re: Ready for her Close-up: Nicole Scherzinger says Glenn sent her 'beautiful roses' for her 'Sunset' opening
Last Edit: WaymanWong 05:38 pm EDT 10/27/24
Posted by: WaymanWong 05:22 pm EDT 10/27/24
In reply to: re: Ready for her Close-up: Nicole Scherzinger says Glenn sent her 'beautiful roses' for her 'Sunset' opening - Delvino 01:44 pm EDT 10/26/24

Well-said, Delvino. I, too, was initially skeptical of seeing Jamie Lloyd's ''Sunset Blvd.'' Of course, I had seen the original Tony-winning production in 1994, starring Glenn Close (and John Napier's grand hydraulic staircase). I even returned to catch the also captivating star turns by Betty Buckley and Karen Mason. But as a stage musical, I found it a pale shadow of Billy Wilder's brilliant black-and-white 1950 movie with the iconic and glamorous Gloria Swanson and Franz Waxman's glorious Oscar-winning score. I skipped Close's 2017 Broadway return in ''Sunset.'' Why did I need to catch this again?

But there's been so much buzz about Lloyd's ''Blvd'' that I had to see for myself. So imagine my surprise to blown away by this high-concept, high-camp revival. Nicole Scherzinger is so sexy, majestic and moving singing ''With One Look'' as Norma. Is she a fading over-the-hill silent movie queen? Nope! But you can't take your eyes off her. Tom Francis is hunky and hypnotic, and makes Gillis more than an ordinary Joe, especially belting Act II's title tune on the street where they play. Between the black-and-white palette and the live camera work, Lloyd has put us in a living film noir, accompanied by a sumptuous sounding orchestra playing Lloyd-Webber's wonderfully melodramatic melodies. Perfect? No. Lloyd cut a couple of so-so songs, like ''The Lady's Paying'' and ''Eternal Youth,'' and probably should've cut more. And the chorus, talented as they may be as individuals, really has nothing to do of any significance.

But at the end of the day, it's still theatrical as hell, and the audience goes gaga, so this ''Sunset Blvd'' was right up my Shubert Alley.
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