Joe Gillis in SUNSET BOULEVARD

I was recently re-listening to the full album of SUNSET, with Glenn Close.... and it reminded me how insanely grueling the role of Joe must be to perform. I can't think of any other male role in musicals who is onstage for THAT long with THAT much really tough singing. It is quite impressive. (He has way more time onstage than Norma and much harder stuff to sing). I thought Alan Campbell was wonderful in the original (I have no clue how Broderick won the Tony for that year instead of Campbell). It just makes me sad that the audience always goes away remembering the Norma, and they don't realize how much Joe does.

Re-listening also reminded me how --- as a non-fan of Lloyd Webber --- this is Webber's best score by far, and the orchestrations are just stunning. All the way through it, there is inventive orchestrating that is amazing to me.

it is worth checking out the London Cast Recording for kevin Anderson who originated the role of Joe Gillis.

A lot of people might query that Sunset Boulevard was kind of lucky to win the Tony that year, as it had no competition. But Glenn Close simply knocked it out of the park, she would of walked the Tonys most years, she gave one of those stunning Broadway performances, that is not often repeated.

"I am surprised that the musical is not mentioned for any future revivals."

It's very expensive to produce because it needs that big mansion set. And any professional production needs a big name for Norma.

---

ClapYo Hands... We will have to agree to disagree about that Earl Carpenter version.... I thought it was pretty bad ... Sounds like he has no clue what he is singing about. And the accent is not covered well.
I still maintain Campbell should have won the Tony that year, and that his performance has been forgotten because of Close's (very worthy) praise.

As someone who has done the role, I can say that it's actually quite easy to get through. The range of the show isn't demanding at all - unless, perhaps, if you're a mid-range baritone.

"Also, I adore Judy Kuhn on that album. I wish I could have seen her in the part.... was not a fan of Ripley.
I love that the full album includes so many of the full scenes, etc."

Though I didn't see her, my favorite Betty is Meredith Braun from the original London recording. A large part of that is because when she says she's 22 you actually believe her.

I've actually created a playlist in iTunes (with some editing in Garage Band) to intercut between the two recordings, so my Norma is Glenn Close, but for any non-Norma scenes it's Kevin Anderson and Meredith Braun.

>>>I'd rather Meryl do a film of this than Into The Woods.<<<

I totally agree!

and flopped.

Also, personally I really couldnt warm to the stripped down London revival

I saw Rex Smith in the Canadian production and got to meet him as a teen afterwards, and thought he was incredible. Since then, on here, I've read many opinions that he was underwhelming, so I've had to wonder if I just saw him on a good day, or if my childhood crush on him thanks to watching Pirates of Penzance over and over influenced my take. (I do think the Canadian recording is the best, regardless--Diahann Carroll acts the Hell out of the role and has a better voice than Close, at seventy minutes they cut a lot of the music that I would never want to listen to again, and the hugely souped up orchestra--I believe the added strings bring it to close to 70 members--is perfect for the score.)

I think Earl Carpenter sounds too hysterical for the role.

I prefer this singer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0vNe7D0qzY

Judy Kuhn was fine as Betty. She sounded great.

I thought the whole show was grandly produced, but just okay.

I left the theatre humming the set, as they say.

Glenn Close's singing was better than I anticipated, and her acting was worse than I anticipated. I thought she was a cartoonish Norma. She ran the gamut of emotions from Y to Z.

I really liked George Hearn as Max. He was probably my favorite in the show.

I barely remember Alan Campbell as Joe Gillis. He sang it well, as I recall, but made very little impression on me.

The most impressive part was watching that entire mansion set lift off the ground so a scene could be played underneath it.

I had box seats for the show in Los Angeles. I was "spitting distance" from the entire cast, during the performance.

And believe me, there were times I was tempted.

---

Great memories for many of us -- I saw Betty Buckley in one performance and Elaine Paige in another , but both with John Barrowman as Joe. These were performances at the West End.

I was also able to get hold of a documentary video from Australian TV featuring how the musical came to be in Melbourne and all the behind-the-scenes drama that went with the staging of the production. It included many clips from the show, featuring Debra Byrne, Hugh Jackman, and the actress who played Betty ( sorry, the name escapes me now).

Talks about a film adaptation were as early as when a few of us were still posting on the defunct Broadway.com board ( circa 2003). It was rumored that Barbra was then in talks with ALWebber, but that talks failed because of disagreements over creative control. Someone even said that Barbra was interested in having Hugh Jackman play the Joe Gillis role then. A pity - because 10 years ago, they would have been age-appropriate for the film casting.

As to other buzz on film adaptations, the most serious interest came from Martin Scorcese because he was a great fan of the film classic and a friend of Billy Wilder. Unfortunately, nothing solid came out of that fleeting interest.

Updated On: 6/3/13 at 07:48 AM

"I prefer this singer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0vNe7D0qzY"

Kevin Anderson.