EVENTS

FREEDOM AT THE MOULIN ROUGE

FATM - About

Joy, hope, music, and a glimpse of a new normal at the Moulin Rouge

When the Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino opened in 1955, it broke barriers. For the first time in Las Vegas history, a resort provided equal opportunities for Black people to live, work, lounge, and gamble; no one had to hide at the Moulin Rouge. This is the under-told story of the first-ever integrated resort in the country and its tremendous impact in forging a more harmonious future for all.

The Las Vegas we know today is a city overflowing with myth and magic of majestic proportions. But the city we know today would not exist without the Moulin Rouge.

When Las Vegas transformed from desert town to tourism oasis in the 1930s, its Strip of hotels, casinos, and resorts in the 1940s boasted a lifestyle of luxury, pleasure, and top-of-the-line entertainment—for white patrons only. The mirage of glitz and glamor starkly contrasted the racial segregation not only of Black Las Vegans, but the many Black artists hired to work major lounge stages.

A revolutionary new vision of people living, working, and making art together

Headlining artists like Pearl Bailey, Sammy Davis Jr., Nat King Cole, and many others, often played to all-white audiences at exclusive Strip locales, only to be forced to secretly exit through the back rooms and stay miles across town. They weren’t allowed to stay or even be seen in the very hotels in which they were performing.

When the Moulin Rouge opened, it attracted a who’s-who of patrons including Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr., Harry Belafonte, Lena Horne, Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra, who simply wanted to sing, dance, make and enjoy music in the only place in Vegas where true freedom existed. The Moulin Rouge sparked a revolutionary new vision of people living, working, and making art together.

Though the Moulin Rouge would close just five months after its opening, it became a crucial cornerstone of hope and pride in Las Vegas’s civil rights movement and the integration of the Strip. MUSE/IQUE celebrates its enduring legacy by bringing the vibrant, triumphant music of 1950s Las Vegas back to life and sharing this tremendous under-told story of hope, freedom, and resilience.

Scenes from Opening Night at the Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino in 1955.

Freedom at the Moulin Rouge

Program Repertoire

Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing) - Louis Prima, arr. Jamey Tate

Kenton Chen, Ashley Faatoalia, Jabu Graybeal, Crystal Starr, L. Young, MUSE/IQUE Orchestra

The Lady is a Tramp - Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart

Crystal Starr, L. Young, MUSE/IQUE Orchestra

Mona Lisa - Ray Evans and Jay Livingston, arr. Alan Steinberger

Kenton Chen, Michael Abraham, Sidney Hopson, Alan Steinberger, Michael Valerio

Flying Home - Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton, arr. Rob Schaer

Sidney Hopson, MUSE/IQUE Orchestra

What a Diff’rence a Day Makes - María Grever and Stanley Adams

Crystal Starr, MUSE/IQUE Orchestra

Only You (And You Alone) - Buck Ram, arr. David Saul Lee

Kenton Chen, Ashley Faatoalia, Crystal Starr, L. Young, Michael Abraham, Donald Barrett, Alan Steinberger, Michael Valerio

The Birth of the Blues - Ray Henderson, Buddy DeSylva and Lew Brown

Ashley Faatoalia, MUSE/IQUE Orchestra

Cute - Neal Hefti

Jabu Graybeal, MUSE/IQUE Orchestra

Kansas City - Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

L. Young, MUSE/IQUE Orchestra

Luck Be a Lady - Frank Loesser

Kenton Chen, Ashley Faatoalia, MUSE/IQUE Orchestra

Sweet Georgia Brown - Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard

MUSE/IQUE Orchestra

That Old Black Magic - Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, arr. Michael Valerio

Kenton Chen, Ashley Faatoalia, Jabu Graybeal, Crystal Starr, L. Young, MUSE/IQUE Orchestra

Reframing Las Vegas

A Pop-Up Exhibit

Freedom at the Moulin Rouge

Program

Freedom at the Moulin Rouge

Artists

kenton chen, VOCALS

Kenton Chen is a singer, actor, and writer based in Los Angeles. A native of Orange County, Kenton graduated from USC's Thornton School of Music in vocal jazz, and gained national attention on NBC’s The Sing-Off. Notable credits: Postmodern Jukebox, Scary Pockets, Billie Eilish, Katy Perry, The Simpsons, and Disney's Wish. He'll be releasing his first original
full-length album Sweetmouth in 2025.

ashley faatoalia, VOCALS

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Ashley Faaotalia has been singing for as long as he can remember. Opera News calls his singing “hauntingly beautiful” crediting him with “a voice of winning purity and variety of expression” and The San Francisco Chronicle calls him “Sweet-toned.” In these first few years of his professional career Ashley has become a sought-after vocalist for new works and experimental projects working closely with composers from across the country including Anthony Davis, Lewis Pesacov, Rand Steiger, Christopher Cerrone, Anne LeBaron and many more.

jabu graybeal, tap dance

From Pittsboro, North Carolina, award-winning artist Jabu Graybeal was a member for 9 years of the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble (NCYTE), one of the most renowned youth tap companies in the world. Jabu is a Jacob’s Pillow and YoungArts Foundation alumni who has worked and performed with a diverse group of companies, such as Caleb Teicher & Company, Emmy Nominee Chloe Arnold’s Apartment 33 and Americas Got Talent Season 19. He was the first tap dancer to be accepted into the Berklee Global Jazz Institute Workshop at the Newport Jazz Festival. Jabu Graybeal is a touring star member of Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox and half of East Coast-based music duo “SUMMERZOVR.”

CRYSTAL STARR, VOCALS

Crystal Starr is an award-winning recording artist, dubbed “The Girl with the Golden Voice” by Source Magazine. Crystal has shared the stage with major artists including Ariana Grande, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Lady Gaga, The Jacksons, and more. She has appeared on Broadway in the musical “Baby It’s You!” and has also recorded two singles that landed in the Top 100 of iTunes and Commercial pop Charts internationally. She is also a songwriter, producer, CEO, philanthropist, and founder of nonprofit Little Voices. As seen on tour, Crystal Starr’s powerful voice and high-energy dynamic stage presence continue to captivate her fans worldwide.

L. Young, VOCALS

L. is a soul singer/songwriter who has toured and performed for sold-out audiences all over the world. He has worked with legendary artists including Stevie Wonder, Babyface, David Foster and Booker T. Jones, to name a few. L. Young also has two Billboard charting hits and two #1 singles on the UK Soul charts under his belt as an indie artist. His single “Love Is Verb” cracked Billboard’s Adult Contemporary Top 40. He is also known for his many viral videos across YouTube and social media, including his feature as the #1 trending pop news in America on ABC’s Good Morning America.

MUSE/IQUE orchestra

Led by Artistic & Music Director Rachael Worby

This special group works closely with MUSE/IQUE to develop and produce arrangements, advise on repertoire, and help bring the music to life.

Principal Arranger and Special Advisor to the Music Director Michael Valerio. Resident arrangers Alan Steinberger, Rob Schaer, and David Lee

Saxophone

Jeff Driskill (alto saxophone, Huntington saxophones), Jay Mason (alto saxophone, Skirball performances) Pat Posey (baritone saxophone), Damon Zick (tenor saxophone), Brian Scanlon (tenor saxophone), Dan Kaneyuki (alto and tenor saxophone)

Trumpet

Rob Schaer, Mike Stever, Christopher Gray, John Brannon

Trombone

Nick Daley, Ryan Dragon, Ido Meshulam, Byron Sleugh

Keyboard

Alan Steinberger

Bass

Michael Valerio

Guitar

Michael Abraham

Drums

Donald Barrett

Percussion

Sidney Hopson

Brady Steel, Orchestra Manager. Caroline Boyce, Librarian.

Sponsors - MH

This season is presented by LeeAnn and Ron Havner / JCS Family Foundation.

Additional Sponsors:

Anonymous, Avery and Andrew Barth, Michael Casey, Nancy and Michael Harahan, Ellen and Harvey Knell, Ambassador Robert Kohorst and Shelley Allen, The Jerry and Terri Kohl Family Foundation, Debbie and Rick Powell, and Alyce de Roulet Williamson.