Joe Gillis in SUNSET BOULEVARD- Page 2

[Wildcard]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 2:54pm

I hated Kevin Anderson on the recording. He was so lifeless and monotone. I much preferred Alan Campbell's version.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 3:30pm

Close and Campbell's voices keep me from listening to that recording. Campbell's vowels and choppy accentuation of nearly every syllable coupled with the Grand Canyon of Close's break and OTT emotional antics just ruin it for me. I prefer the London recording overall (especially With One Look), with the exception of the recording level, which was ridiculously low. To me, Anderson and Braun were uncanny in their respective vocal representation of the characters, sounding exactly how I imagined.

Luckily, I saw Buckley as Norma and I can't imagine anyone performing it any better. One of the most perfect performances I've ever seen.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 4:00pm

I can't see how a stripped down Sunset Boulevard would work.

Norma needs that huge house, it's a symbol of her state of mind. Plus it's referenced in the show. When Joe arrives, he describes the mansion. And when Norma first meets him, she yells out, "You there!". That doesn't make any sense if she's standing five feet from him. Norma's state of mind is built on the fact that she is rattling around in some big palatial home that nobody in modern times would live in.

Can someone who has seen a stripped down version tell me how they overcame these issues?

[Wildcard]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 4:35pm

[Wildcard]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 4:35pm

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 4:40pm

Wildcard, that first picture is just sad. Was the show in rep with Wonderful Town (a cramped basement apartment)? Where's the organ? Where's the swimming pool?

The second picture is a bit better, but it makes it look like Norma sold all her furniture.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 4:46pm

The first picture is the Watermill actor/musician production which was very well received and I believe it transferred to the West End.
Watermill Sunset Boulevard

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 5:00pm

Why is Norma always a brunette? Were there ever any blonde or redhead Normas?

[kipster]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 5:11pm

I once saw a production with a redheaded Norma. The Goteborgsoperan in Sweden did a very beautiful production with a redheaded Norma too. Not that it really matters what color her hair was.

[SweetLips]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 5:39pm

Yes Rosscoe-I did see Maria,[went to see Cats just to hear her sing Memory].Judi Connelli[for The Production Company][who should have done the role in the first place] outshon them all.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 8:52pm

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.

I could not agree more with best12bars' post. The only thing I would add is that as impressive as the raising of the house was, it also served to reveal the set was wood and paper, not marble and terrazzo. So even as it served as a spectacular coup de theatre, it also rendered the set ineffective for the remaining two hours.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 8:57pm

The only thing I would add is that as impressive as the raising of the house was, it also served to reveal the set was wood and paper, not marble and terrazzo.

…and that's Hollywood

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 9:16pm

^^^^^ Point taken. Maybe if the lifting had occurred late in the evening, it would have had more impact for me. But IIRC, it rises first during the car chase at the top of the show; so the "heaviness" of the set is barely established before it is revealed to be an illusion.

(Of course it didn't help that showing the car chase from the film demonstrated (IMO) that they were merely musicalizing the screenplay and had no new ideas as to why the story should be a poperetta.)

[broadwayrob]

Posted: 6/4/13 at 5:12am

I have to throw some love for Alan Campbell out there too. Out of all the Joe's I've heard, Alan's take on the title song was really telling to the character and in my opinion the entire feeling of the show. Such a perfect mix of desperation/narcissism/and an almost sort of sense of relief. Love it. As for the show itself, it was the first show I ever saw being professionally done (saw the shortened tour version.. the one that had to be cut due to money and resources) So it holds a pretty special place in my heart. But the man who played Joe in that production.. Ron Bohmer? mehhh.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 6/24/13 at 10:23am

I just finished watching a bootleg of the show and It never occurred to me to think of Joe's role as very challenging. He is onstage for a long time and he does sing a lot but most of his songs are just narrations that don't seem very vocally challenging. The Character really never makes an impression on me, he is very monotonous and dull. Now I understand why this show had many problems, it really is a giant mess.

Updated On: 6/24/13 at 10:23 AM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/24/13 at 10:44am

The first production I ever saw was the London revival (which is that photo Wildcard posted). I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. We had an understudy Joe (Tomm Coles) who was wonderful. Sounded great and was definitely world-weary.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 6/24/13 at 11:15am

David Burnham is playing Joe this month in CA. Here's hoping they have him shirtless in the pool scene.

[Wicked Fanatic]

Posted: 6/24/13 at 12:55pm

I'll drink to that. Seeing it at Musical Theatre West on July 14th and will be the 1st time that I've seen SB since Dec. 18, 1993 at the long gone Shubert Theatre in L.A. with Glenn Close :)

Has a great cast:
VALERIE PERRI as Norma Desmond

Eva Peron in the original 1st National Tour and Chicago Companies of EVITA; HARRY CHAPIN: LIES AND LEGENDS (Pasadena Playhouse)



DAVID BURNHAM as Joe Gillis

WICKED, THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA (Broadway); LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, CHILDREN OF EDEN (MTW)



NORMAN LARGE as Max von Mayerling

THE WOMAN IN WHITE, LES MISERABLES (Broadway); LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE (MTW)



ASHLEY FOX LINTON as Betty Schaefer

National Tours of LES MISERABLES, WICKED; MTW Debut



Supporting cast includes JEFF SKOWRON as Sheldrake & Manfred, MARC GINSBURG as Artie. And filling out tthe rest of the ensemble is LUCAS COLEMAN, PEYTON CRIM, MARISA FIELD, BRAD FITZGERALD, KARLA FRANCO, JUAN GUILLAN, CAITLIN HUMPHREYS, WILL HUSE, TOM McMAHON, TIANA OKOYE, KIRKLYN ROBINSON, TRANCE THOMAS, and JOHN TODD.

[budfrump]

Posted: 6/24/13 at 11:55pm

I LOVE the score to this show. I am not necessarily a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber, but do love it.

Having listened to the world premiere album, Joe Gillis is not a role that requires range at all. It's quite an easy sing I'd imagine. I think the most difficult thing about the role would be holding your own against Norma and really acting the piece. A very interesting role! But as far as singing, not too difficult.