Posted: 10/20/24 at 10:18pm
Nicole is really ready for her Tony.
General, mostly pretty positive reviews with 1 negative and some 3 stars?
Posted: 10/20/24 at 10:27pm
WSJ
‘Sunset Blvd.’ Review: Nicole Scherzinger’s Norma Desmond
The actress makes a commanding Broadway debut in director Jamie Lloyd’s smartly contemporary staging of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical adaptation of the classic film.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/sunset-blvd-review-nicole-scherzingers-norma-desmond-75514e1c?mod=theater_news_article_pos1
"Once a member of the Pussycat Dolls girl group, the actor looks a good 10 years younger than her 46 years; her casting can be seen as a commentary on our increased obsession with fighting off the tides of time. But Ms. Scherzinger has not been cast for her age or beauty but because she is a bona fide musical-theater phenomenon, almost being born before our eyes. Her Norma—amusingly first seen wearing look-at-me-don’t-look-at-me Anna Wintour sunglasses—sometimes speaks in the grandiloquent tones of prior Normas, but also drops the affectation and sounds like a millennial. Now commanding, now skittish, now ****cat-dollish, but also often desperate and contorted with fear, Ms. Scherzinger wears this potentially caricaturish role as easily as she does that sleek slip.
Most importantly, she sings the score with consummate beauty, confidence and skill. Although Norma’s two soaring ballads—“With One Look” and “As If We Never Said Goodbye,” both among Mr. Lloyd Webber’s finest compositions—have been recorded by many great singers, Ms. Scherzinger is very much their equal if not their better. She can sing with exquisite, quiet delicacy that blooms into surging power carrying an emotional charge to send ghostly shivers down the spine. For collectors of history-making Broadway performances, this is one not to be missed."
Posted: 10/20/24 at 10:30pm
MemorableUserName said: "Four stars from TimeOut
Sunset Blvd.
4 out of 5 stars
Nicole Scherzinger plays screen icon Norma Desmond in a bold noir revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.
"Lloyd’s combination of focus and mixed-media variety provides a dynamism that Sunset Boulevard needs. Don Black and Christopher Hampton’s libretto has been judiciously pruned and polished for this revival. The removal of two lesser songs, ”The Lady’s Paying” and “Eternal Youth Is Worth a Little Suffering,” makes Norma’s isolation more complete, and the scenes between Joe and his screenwriter friend Betty (Grace Hodgett Young, believable and grounded) are more realistic and specific. But with the major exception of Norma’s big moments, Lloyd Webber’s score is heavy on filler. Repetitive jazz leitmotifs—motifs lite—fill out the score like Hamburger Helper as we wait for Norma’s two beefy, “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina”—style solos: ”With One Look” in the first act, “As If We Never Said Goodbye” in the second.
Scherzinger makes these moments worth the wait, and then some.""
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/sunset-boulevard-broadway-review-revival-nicole-scherzinger-andrew-lloyd-webber
Scherzinger holds the stage with electrifying confidence. Her singing is gorgeously fluid and controlled, and she knows how to work her songs for drama; singing “I’ve come home at last,” she holds her note on “home” for more than 10 seconds, earning thunderous claps when she wraps it up. But her silences are as important as the notes. Later in “As If We Never Said Goodbye,” she takes a long pause after singing “so much to live for,” and I heard a few actual gasps. In “With One Look,” she gets applause just for striking a pose between verses, steadfast as the figure on the mast of a ship.
Posted: 10/20/24 at 10:31pm
Posted: 10/20/24 at 10:35pm
I've seen and enjoyed Sunset in London and NY. I agree with Jesse Green's review -- just out in The New York Times -- that Nicole gives us a performance as opposed to a characterization. There are wonders in the production, and, having seen at least ten of Jamie Lloyd's productions, I can say that I love his work -- but I don't think Sunset is his best. And there again I agree with Jesse Green: Lloyd should have chosen a better show. I do like all the shtick though, the huge videos, the campy mugging, and all that sort of paraphernalia. But that doesn't great theater make.
In terms of the Tony Awards, I think Katie Brayben should have won the Olivier for Tammy Faye and I hope she wins the Tony. Now that's a characterization!
Updated On: 10/20/24 at 10:35 PM
Posted: 10/20/24 at 10:36pm
A from Entertainment Weekly
Sunset Boulevard review: Nicole Scherzinger stuns in Broadway revival that improves the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic
Director Jamie Lloyd's electric reinvisioning also stars Tom Francis, Grace Hodgett Young, and David Thaxton.
https://ew.com/sunset-boulevard-review-nicole-scherzinger-leads-stunning-2024-revival-8731170
"Lloyd’s revival proves we don’t need a live rendering of Norma Desmond’s gaudy wardrobe, or a large spiral staircase for her to traipse down. He gives us all the pieces to make new meaning of Webber’s classic musical, and asks us to take up the challenge. As Sunset’s aspiring screenwriter Betty Schafer (Grace Hodgett Young) sings directly to the house, breaking the fourth wall, “Audiences are smarter, smarter than you think.”"
Posted: 10/20/24 at 10:44pm
Daily Beast is a rave
Nicole Scherzinger Stuns in ‘Sunset Blvd.’ on Broadway
BOOK A TICKET! NOW!
Nicole Scherzinger mesmerizes—and raises the roof—in an electric, fabulous revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s “Sunset Blvd.” on Broadway, directed by Jamie Lloyd.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/nicole-scherzinger-stuns-in-sunset-blvd-on-broadway/
"The clamorous ovation at the end of this superlative show—the perfect mix of bombastic and restrained, the most fun a tragedy could ever be—says it all. It is not the usual Broadway standing ovation: polite and dutiful. It is not the usual appreciative and happy standing ovation: heartfelt and feelgood. This is something else. The whooping and applauding goes on and on, a wave upon wave of loud appreciation, no one in any rush to stop or leave.
The only thing close to this kind of audience fervency in recent years was the reaction to Bette Midler in the 2017 revival of Hello, Dolly! At Sunset Blvd. too, you think the roof could legitimately blow off, or the theater simply launch into outer space powered by an explosive burst of pure gay joy. There should be paramedics outside to make sure everyone emerging, dazed and delirious from the crazy fabulousness of Sunset Blvd. stays safely upright. In the best ways, the show takes camp and spectacle to oxygen-needed-on-Everest levels."
Updated On: 10/20/24 at 10:44 PM
Posted: 10/20/24 at 10:48pm
God, I can't wait for Friday!
Posted: 10/20/24 at 10:56pm
Jesse Green nailed it; i read that review nodding along. Thrilled Nicole's insane talent is being revered and recognized.
Posted: 10/20/24 at 11:09pm
Posted: 10/20/24 at 11:15pm
DTLI Consensus: Nicole Scherzinger shines as a feral Norma Desmond — and Jamie Lloyd gives Broadway new ways to dream, trying hard to radically reinvent a Sunset that doesn’t always seem to work.
8 mixed (including the NYT), 6 positive, 1 negative.
https://didtheylikeit.com/shows/sunset-boulevard/
Updated On: 10/20/24 at 11:15 PM
Posted: 10/20/24 at 11:40pm
Posted: 10/20/24 at 11:53pm
Overall, my feelings on this production are mixed, and I think Jesse Green really summed up why. Nicole Scherzinger's Norma is a great performance, but not really a character. With earlier Normas like Betty and even Glenn, I felt like there was a wounded person under the mask. With Nicole, it's all mask. Even when she shoots Joe, she is in control and performing for the camera, down to her slow-motion "I am the greatest star of them all".
Intellectually, it's an interesting idea to play with. As Norma says, "this is my life, there is nothing else". There is nothing left of her except for the performance. But I still found myself missing the humanity of other Normas.
Posted: 10/21/24 at 12:20am
Man these reviews have left me more confused about whether to see the show. One the one hand it sounds like Nicole’s performance is not to be missed but that there are flaws with the show and Lloyd’s direction is either you love it or hate it. I know nothing about the show, don’t know the music, but am still not sure whether to see this or Gypsy in the revival slot during the next trip
Posted: 10/21/24 at 12:47am
Posted: 10/21/24 at 12:55am
Skip23 said: "Skip em both and see TAMMY FAYE.
Again, ad nauseum, I'm scratching my head over the reviews for SUNSET BOULEVARD. Not even entertaining trash. She's OK but the same as any other screamy American Idol contestant. And that stupid mugging. And the total lack of any coherence or even "fun". What a gigantic waste of money."
They clearly said they were looking for a show for "the revival slot" on their next trip, so recommending a show that is not a revival (even if you named one with better word of mouth than Tammy Faye) doesn't seem particularly helpful. For all you know, they already have TF scheduled for a non-revival slot.
Posted: 10/21/24 at 1:18am
Skip23 said: "Skip em both and see TAMMY FAYE.
Again, ad nauseum, I'm scratching my head over the reviews for SUNSET BOULEVARD. Not even entertaining trash. She's OK but the same as any other screamy American Idol contestant. And that stupid mugging. And the total lack of any coherence or even "fun". What a gigantic waste of money. "
still care so much that keep commenting about how you do not care about this production
Posted: 10/21/24 at 1:29am
spicemonkey said: "Skip23 said: "Skip em both and see TAMMY FAYE.
Again, ad nauseum, I'm scratching my head over the reviews for SUNSET BOULEVARD. Not even entertaining trash. She's OK but the same as any other screamy American Idol contestant. And that stupid mugging. And the total lack of any coherence or even "fun". What a gigantic waste of money. "
still care so much that keep commentingabout how you do not care about this production"
I know! what a jerk!
Posted: 10/21/24 at 1:30am
MemorableUserName said: "Skip23 said: "Skip em both and see TAMMY FAYE.
Again, ad nauseum, I'm scratching my head over the reviews for SUNSET BOULEVARD. Not even entertaining trash. She's OK but the same as any other screamy American Idol contestant. And that stupid mugging. And the total lack of any coherence or even "fun". What a gigantic waste of money."
They clearly said they were looking for a show for "the revival slot" on their next trip, so recommending a show that is not a revival (even if you named one with better word of mouth than Tammy Faye) doesn't seem particularly helpful. For all you know, they already have TF scheduled for a non-revival slot."
I know! what a jerk!
Posted: 10/21/24 at 1:31am
There are YouTube videos of Glenn Close performing the show to give you a feel for the music. The music is pretty weak even for an ALW score. Calling it weak is being nice. It has none if the bangers that make Joseph or Cats or Phantom memorable.
I'm traveling before Gypsy starts. If I was going after it starts I might try to see it. It feels like it will be more traditional performance styles. If you've seen the show before, you might consider: how different will this really be from past viewings? Is seeing Audra McDonald important to you? People call Gypsy a classic, but I don’t find it as compelling as Funny Girl or Hello Dolly - to compare it to two similar shows from that era.
Posted: 10/21/24 at 7:20am
Eddie3 said: "I've seen and enjoyed Sunset in London and NY. I agree with Jesse Green's review -- just out in The New York Times -- that Nicole gives us a performance as opposed to a characterization. There are wonders in the production, and, having seen at least ten of Jamie Lloyd's productions, I can say that I love his work -- but I don't think Sunset is his best. And there again I agree with Jesse Green: Lloyd should have chosen a better show. I do like all the shtick though, the huge videos, the campy mugging, and all that sort of paraphernalia. But that doesn't great theater make.
In terms of the Tony Awards, I think Katie Brayben should have won the Olivier for Tammy Fayeand I hope she wins the Tony. Now that's a characterization!"
It would have taken you literally 10 seconds of googling to discover that Katie Brayben did indeed win the Olivier for Tammy Faye and that her and Nicole weren’t even eligible in the same season.
Any attempt to appear passionate about these shows is very quickly undermined if your opinions completely contradict fact.
Posted: 10/21/24 at 8:14am
EDSOSLO858 said: "DTLI Consensus:Nicole Scherzinger shines as a feral Norma Desmond — and Jamie Lloyd gives Broadway new ways to dream,trying hard to radically reinventaSunsetthat doesn’t always seem to work.
8 mixed (including the NYT), 6 positive, 1 negative.
https://didtheylikeit.com/shows/sunset-boulevard/"
I read the NYT review as a pan — or perhaps mixed to negative.
Posted: 10/21/24 at 8:28am
Dreamboy3 said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "DTLI Consensus:Nicole Scherzinger shines as a feral Norma Desmond — and Jamie Lloyd gives Broadway new ways to dream,trying hard to radically reinventaSunsetthat doesn’t always seem to work.
8 mixed (including the NYT), 6 positive, 1 negative.
https://didtheylikeit.com/shows/sunset-boulevard/"
I read the NYT review as a pan — or perhaps mixed to negative."
And I believe some of those mixed are actually positives!
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