I have no idea what to expect with this but I would like to point something out. If this were a Sondheim show just a couple years ago, people would be screaming how he gave his ok and we must allow reinterpretation of things. So good or bad, beautiful or batsh*t crazy this is the revival ALW wanted to go forward and we’re all just along for the ride.
Stage design and tone for previous major productions have been different, yet primarily variations on a theme. That photo suggests Lloyd has gone in the extreme opposite direction and created something that requires evaluation on its own terms. Can't wait to hear how that turns out.
TBH, this is thrilling to me. ALW is not one to experiment with his work and to go in such a radical direction is exciting."
Assuming this is an image of “ With One Look?” /s Lmao, no I’m genuinely curious which scene/song this could be.
In our millions, in our billions, we are most powerful when we stand together. TW4C unwaveringly joins the worldwide masses, for we know our liberation is inseparably bound.
Signed,
Theater Workers for a Ceasefire
https://theaterworkersforaceasefire.com/statement
This image had piqued my interest in this production so much. Of course, might not even be representative of the whole production, but this is the most I've been intrigued by Lloyd and have genuine pricks of FOMO since Cyrano, even though I found value in his recent play stagings as well.
I didn't like Llyod's version of Betrayal very much, and I HATED his production of A Doll's House, but for some reason I think this Sunset Boulevard could be very bold and different in a good and exciting way.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
Funny, I really loved "Betrayal" and absolutely hated "Doll's House". For me, in general, the "minimalist" take on shows is just a cheap way to do them while also saying "I have a vision" but strangely (for me) it works sometimes so I wait for tonight.
It is SO DARK in this theatre. What looks like maybe a shiny(?) silver curtain but it’s just so dark i can’t even tell. They’re definitely setting a “mood” here.
One of my friends is there and he can confirm the same thing. Definitely think Jamie is aiming for a darker version of this show.
The idea is to work and to experiment. Some things will be creatively successful, some things will succeed at the box office, and some things will only - which is the biggest only - teach you things that see the future. And they're probably as valuable as any of your successes. -Harold Prince
I agree with you Jordan that it does feel gimmicky and a cheap way to get produced but for some reason since the original was so opulent I think it’s kind of interesting to go a totally different way. So we shall see! Excited to hear your thoughts! And take lots of photos!
Jordan Catalano said: "It is SO DARK in this theatre. What looks like maybe a shiny(?) silver curtain but it’s just so dark i can’t even tell. They’re definitely setting a “mood” here."
Jordan Catalano said: "Nicole has been standing behind the (see through) curtain for the last ten minutes, wearing a black slip, with a single spotlight on her."
From front row I think it's someone supposed to look like her
Excited to hear about this. Always love-hate with the show (love coming largely from the source material) and its mixture of sophisticated style with a kinda preschool-rhymes libretto. I always find it both exciting and exasperating, and this is one case where I think a radically different eye might reveal something new. Our relationship with image and celebrity looks different today as the obsession with youth becomes more and more radical and we are all swimming in pictures or ourselves and judging our own appearance. All that jazz. I can see how it could work and hope it does.
WELL. Act one is something, alright. This reminds me VERY much of Ivo’s West Side Story, with the filming being projected and no sets (even though that one had them upstage). There are ZERO sets or props here and yes, one costume so far. And that was not Nicole at the beginning behind the curtain it’s “silent film Norma” who does an interpretive dance (ala “Oklahoma” dream ballet) during the overture complete with lots of rolling around on the floor.
This ain’t your Daddy’s “Sunset”, though. Nicole is a mix of very serious/deranged/“yaaas”-ified Kardashian. I don’t know if this works yet or not. Her singing is fantastic, though. Loving Tom as Joe and Betty is distracting me with her costume which I think is a tank top, gym/booty shorts and long white socks/sneakers.
There’s some good stuff in here though and some reeeally weird stuff. I’ll write more after.
In other news, the greatest star of all, Bernadette, just sung Send in the Clowns around the corner.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
The idea is to work and to experiment. Some things will be creatively successful, some things will succeed at the box office, and some things will only - which is the biggest only - teach you things that see the future. And they're probably as valuable as any of your successes. -Harold Prince