The Moulin Rouge, emcee and owner Harold Zidler tells us, is "more than a nightclub. The Moulin Rouge is a state of mind."

And “Moulin Rouge!,” the musical — opening Broadway in Detroit’s new season at the Detroit Opera House through Oct. 6 — is certainly a place where your mind can be blown. In a good way.

The Tony Award-winning adaptation of Baz Luhrman’s Academy Award-winning 2001 film, set in and around Paris’ Montmartre Quarter at the start of the 20th century, does deal with some serious themes, including classicism, misogyny and the eternal arguments of art vs. commerce. But “Moulin Rouge!,” like its real-life namesake, is really about entertainment, and it delivers that from start to finish, even in its most solemn segments.

Luhrman always conceived “Moulin Rouge!” as a musical, and as over-the-top as its film was, on stage it explodes into a glittering phantasmagoria of Busby Berkeley-style delight — robust, joyful, playfully hedonistic and unapologetically campy from even before the house lights go down, as members of the cast begin prowling the stage about 10 minutes before showtime, culminating in a duel sword-swallowing act by two of the dancers.

Clearly we’re not in “Cats” country this time out.

“Moulin Rouge’s” defining element is its dizzying song medley/mash-ups, which build Luhrman’s film concept into full-blown, in-the-flesh mixtapes, with equally exuberant choreography. (Think a continental “Rock of Ages.”) The opening “Welcome to the Moulin Rouge!” starts with Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade” and, over the course of about 12 minutes, winds through hits from Cab Calloway, Nat King Cole, Motown’s Barrett Strong (“Money (That’s What I Want),),” Talking Heads, Nelly, Beck, David Bowie and more. Throughout the show there are references to “The Sound of Music” and “Seven Nation Army,” the Police (who’s Sting was playing nearby at the Fillmore Detroit on Wednesday, Sept. 18’s opening night) and James Bond, Madonna and Lady Gaga, the Rolling Stones, U2 and Elvis Presley…the list goes on. And on. (And we can get hind any production that finds a way to get T. Rex’s “Children of the Revolution” into the mix, between Lorde’s “Royals” and fun.’s “We Are Young.”

So while the story — primarily about the complicated love affair between aspiring American writer Christian and prostitute-turned-performer Satine — is easy to follow to its tragic but redemptive conclusion, Walk the Moon’s “Shut Up and Dance” may be the best advice for those in the seats.

“Moulin Rouge!” wouldn’t be nearly as much fun, however, if its cast wasn’t up to the musical’s exuberant demands — which this touring company certainly is. There will be a cast change for the final two weeks of the run, starting Sept. 24, but the initial troupe is all on point, with a genial chemistry that helps to knit together the sometimes too-rapid relationship and plot developments in John Logan’s script. Robert Petkoff as Zidler is best when breaking the fourth wall and projecting to the audience, while Danny Burgos gives Santiago a broad, comedic impact — especially pairing with AK Naderer’s Nini in the Act II opening “Backstage Romance” — and Nick Rashad Burroughs deftly balances the Bohemian idealism of Toulouse-Lautrec.

The romantic leads — Gabrielle McClinton as Satine and Christian Douglas as, well, Christian — are fine singers who nail their big moments, including duets on Elton John’s “Your Song,” Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” and the “Moulin Rouge!” love theme “Come What May,” her powerhouse delivery of Katy Perry’s “Firework” and his angsty rendition of the Police’s “Roxanne.” Andrew Brewer as the villainous Duke of Monroth has big pipes, too, even if his portrayal isn’t quite as sinister as the script makes him out to be.

With all that going for it, “Moulin Rouge’s” final result is — like another pop hit — “Nothin’ But a Good Time,” and well worth associating with the “gorgeous collection of reprobates and rascals, artistes and arrivistes, soubrettes and sodomites” that populate its environs.

“Moulin Rouge!” runs through Oct. 6 at the Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway St., Detroit. 313-237-7464 or broadwayindetroit.com.

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“Moulin Rouge!” offers mind-blowing fun at Detroit Opera House