts, investor payouts, and the long-term stewardship of a production's financial health. August 28, 2026· 7 min read ](/notes/broadway-recoupment-schedule-management-strategy) [← Back to all notes](/notes) Suzanne Gilad Grammy & five-time Tony Award–winning Broadway producer, author, editor, speaker, and arts-education advocate. Explore - [About](/about) - [Broadway Work](/producer) - [Author & Editor](/author-editor) - [Speaking](/speaking) - [Philanthropy](/philanthropy) - [Notes from the Wings](/notes) - [Theater Glossary](/glossary) - [Contact](/contact) Scholarships - Suzanne Gilad Grant - Sue Gilad & Larry Rogowsky Theatre Scholarship Get in touch © 2026 Suzanne Gilad. All rights reserved. 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