Nicole Scherzinger to star in West End Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy- Page 14

[BETTY22]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 9:04pm

VERY mixed reviews........

[chernjam]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 12:01am

It seems more mixed to positive to me... unless I'm missing it, the lowest Ive seen is 3 stars but a majority 4 -5 range

[OhHiii]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 5:46am

Yeah there are only 2 that are out and out mixed. Everything  else is pretty damn great. They got many 4 and 5 stars. The Guardian and Times (UK) are the only ones that didn’t really know what to make of it, but even those applaud the ambition. I’m actually surprised it wasn’t more divided. I’d say it’s safe to bet they’re going to be looking for New York real estate in 2024.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 9:09am

Firstly, there has never been a produciton of SUNSET BOULEVARD that did not receive mixed reviews. In fact reviews of  the original production in both London and New York were largely mixed to negative (with the exception of praise for Glenn Close).

Of course, this prouction was always going to be divisive, but the superlatives here are really superlative. They will have no problem selling the production based on the pull quotes they can get from these reviews.

 

 

[OhHiii]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 9:15am

BETTY22 said: "VERY mixed reviews........"

Maybe you're reading the Gutenberg reviews...?

[binau]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 9:23am

The other thing of late is I don't even know which London critics to pay attention to because they can be a bit hopeless and don't know anything about theatre - it's not like the drama critics of the NYTimes, for example. 

[Seb28]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 9:33am

QueenAlice said: "They will have no problem selling the production based on the pull quotes they can get from these reviews."

They will have to be careful though, if they want to stage this somewhere else in 2024, while the other production with Brightman (the lavish production evoking the glamorous Golden Age of Hollywood) is making headlines worldwide in 2024 too, it could be counterproductive. Throwing the title "Sunset Boulevard" around can also confuse audiences and take away from the exclusivity and brand and public image.

 

Updated On: 10/13/23 at 09:33 AM

[OhHiii]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 9:44am

Seb28 said: "QueenAlice said: "They will have no problem selling the production based on the pull quotes they can get from these reviews."

They will have to be careful though, if they want to stage this somewhere else in 2024, while the other production with Brightman (the lavish production evoking the glamorous Golden Age of Hollywood) is making headlines worldwide in 2024 too, it could be counterproductive. Throwing the title "Sunset Boulevard" around can also confuse audiences and take away from the exclusivity and brand and public image.

"

Know you’re rooting for the failure of this production, but the Australian production will have zero bearing on anything they do with Lloyd’s production in London or NYC. Zero. Australia is on the other side of the planet. 

[OhHiii]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 9:46am

binau said: "The other thing of late is I don't even know which London critics to pay attention to because they can be a bit hopeless and don't know anything about theatre - it's not like the drama critics of the NYTimes, for example."

The way Jesse Green has been reviewing these days, I wouldn’t put him on a pedestal either. Thank god Sara Holdren is back, someone I actually trust (we’ll conveniently forget about her Be More Chill review). 

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 9:46am

I do think people are over emphaziing the commercial importance of the Sarah Brightman revival, which is essentally a limited season production produced by an opera company in Australia. It is highly unlikely to have any kind of commercial transfer. Opera productions are not designed for the economics of Broadway.

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 10:14am

binau said: "The other thing of late is I don't even know which London critics to pay attention to because they can be a bit hopeless and don't know anything about theatre - it's not like the drama critics of the NYTimes, for example."

I wonder if Lloyd Webber will invite American critics to come over and review this production. 

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 10:16am

Here's Matt Wolf's NYT review. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/13/theater/nicole-scherzinger-sunset-boulevard.html

[chernjam]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 10:17am

Dylan Smith4 said: "binau said: "The other thing of late is I don't even know which London critics to pay attention to because they can be a bit hopeless and don't know anything about theatre - it's not like the drama critics of the NYTimes, for example."

I wonder if Lloyd Webber will invite American critics to come over and review this production."

 

In this instance is Jamie Lloyd in the lead in terms of making decisions? 

[chernjam]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 10:28am

Dylan Smith4 said: "Here's Matt Wolf's NYT review.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/13/theater/nicole-scherzinger-sunset-boulevard.html"

 

I don't remember a NY Times review of anything ALW's ever been associated with coming near that rave.  

Won't be shocked to see this come to NY this spring

[OhHiii]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 10:39am

chernjam said: "In this instance is Jamie Lloyd in the lead in terms of making decisions?"

Ambassador Theater Group is the sole lead producer on this. As they will likely have their pick of available Jujamcyn houses that become available, I’d say it’s very likely we see this in the Kerr in the spring provided Hadestown packs it up early January as many expect it to. 

[Timon3]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 11:06am

Didn't Matt Wolf give Cinderella a stellar 5 star review in London, but by the time it got to Broadway and retitled 'Bad Cinderella' then reviewed again in the NYT this time by Jesse Green.

.......well that's Broadway

[OhHiii]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 11:19am

Timon3 said: "Didn't Matt Wolf give Cinderella a stellar 5 star review in London, but by the time it got to Broadway and retitled 'Bad Cinderella' then reviewed again in the NYT this time by Jesse Green.

.......well that's Broadway"

Cinderella in London was a wholly different production than what plopped on Broadway. But it’s standard for a NYC based critic to review the NY productions even if they were reviewed by Wolf in London. Brantley used to do an annual London trip to review, those shows were an exception. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 11:53am

The Times review certainly almost cements a transfer at some point, presumably based on Nicole’s schedule, especially with the money ATG is spending to make their mark in NY. I know Tom wants to do Broadway very badly so would be curious if he would come along with it. 

[OhHiii]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 12:09pm

Jordan Catalano said: "The Times review certainly almost cements a transfer at some point, presumably based on Nicole’s schedule, especially with the money ATG is spending to make their mark in NY. I know Tom wants to do Broadway very badly so would be curious if he would come along with it."

I would imagine they'd try to bring all 4 of the main folks including the actors for Max and Betty given they all got pretty across the board raves. 

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 12:18pm

I thinkt they'd bring over the two leads and cast everyone else with local New York talent. They'd generate more local good will on Broadawy by doing that.

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 3:15pm

If they wanna bring this over to NYC in the spring, I would assume they would want it to be in a large house. Any idea of what's occupying the Shubert after Some Like it Hot closes? That could be a good house for Sunset. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 3:26pm

It’s an ATG production so my bet would be The Hudson.

[binau]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 3:35pm

Any word on a cast te

[pmensky]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 4:14pm

QueenAlice said: "I thinkt they'd bring over the two leads and cast everyone else with local New York talent. They'd generate more local good will on Broadawy by doing that."

The last revival with Glenn Close brought the Joe, Max and Betty from the West End production. I’d be surprised if they didn’t bring, at minimum, the Joe and Max. If Scherzinger has a good rapport with these two guys, she’d be smart to push for them to come over to help maintain a smooth transition.

[sng]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 5:22pm

will the foot traffic outside the theatre be considered to choose what theatre it would play?