Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival
Broadway Star Joined: 6/5/03
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#1
Posted: 10/11/16 at 7:13pm
Does anyone know if this is actually happening? Riedel suggested it was going into the Palace in January. Any word? Or just another example of Riedel speculating?
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#2
Posted: 10/11/16 at 7:50pm
... it's happening.... just be patient
Updated On: 10/11/16 at 07:50 PM
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/24/15
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#3
Posted: 10/11/16 at 7:59pm
Do you yourself know this as fact, rangersrule132?
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#4
Posted: 10/11/16 at 8:12pm
BroadwayConcierge said: "Do you yourself know this as fact, rangersrule132?
"
it is factual, unless something changed since mid September.
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#5
Posted: 10/11/16 at 8:48pm
It is indeed happening.
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#6
Posted: 10/11/16 at 9:01pm
the real question is WHY is it happening
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/28/05
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#7
Posted: 10/11/16 at 9:26pm
gypsy101 said: "the real question is WHY is it happening
"
Because she is available.
Because Webber wants to.
Because it made enough money in England to spark interest stateside.
Because, as a barebones production, it will likely make money.
As long as it really does make money, then it's not a bad idea.
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#9
Posted: 10/11/16 at 10:29pm
Oh great! More crap on Broadway! Now I can truly sleep well at night!
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#10
Posted: 10/11/16 at 10:33pm
Sunset has been victim of a bad rap...
It came out during the last, waning days of ALW'S height...
The music and lyrics are some of his best...
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#11
Posted: 10/11/16 at 10:52pm
I love ALW and would love to see as many of his works live as possible. Just from the cast recording, I'd love to see this, though is it true that if this does come, it won't have that big impressive moving staircase set that was in the original? I read somewhere that it wouldn't be in the newer production, but might have been mistaken.
I honestly wouldn't mind of ALW had even more works on Broadway at the same time. Though for me personally, I really want to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Starlight Express get revivals again -t hose are the two I REALLY want to see live. I LOVE what I have heard/seen of them!
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#12
Posted: 10/11/16 at 10:56pm
Yes, that big staircase and set will not be present...This production is very pared down...
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#13
Posted: 10/11/16 at 11:20pm
Would love to see any revival of Sunset - but with someone that might be able to sing it. Whatever happened to Donna Murphy leading a revival?
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#14
Posted: 10/12/16 at 12:27am
Love SB...my favorite ALW show. Not to hijack this thread, but with all the revival chatter here and in London, does a film version ever get discussed? I haven't seen anything. I'd love to see a film version. Love Glenn but I'd like to see another actress in the film.
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#15
Posted: 10/12/16 at 12:58am
Always felt Close was a bit horsey for the role. Would love to see a film version, not a filmed stage version.
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#16
Posted: 10/12/16 at 1:00am
Doubt ALW would allow another Norma fiasco and go with someone else for a film version (or a broadway revival for that matter since Glenn seems to have hijacked it like Carol Channing in Hello Dolly)
I'd love to see Meryl Streep in the film of it.
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#17
Posted: 10/12/16 at 3:11am
There should never be another film of Sunset Boulevard.
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#18
Posted: 10/12/16 at 3:51am
Something of a grand finale for The Lord?
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#19
Posted: 10/12/16 at 10:29am
Grand finale? Is he going somewhere?
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#20
Posted: 10/12/16 at 11:09am
I would say that the first act of Sunset Boulevard is quite strong, but that second act, with its seven reprises, the musical low-point of the show (the title song), and the flailing of the book to try to do SOMEthing with the Joe and Betty storyline...it has never worked for me. There are great moments in the show, but it feels like it didn't pull off what it was going for. And truly, nothing can touch the film. Will I still go see Glenn do it? Sure. But my expectations will be quite tempered.
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#21
Posted: 10/12/16 at 11:43am
After suffering through Close hooting her way through the score and acting the role like a deranged drag queen twenty-two years ago, I'll pass on what can only promise to be a macabre experience at best, a snoozefest at worst.
However, that iconic movie will always be welcome.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#22
Posted: 10/12/16 at 12:09pm
To help with many questions, what is being brought to Broadway is the concert-style staging that was recently done in London with Glenn. It is not a full-scale production. The orchestra is on stage and there is use of scaffolding sections to represent locations. Norma's staircase is represented very minimally. The only full-scale prop used is Norma's towncar. It's a minimal concert-style production.
This is what the staging looks like: 
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#23
Posted: 10/12/16 at 12:10pm
To find someone like Gloria Swanson today who could pull off the role is probably impossible. She had that rare mixture of surface hardness and inner vulnerability, lapsing into madness, that was a once in a lifetime thing: the perfect actress for the role and the times. Handsome actresses like Streep and Close, while great performers in many ways, would have credibility problems portraying a once great beauty. I wish VivienLeigh could be cloned and brought back.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#24
Posted: 10/12/16 at 12:13pm
Also, many seem to forget that Norma Desmond is 49-50 years old not 70 like many assume. She's not a crazy old lady. Gloria Swanson was 49 when the film was made.
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#25
Posted: 10/12/16 at 12:21pm
Betty Buckley remains the ultimate musical Norma, and the only one who could come close to approaching Swanson's brilliance. She is the only actress I've seen who didn't play Norma like a raving loon from the first moment. And she was around the same age as Swanson when she played the role.
The show itself, though, really isn't good. The lyrics are pedestrian and the music isn't memorable. It's not as offensively bad as some of ALW's other compositions -- but that's like saying a wet diaper is better than a s*itty diaper.
Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd revival#26
Posted: 10/12/16 at 1:43pm
The character is larger than life...the nuisances that Swanson could play in the film simply could not be recreated in a huge musical theater production...
I maintain Close acted the role best, followed by Paige...
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