First I have to say that I don't even like "Sunset" as a musical, except for Norma's two solos, and yet this production is, so to speak, flawless that I would put around top 5 things I've seen on Broadway. It's the sheer example of the disruptive way that an artist is capable of doing when he deconstructs something that already exists, having a clear vision of what he wants to say.
The lighting design and costumes are striking as they evoke black and white cinema on the stage, and the use of camera/video on a play has never been more accurate than on a SUNSET BOULEVARD adaptation, everything is as if each scene had been thought out down to the smallest detail. In many ways I caught myself thinking ''wow, he thought of doing that angle?'', it's just perfection.
And Lloyd knows how to handle the cynicism of the text, preserving the comic moments that beautifully expand the show. And what more can we say about the opening of the second act? One of the most thrillin experiences that I had in a theater and the actor is not even in it during most of the time.
Tom Francis and Nicole Scherzinger form a duo that understands the corrosive nuances of their characters, and play on stage with impeccable chemistry. He shows palpable maturity at 25 years old, becoming a really trouble man right in front of our eyes, and his voice is amazing.
Nicole is outstanding, she delivers something anthological. It is impossible to get past her Norma unscathed. And I mean that almost literally, when in the end Norma becomes anything but a human being in the final scene, you know you have witnessed something unique, something impeccable in contemporary theatrical language - I think the german language of expressionism really comes to play.
That last moment will live in my mind forever. She is more than ready for her close-up, we are not.
Don't fret Shavey Brown is on as Max and he's terrific!!!
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