SUNSET BLVD. Reviews — Page 28

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To keep things on topic:

I mentioned I was there Wednesday night. Here’s my review.

For those crowing about sales being unaffected by the possible revelations about the star… I’m one of the ones who had significantly less interest in seeing Nicole Scherzinger after the events of a few weeks ago. I still went, because it wasn’t a simple matter of getting a refund or switching nights. I was with a group; we bought our tickets at the box office two months ago to avoid the SeatGeek fees and used the NORMA1 discount to cut $30 from the price. So we paid $119 for orchestra seats that would have been $166 at the time if we’d bought online. Prices for the few remaining tickets that night were significantly higher by last week, so canceling or switching to a cheaper/lower-selling Mandy night would have just allowed the theater to sell our seats at higher prices than we paid, which certainly would have canceled out any statement I might have wanted to make.

Plus she’s playing a monster, so if anything it seemed like she may be more perfect for the role.

That said, I didn’t like what she was doing in the first act, which wasn’t really about her but what Lloyd was asking her to do. The cartoonish mugging for the camera, the weird accents she would lapse into at the time (like the I consulted my astrologer bit). They didn’t read like they were coming from over-the-top, unhinged diva Norma Desmond. They felt like they were coming from Jamie Lloyd mocking the material and telling her, “This is dumb. Act like it’s dumb.”

I thought she was much more successful in Act II, when it felt like he stopped asking her to do stupid stuff and let her…play Norma Desmond. (The only really dumb part in Act II was when everyone was running in circles and chasing each other around the stage.) In the first act I didn’t get the hype at all; in the second I was like, “Okay, yeah, I can see this being worthy of a nomination.”

For those counting, she received one standing ovation, for “As If We Never…” I’d say more than half/less than two thirds of the audience stood. I was one of the ones who remained seated, so I was able to look around and see the other people remaining seated looking around in bafflement. (She certainly sounded good, but it felt too much like a pop diva giving a concert version than anything in character, and the holding of the long note on “I’ve come hoooooome” was just gratuitously showy.) I waited for other standing O’s since I’d heard there were multiple, and braced myself after “With One Look,” but there was just the one.

I liked Diego Andres Rodriguez a great deal. He’s certainly attractive and photogenic and sounds great, even if he did read as far too young for the part, which reduced his effectiveness. Someone posted that both Joe and Norma had been spit out by the industry. I’m sorry, but he looked far too young to be that jaded or to have been spit out. That little boy could have done anything else with his life. His Joe had his whole life ahead of him.

I thought David Thaxton and Grace Hodgett-Young gave the strongest performances. Thaxton holding a long note on “The Greatest Star” felt appropriate and spinetingling, not pointlessly show-off-y, and his over-the-top moments felt like they were in character. I agree with the earlier comments that the Joe/Betty relationship here really worked, and Hodgett-Young was a major part of selling it. She was excellent.

Overall I thought it was very entertaining and I’m glad I saw it. I don’t know if it’s actually any good. Parts of it are dumb and Lloyd sacrifices a lot of coherence for the sake of his vision. The people I went with had never seen the movie or the show before, and were very confused and didn’t know what was happening in parts of it (like the ending, which is completely opaque if one doesn’t know the material). Our post-show conversations heavily involved me explaining what had happened (the police came to arrest her; she’s delusional and think the cameras are there to shoot her in a scene; Max asks them to play along, she stops it in the middle to give a speech, etc.). They still enjoyed it though. Ultimately I think for me it worked on an emotional level even if it didn’t on a “making sense” level, but I don’t blame anyone who disliked it because of the latter.

Updated On: 11/19/24 at 01:40 PM

MemorableUserName said: "(She certainly sounded good, but it felt too much like a pop diva giving a concert version than anything in character, and the holding of the long note on “I’ve come hoooooome” was just gratuitously showy.)"

Making this note “gratuitously showy” was started by Betty Buckley and very much rooted in character development when she created the role in the revised London production/reopening. People often forget this was created by a master and was then imitated by most other Normas. Glenn could’ve never delivered a note like that, but her recording is often seen as mostly definitive, so it may seem like a “pop flex,” but it was a great character-driven addition that happened long ago.

Buckley never broke the phrase up so severely though. What landed with Buckley on "home" was the space and size of the voice. Nicole does not have that space or size so she holds it out past the point of any sense, chasing an effect imo she cannot achieve.

Tony R. said: "Wow...I see that people are still trying to make sure that nobody likes Nicole's performance."

Are we just not allowed to criticize performances now? It is not anyone's responsibility to keep their opinions to themselves just because it might influence others' perspectives. People are being so weirdly protective and coddling of Nicole/this production.

Tom back tonight.

Tony R. said: "Wow...I see that people are still trying to make sure that nobody likes Nicole's performance."

I can’t help but feel for her sometimes. She probably feels she needs to show this level of excellence to prove herself, given the baggage of her past as a pop star. Some people will always see it with that preconceived reaction because of that. I imagine people would take this differently if it were performed as flawlessly by another seasoned Broadway leading lady. In short, she’s in a tough spot, and I’m glad she’s just pushing through.

dan94 said: "Buckley never broke the phrase up so severely though. What landed with Buckley on "home" was the space and size of the voice. Nicole does not have that space or size so she holds it out past the point of any sense, chasing an effect imo she cannot achieve."

All I know is have not been shook by a Norma like Nicole since La Buckley, and that was a real high bar I never thought I would see even approached. Close was excellent, but when Buckley came and delivered those powerhouse vocals, it just transformed and heightened the role. I guess I'm one of the few diehard Sunset original production fans who is totally into the "new ways to dream" the Jamie Lloyd version is conjuring.

I don't mean to single you out, Chernjam, since your comment is thoughtful, but I'm honestly a little disheartened by the general trend in this thread of praising this production by putting down the original. The group of people here repeatedly commenting about this production can't just say how much they love it. They need to emphasize how bad the original was in comparison. How the writing is awful. How they felt no emotional connection to the characters. How Nicole is the best Norma and everyone else feels dated and stodgy by comparison. How the show has never worked until now.

Maybe I'm just feeling this way because this production felt, intentionally, so distant and alienating that I'm struggling to wrap my head around how this was the version that emotionally connected with people. But that's beside the point. I've rarely seen fans of a revival be so enthusiastic in putting down previous productions, and it honestly feels very off-putting as a fan of the show in general. It's almost starting to feel retaliatory, like people are going out of their way to tear down the original just because fans of the OG dared to criticize this production.

Like I said, not trying to single anyone out. It just feels like there’s a trend here of people hitting back at criticisms of this production by gleefully trashing the original. I had a mixed opinion of this version to begin with, but my opinion has just soured more with how dismissive the Jamie Lloyd fans are being of any production or actress that came before Nicole.

It reminds me of all the hype around the current Cabaret revival a while ago, where people were trashing the Alan Cumming version and saying it should be “put back in moth balls” in response to people criticizing Eddie Redmayne. But I guess, like Norma Desmond, once the hotter, younger version comes along, the old one gets thrown on the trash heap.

At 2pm today (Wed Nov 20th), the role of Joe Gillis will be performed by Diego Rodriguez.

I continue to be befuddled by some who seem to need to "win" the discussion about different productions of this show. To each their own, but people have different preferences and they can co-exist if people to choose to let them.