SUNSET BLVD at Signature

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 12/7/10 at 1:37pm

Looks great! Anyone from NYC going?
I was wondering if anyone wanted to get a car and split the costs to go see this. Just sayin'.

[binau]

Posted: 12/7/10 at 1:39pm

Aww. Road Trip. I would totally try that if I wasn't leaving soon, even with your infamy.

Updated On: 12/7/10 at 01:39 PM

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 12/8/10 at 2:59am

Ha! I might be infamous, but the "real" people that know me, know what I'm all about =)

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 12/9/10 at 12:30am

Saw it tonight. LOVED it.

20-piece orchestra! Andrew Lloyd Webber never sounded this good!

If this is a favorite show of yours, it's worth the trip. The four leads are all superb. I can't wait to see it again.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 12/9/10 at 1:33am

I'm really excited! Glad you liked it.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 12/9/10 at 1:11pm

You couldn't pay me enough money to get in a car with this idiot.

That being said, I love SUNSET BLVD and am dying to catch Florence. Alas, alas, alas...

[morosco]

Posted: 12/9/10 at 1:26pm

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 12/9/10 at 1:30pm

The top ad is BRILLIANT.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 12/10/10 at 3:45am

"You couldn't pay me enough money to get in a car with this idiot"

The feeling is mutual. I already blocked you from facebook, I wish I could block you from BWW, but oh well. You need to seek help man. You're just not well. I truly feel sorry for you.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 12/10/10 at 11:42am

From anyone else, that might bother me. But considering what the majority of BWW thinks of you, I can sleep soundly.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 12/11/10 at 12:23am

I saw the show tonight. I think the physical production is great. The use of the space, the design, the lighting, etc. is beautiful. It is an environmental production made to look like the backlot of a movie studio. There are hanging lights, and sandbags, etc. I was wondering how they would transform this into the mansion, but they did. In a very minimal, but effecting way, it worked. A staircase was lowered from the rafters, lights lit from the floor. It was really quite breathtaking.

Some of the directing felt a little forced and a little unimaginative. I felt like more time was spent on the physical rather than the actual staging of the numbers. In the beginning car chase the whole house goes black and we just hear the music. I thought they would use film/projections, but maybe they will? In the second act they used a lot of film projections which I think worked well.

They cut the whole dying in the pool bit. He just dies now. I don't think there's much mention of the pool. Although his singing "Sunset Blvd" poolside isn't foreshadowing anything now, I suppose.

All around I think the acting could use some improvement. I didn't realize how early in the run I saw it, but maybe they will settle into it. D.B. Bond is a great choice for Joe, but I think he needs to work on the quieter more dramatic moments, but I think that will come with confidence. He's barely off the stage, so I give him credit.

I don't have my program in front of me, but the woman playing Norma (Florence Lacey?) has a killer voice. My only outlet to the music has been the Glenn Close recording, and while she killed it in the acting dept, she is not a great singer. It was nice to hear someone belting out some of the heavier moments in the score. I think her acting could use a bit of Lupone craziness. I don't really see her delve into the crazy like we should. Again, I'm sure she will get there. I wish her last "me" had a bit of Lupone vowel in there too for a little more dramatic emphasis. I feel like "me" just isn't a very "big" sounding word, so you have to open it up to a "maaah" to make it sit in the powerful part of the voice. But that's just preference.

And for those of you wondering, I got there an hour before and had no problem getting a $30 ticket. I was row C in the center. Perfect seat.

I really do recommend seeing it. It's a great production and a great theater.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 12/11/10 at 2:17am

This show is still in previews. I saw the second preview on Wednesday night. t opens on the 14th.

I think Ed Dixon is phenomenal. His "Max" is so obviously in love with Norma, so heartsick over her physical, emotional and mental alienation and so tortured all at the same time. I have never seen a "Max" so poignantly portrayed.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 12/11/10 at 4:38am

Did you guys travel especially to DC to see this?

[stevenycguy]

Posted: 12/11/10 at 9:04am

What time would a 7:30pm show end? (My last direct bus leaves Shirlington at 10pm.)

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 12/11/10 at 9:50am

Ed Dixon is a warhorse. Always consistent, always wonderful.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 12/11/10 at 10:57am

I forgot to mention Ed Dixon. He was wonderful. He was so stern, but broken, and his voice is great.

I got out around 10:45 and it started at 8pm, so I think you would be pushing it. But it is possible.

[singtopher]

Posted: 12/11/10 at 11:33am

I didn't realize Ed Dixon was playing Max. I saw him play it on tour in 97.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 12/11/10 at 10:14pm

He has a pretty glorious voice. I was surprised to see the house so empty, but that makes sense if it's a preview.

[Lauchlin]

Posted: 12/13/10 at 11:06pm

I'm guessing all the projections weren't working the night you saw it because last night (Sunday) they had a whole car chase scene video while the music is playing. Also, in the beginning when Joe first comes out on stage and at the end after he is shot the projections also show video bits of Joe floating dead in the pool.

There were also quite a few empty seats on the sides. Hopefully it will pick up once reviews come out because I really did enjoy seeing it (especially with that orchestra!).

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 12/25/10 at 10:04am

I saw it yesterday and thought it was amazing (What else does one do on Christmas Eve).

Everything was perfect: the set, the projections, the staging, the actors - everything was perfect.

What amazed me the most was D B Bonds (I hope I have his name right). Because he was such a strong force, the show stopped being a tour de force for an actress and became an emotional battle between two people, and because of this, was an intense theatrical experience. The chemistry between him and Florence Lacey, who is also amazing,was electric. I cannot praise this production too high.

This emphasis on the two characters played from the beginning to the end. The final tableaux wasn't Norma in her Salome costume while a projection of her face played, but rather they switched projections to a closeup of his dead face, floating in the swimming pool. The moment was bone chilling.

I love going to Washington. Between Signature, The Shakespeare Theatre, Arena not to mention a lot others - the quality of theatre in DC surpasses whats in NYC, certainly the crap that is on Broadway.

[tourboi]

Posted: 12/25/10 at 2:22pm

Saw it as well and loved it. Lacey's Norma is far more sympathetic than those I've seen in the past. And her "As If We Never Said Goodbye" is rapturous.

The design/clever use of space alone is worth admission. Score sounds gorgeous as ever played by that full orchestra (on the mansion's balcony in a fun touch).

Thought DB Bonds was fine but not nearly as rough or sarcastic as Joe should be, IMHO. But that's my only quibble.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 12/25/10 at 2:55pm

How exactly do they transform the theatre into a backlot then into Norma's mansion? This sounds like a brilliant idea, but I can't visualize how they would do this.

[stone_blue]

Posted: 12/25/10 at 11:58pm

The backlot is pretty empty, they lower a set of lights from the ceiling, travel in two sets of corrugated aluminum doors against the back wall that would lead to the soundstage and also serve as the projections backdrop, and bring on some spot lights and camera equipment. There are also some signs and walkways around the space that always remain and add some nice atmosphere. For Norma's mansion, the aluminum doors travel out to reveal a wall with columned doorways and multiple portraits of younger Norma. A staircase folds down from up left, and a couch and side/back tables travel in to center, while three chandeliers drop in.

The Signature space is quite small and it's difficult to find a good orientation; for Sunset, they went with a long thrust stage with a narrow playing space against the wall, underneath/in front of the orchestra (which is on the second level). Half the audience faces the thrust from the sides, which makes the blocking pretty disastrous. The couch/sidetable unit were just up of level with my seat, and since the action took place in front of it, the actors were always upstaged from my perspective. Worse, Joe spends a good amount of time during the title song in a poolside lounge chair placed so that no one on the right side could see his face. When he gets his new wardrobe, they did a quick change halfway down the thrust, behind a clothesrack that did a fine job of blocking him from the front but absolutely nothing for everyone seated on the sides. Basically, Schaeffer seems to have directed the show for a standard proscenium stage, and adjusted only entrances for the thrust stage (two aisles lead through the audiences for some entrances and exits).

I can't say that I particularly admired the production as a whole. The orchestra sounded lovely of course, but they unfortunately drowned out the singers quite a bit. The actors had to fight mics that weren't turned on in time and a strange sound design that seemed to include speakers under the stage on a slight delay. Ms. Lacey displayed no natural grace and never convinced you that she was ever the Greatest Star, which unfortunately reduced Norma to being petulant, soft, irrelevant, and utterly deluded. So painful to watch her oh-so-carefully pick her way up and down the long flight of stairs and across stage when an elegant sweep of confidence was called for. This also means no reason ever develops for Joe to like or esteem her, which in turn leads the audience to have little reason to like or esteem him. The characters "develop" because that's what their lines say they do, and you'll just have to take their word for it.

[hockeynut2]

Posted: 12/27/10 at 12:18am

Read all the reviews of SUNSET BOULEVARD in THEIR REVIEWS on DC Theatre Scene.
All the Sunset Boulevard reviews on DC Theatre Scene

[stevenycguy]

Posted: 1/4/11 at 10:54pm

Extremely well-done production and deserved the standing ovation it received. Very exquisite/fancy set design representing Norma's mansion on Sunset Blvd. And wow, the car in Act II - that does not come cheap! The leading woman (Florence Lacey) has an excellent Broadway-quality voice; the program states she was Evita on Broadway. This is a show I will remember for a LONG time - just all around excellent. Great ensemble acting as well. Still can't forget the final costume that is worn in the last scene, given who is waiting. 2 hours 23 minutes. I definitely think it's worth a trip to DC. Only one minor quibble: those sitting on the left sides will miss the kiss at the end of the 1st act (I couldn't tell if it was done on the forehead, cheeks, or lips from where I was sitting - kinda would like to know since it would help me understand the mood at that point in time.)