I want to hear a Sunset Blvd. debate

[bronxboundexpress]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 4:42pm

I don't think this show gets talked about very much. I don't think I've ever heard it talked about much on this board. A few people put it on the thread for the "best shows of the 90s" and it got rejected by someone so I'm wondering what the majority thinks of it. It was the first Broadway show I ever saw in 1996 with Betty Buckley and thought it was outstanding in every way. What do the bashers not like about it?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 5:06pm

"Sunset BOOOOOOOOOOO - levard"

ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

I saw it with Betty Buckley and (not due to anything she did) I noticed a good chunk of the audience around me was asleep for much of the time (lots of snoring). Personally, I just found it tedious and overblown, but hey, with ALW and John Napier, I can't say I was surprised. In Trevor Nunn and Napier's hands, it became a show about a staircase, wholly lacking the sardonic wit and style and satirical edge of classic original film. I'll admit that "As If We Never Said Goodbye" and "With One Look" are great diva moments for whoever's playing Norma, but the rest of the score is utterly forgettable (and in the case of the title tune, appallingly awful).

The musical was all about spectacle and effects and lacked the rich, human elements that has made the film an enduring landmark in the history of Hollywood. For me the experience came down to about ten minutes of memorable music and a lot of unnecessary special effects that did nothing to advance the plot or enrich the characters (and were so incredibly expensive and added so much to the weekly running costs that the show lost money no matter who was starring in it -- it almost bankrupted Sir Andrew's Really Useful Company). Aside from that all I remember is a torturous amount of banal, derivative music that made the entire experience painful to sit through.

Updated On: 12/20/04 at 05:06 PM

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 5:08pm

It is not one of my favorites, but I enjoy the cast recording with Glenn Close.

[musicalfandukie]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 5:09pm

i really enjoy this show and the music..i do not like the recording with glenn close tho..she over pronounces every word in the song With One Look..i like the london recording best.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 5:10pm

Well, I have only heard the Glenn Close version.....so, there ya go!

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 5:22pm

Sunset Blvd. is my favorite ALW show, believe it or not -- and I'm fully aware that there are PLENTY of people who don't like it. I've always found it to be very well integrated, musically, and the tone/50's style of much of the music is very appropriate. The underscore is particularly well done, and screams out for the show to be put on film.

My most often heard criticism of the show is that there are no "likeable" characters...that they are all dispicable in some way. I've always found plenty of sympathic material for both Joe and Norma, but both roles depend a great deal on casting -- probably more so than the average musical. Betty Buckley and Glenn Close are heart-wrenching, and truly sad in the role. Petula Clark plays it like a bratty 10-year-old girl who knows full well that she's being manipulative, and that's a BIG mistake, in my book. Norma has to be someone who is passionate, eccentric, sadly delusional, and intensely vulnerable for the show to work. That's the only way we'll believe in Joe's entrapment. By the same token, if Joe is played too smug and non-chalant, we won't feel any sympathy for his being trapped in a situation that's desperately hard to get out of without mortally devastating Norma.

AND, it's the only ALW score that I can listen to without skipping a track! :)

(EDIT: For the record, I don't lable myself an "ALW fan," but this score doesn't really sound quite as ALW as most of his others.)



Updated On: 12/20/04 at 05:22 PM

[bronxboundexpress]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 5:40pm

I just think the music is all beautiful.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 5:42pm

Saw it with Pet Clark in Seattle (she wasn't bad!). Had ALW's name not been in play, this would have closed out of town immediately. A disaster. Some of the lamest lyrics ever heard.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 5:47pm

Don Black = Disaster Lyrics (except for a few things)

[Eponinez.Rain]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 6:00pm

Not being a big fan of AWL's, this is one of his shows that I like. (As of now, the only other one I like is Phantom of the Opera... I tend to tolerate Cats for some reason, and of course love Memory, but really wouldn't put it on my top 25 plays if someone paid me.) The story I've always loved. The production I saw was disappointing, just because there was no staircase for Norma to descend at the end (it was a round theater and simply couldn't be staged w/a staircase). I really was sad that there was no staircase after seeing the old movie, but the actress playing Norma did a fantastic job with it anyway. I enjoy the songs, "Sunset Boulevard" "With Just One Look" and "As If We Never Said Goodbye", though I find the other ones forgettable. I think its a really great show- worth seeing once at least- and I'm glad I saw it once. I wouldn't put it on my list of "Best shows of the 90's", I was kinda surprised to see it on that board, being a firm believer that the ultimate musical of the 90's was RENT, though also having faith that Angels in America was the ultimate play (dying to see it, haven't yet though).

[Barnaby12345]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 6:04pm

I love it, love the title song, think Glenn Close was perfect, loved everything about it. I also think it would make a great movie musical. It will also be an awesome revival in a few years.

[jo]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 6:47pm

I am a fan of SUNSET BOULEVARD - I like it for its dramatic score and its very interesting character roles. It is rather faithful to the movie screenplay ( even if some of the spoken dialogues from the movie came out as recitatives in the stage musical) and translated well onstage. The staircase was never a focal point for me, as I was more fascinated with the characters themselves...as well as the singing.

Which is why I am glad there is now some buzz on the musical becoming a film project soon.

This came out from one of the columns in London's SUNDAY MAIL a week ago --


"Copyright 2004 Associated Newspapers Ltd.
Mail on Sunday (London)

December 12, 2004
SECTION: FB; Pg. 20
LENGTH: 1505 words
HEADLINE: William: It's over for good, Kate
BYLINE: KATIE NICHOLL

... NEVER one to miss a trick, I hear Andrew Lloyd Webber is already planning his next musical movie following the success of Phantom Of The Opera.

The musical maestro has signed actors Anthony Hopkins and Hugh
Jackman for Sunset Boulevard and is trying to convince Glenn Close, who played fictional screen legend Norma Desmond in the Broadway hit, to reprise the role.

'Andrew is trying to persuade Glenn to play the part again.
He's also in talks with Meryl Streep. My bet is he'll go with Glenn if he can convince her to do
it,' said a source..."


Glenn/Meryl, Hugh and Anthony - sounds like a powerhouse cast to me, if the rumour is true.

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 6:49pm

^^ THAT is the best news I've heard all day. How could it NOT be Hugh Jackman??!! Anthony Hopkins is a great choice for Max, but can he sing it?

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 6:49pm

Wow, if that rumor is true......I will be in that movie theater. I mean, I would see it anyway, but that would make me want to see it even more. I think it will bomb though because the main movie musical going audience (thanks to Moulin Rouge and Chicago) are young people and Sunset Blvd. might be a little bit sophisticated for their tastes.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 6:49pm

I love the Sunset Blvd. comments on the Broadway: The Golden Age extras. About how they had to hire 2 extra people just to yell when the set went up and down. I have a love hate relationship with this show. It works on a certain level, but the spectacle killed any legitmacy it could have had.

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 6:57pm

I've heard this complaint too, but I've always found it hard to understand. I didn't see any of it as spectacle. I saw a gorgeous, brilliantly functional and effective set design. Just because some set pieces are BIG, does that qualify them as "spectacle?"

Spectacle, to me, indicates design for the sake of design, that either detracts from or does not fit into the continuity of the show. OR, design that dominates a show to make up for otherwise weak material. *cough*Lion King*cough*

I've never thought Sunset Blvd. suffered from either of these.

[OtherDaryl]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 7:47pm

I saw Sunset in while it was still in previews in London. LuPone (who was just fine, if lost under cartoon sized turbans and a mad-scene so badly designed and directed that it engendered no sympathy for the character), Anderson and Benzali. Unfortunately, I was in the front row and the stage floor was above my sightline - I really couldn't see the pool. Having seen it before anyone else's opinion could color my opinion I am pleased to have had the experience.

I think it was an ambitious undertaking, executed with skill. I'm not fond of much of the music, and resented the car chase sequence - never compete directly with the actual Wilder footage - you are gonna lose no matter what! The arias are spectacular and the reason this will continue to be produced - as long as there are divas taking a breath these songs will be sung. Unfortunately, I had absolutely no emotional connection with the production.

Now, the audience that night was another story . . .

During the interval I went into the stalls bar off of stage right. I'm nursing my drink and look up to see the most breathtaking woman I'd ever seen walking towards me. She was in this subtle, tailored tuxedo with the most perfect hair - I would swear it glowed a halo around her. I caught her eye and she looked at me and smiled and I liked to fall over. It was Princess Diana! Just strolling along . . . and she went on about her business, disappearing behind some hidden door. The next day I read in the paper it was a "Royal" preview and she had been there with her children.

I wish I could go on in such terms about the rest of the evening.

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 7:50pm

It was inevitable this was going to be a movie. Things, in life, come full circle. It started as a film, then a musical, then ended as a film. I (personally) hope he releases Starlight Express to DVD (like the three other shows he did), then Whistle Down the Wind and Phantom 2 for cinemas

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 7:52pm

Phantom 2? NOO!!!!!! NO! NO! NOOOOO! Whistle Down the Wind on dvd, YES!!

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 8:02pm

I liked the show for its sheer theatricality. No other show comes close. I've seen it with Petula Clark in London and Karen Mason and Elaine Paige in NYC. It's grandiose style is what makes it interesting.

[cturtle]

Posted: 12/20/04 at 10:28pm

as a MAJOR MAJOR fan of the movie with gloria swanson, when i first heard that it had been turned into a musical, i CRINGED. but then i listened to the cast recording and really liked it. it was one of those scores that really grew on me the more i listened to it. PATTI LUPONE is wonderful in it, except for her "mad" scene at the end. (GLENN CLOSE doesn't come CLOSE!) when i saw the road show with PET CLARK i really enjoyed it, but i would liked to have seen someone more diva-ish play norma.

Updated On: 12/20/04 at 10:28 PM

[StephanietheStar]

Posted: 12/21/04 at 1:14am

I saw a production at a theatre out here that was really small (no ginormous staircase) and I adored it. My favorite part was the guy who played Joe, he had one of the best voices I've ever heard. He was amazing-I also loved the music. I got a little bored sometimes but I still thought it was fantastic. Some of the clips of the london and la casts I hated (the guys who sang for) Joe's voice so I haven't bought the recording. But I loved the guy I saw..he made the show.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/21/04 at 1:42am

mmmm... I never saw the show, but I think the score is beautiful. Rather repetitive and maybe only about 12 original compositions while the rest gets recycled all through out the show by underscore, but it's still beautiful. Glenn is amazing on the CD. My only compliant about a movie is that like the Producers and Hairspray we're having a musical based on a movie again becoming a movie, but whatever. I'd rather they film it like CATS and the JCS DVDs but whatever they decide to do will be cool. Esp. with Hugh and Glenn together? Awesome.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 12/21/04 at 2:56am

I don't think the show is flawless, but I did enjoy it very much. Betty Buckley rocked.

I think Webber's best musical is Evita, followed by Superstar.