SUNSET BLVD. Reviews - Page 12

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 10/29/24 at 4:10am

Scherzinger: 'Sunset' star shines on 'Late' night show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8l2mH7CqLw

 

[RJ14]

Posted: 10/29/24 at 4:26am

She was delightful but it was very funny and shady from Stephen to ask her to sing something from Sondheim and not ALW

[binau]

Posted: 10/29/24 at 7:52am

Wow I’d love her to sing the full song!!!

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/29/24 at 10:32am

RJ14 said: "She was delightful but it was very funny and shady from Stephen to ask her to sing something from Sondheim and not ALW"


Not shady at all, Colbert is a massive Sondheim nerd.

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 10/29/24 at 10:48am

She’s magnetic 

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 10/30/24 at 12:18pm

TotallyEffed said: "RJ14 said: "She was delightful but it was very funny and shady from Stephen to ask her to sing something from Sondheim and not ALW"


Not shady at all, Colbert is a massive Sondheim nerd."

In this context, it's hard to not take into consideration that Sondheim found it impossible to musicalize Sunset Boulevard, but ALW did.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 10/30/24 at 12:27pm

Dancingthrulife2 said: "TotallyEffed said: "RJ14 said: "She was delightful but it was very funny and shady from Stephen to ask her to sing something from Sondheim and not ALW"


Not shady at all, Colbert is a massive Sondheim nerd."

In this context, it's hard to not take into consideration that Sondheim found it impossible to musicalize Sunset Boulevard, but ALW did."

That's not exactly right. Sondheim and Prince considered adapting Sunset Boulevard for Angela Lansbury. When he mentioned this idea to Billy Wilder, Wilder stated, 'It's not a musical, it's an opera.' Sondheim understood what he meant and, not having any interest in writing an opera, moved on. 

[ItsShelley]

Posted: 10/30/24 at 1:03pm

Hi forgive me for being naive but do shows plant people in the aud?

[joevitus]

Posted: 10/30/24 at 5:03pm

SonofRobbieJ said: "Dancingthrulife2 said: "TotallyEffed said: "RJ14 said: "She was delightful but it was very funny and shady from Stephen to ask her to sing something from Sondheim and not ALW"


Not shady at all, Colbert is a massive Sondheim nerd."

In this context, it's hard to not take into consideration that Sondheim found it impossible to musicalize Sunset Boulevard, but ALW did."

That's not exactly right. Sondheim and Prince considered adapting Sunset Boulevard for Angela Lansbury. When he mentioned this idea to Billy Wilder, Wilder stated, 'It's not a musical, it's an opera.' Sondheim understood what he meant and, not having any interest in writing an opera, moved on."

What's always been interesting to me about this anecdote is that Sondheim essentially wrote an opera with Sweeney Todd. I don't get why he was willing to do it then, but not earlier. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/30/24 at 5:29pm

Sweeney certainly has operatic elements and is done by opera companies but it is still a musical at the end of the day. I suspect what Wilder (and Sondheim) meant was that Norma is such an enormously larger than life character only opera could serve her musically. Real, Maria Callus, major aria after major aria opera. She is a Medea, an Aida, a Queen of the  Night.


I feel the same way about Black Swan and cringe when I remember that they are developing a musical version.

 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 10/31/24 at 2:58am

''That's not exactly right. Sondheim and Prince considered adapting Sunset Boulevard for Angela Lansbury. When he mentioned this idea to Billy Wilder, Wilder stated, 'It's not a musical, it's an opera.' Sondheim understood what he meant and, not having any interest in writing an opera, moved on.''

I can vouch for SonofRobbieJ's post. I had had a friendly correspondence with Sondheim through the years, and back in 1993, I asked him what really happened with him and ''Sunset Boulevard.'' And he wrote me back. 

''The facts are these: In the early '60s, right after ''Forum,'' Burt Shevelove and I decided to do a musical of ''Sunset Boulevard.'' We'd actually gone so far as to outline it and plunge into the first scene when I found myself at a cocktail party being introduced to Billy Wilder. I told him of our plans. He replied, " But you can't --!'' I assumed that he was going to tell me how the rights were not available, but he continued: ''It can't be a musical, it must be an opera. It's about a dethroned queen.''  Recognizing the truth of this insight, I called Burt and told him to stop working. 

''Lap dissolve, as my mother would say. It is now 1980. "Sweeney Todd" has opened, and Hugh Wheeler asks me to join him and Hal Prince and Angela Lansbury in doing a musical of ''Sunset Boulevard.'' I told the Billy Wilder anecdote, but Hugh insisted that I tell Hal in person, and I agreed. ... When I told Hal my feeling, he immediately replied that he would be delighted to do it as an opera, since Beverly Sills was pushing him to do one anyway.

''I said that if I wanted to do an opera, ''Sunset Boulevard'' might be a very good idea, but I didn't want to do an opera and therefore ''Sunset Boulevard'' wasn't a very good idea. And there it was left, to dry up like a raisin in the sun (wouldn't that make a terrible title for a play?). ...

''I can't imagine going into such detail about such trivia with anybody else. I guess you can take that as a compliment.'' - Best, Steve

 

Updated On: 10/31/24 at 02:58 AM

[MidWestTheater]

Posted: 11/1/24 at 2:32pm

Patti will be there next Wednesday according to "The View" today...I want reports.

[Miserent]

Posted: 11/1/24 at 2:57pm

Am I really about to call out of work on Wednesday to go see Sunset again that evening?  I feel as though I MUST be in the same building with her while she is watching it.  Hearing a report afterwards simply isn’t enough.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 11/1/24 at 3:06pm

Miserent said: "Am I really about to call out of work on Wednesday to go see Sunset again that evening? I feel as though I MUST be in the same building with her while she is watching it. Hearing a report afterwards simply isn’t enough."


We neeeeeeeeed the tea.

[binau]

Posted: 11/1/24 at 3:41pm

Wow amazing I would also love to be there too. I have a feeling she will prefer the material in this production than her own, given she described the original production as "boring" to watch.

Updated On: 11/1/24 at 03:41 PM

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 11/1/24 at 5:45pm

Patti's 'View': I can't wait to see the new 'Sunset Blvd'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOCGtpmFI6E

[chernjam]

Posted: 11/1/24 at 10:07pm

binau said: "Wow amazing I would also love to be there too. I have a feeling she will prefer the material in this production than her own, given she described the original production as "boring" to watch."

Going to go out on a limb and say she will still hate Sunset Blvd. and anything remotely having to do with the creative work - and will find a way to compliment Nicole while still making sure we know she did it first, she did it better, she wasn't allowed the creative freedom.... blah, blah, blah....  

She's already labeled the musical "lumbering" after saying Jamie Lloyd shouldn't be wasting his time with it ("things we have seen") and "there's no accounting for taste... or lack there of" in response to the hosts pointing out it's gotten rave reviews.

It's 3 decades - it's a little late to still be holding on to that bitterness.  life's too short

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 11/1/24 at 10:28pm

Here's Patti's full interview:

 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 11/1/24 at 11:13pm

MidWestTheater said: "Patti will be there next Wednesday according to "The View" today...I want reports."

Mat or Eve?

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 11/1/24 at 11:22pm

Evening. She has a matinee of The Roommate that day, but no evening show.

[Strange Lupone]

Posted: 11/1/24 at 11:27pm

Patti will, at last, be giving a performance at the St. James.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 11/1/24 at 11:31pm

MemorableUserName said: "Evening. She has a matinee of The Roommate that day, but no evening show."

 oops totally forgot about the Roommate is still running

[Strange Lupone]

Posted: 11/1/24 at 11:33pm

In your defense, based on the lowered price tickets email I got today, you aren’t alone.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 11/2/24 at 12:22am

Strange Lupone said: "Patti will, at last, be giving a performance at the St. James."

 

She won a Tony at that theatre!

[Strange Lupone]

Posted: 11/2/24 at 12:43am

TotallyEffed said: "Strange Lupone said: "Patti will, at last, be giving a performance at the St. James."



She won a Tony at that theatre!"

 

For a terrible performance. No nuance, no humor, no pathos, no understanding of the character. Just a steamroller going at 300 MPH.