Scherzinger in SUNSET BLVD. Previews- Page 17

[UnderstudiesAndStandbys]

Posted: 10/16/24 at 2:13pm

WldKingdomHM said: "Is anyone going to see Mandy next week ?"

Yes, I'll be there!

[AP1979]

Posted: 10/16/24 at 4:26pm

I had row B seats 2&4 not a high stage and the way Nicole Scherzinger leans her body onto the edge of the stage it’s amazing.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 10/16/24 at 8:33pm

WiCkEDrOcKS said: "Robbie2 said: "The u/s for Betty will go on tomorrow as press starts coming Thursday"

Ugh, do we know this for sure?"

NO I left out probably go on as that's what I heard as they have been  puttin the u/s's in before they invite the press but that did not happen with Betty only Joe and Max.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/17/24 at 12:26am

I saw this tonight and I was completely blown away.  I had a little trepidation ‘earlyish’ in Act 1, based on some of the silly expressions on Nicole Scherzinger’s face, which were a little over the top.

Jamie Lloyd is a risk taker and most of his risks worked brilliantly, so I will forgive a few silly expressions.  One illustration of his inventiveness, which had no counterpart in any production of SB I have ever seen, was when he had the younger Norma dancing as St. Joan, with super closeups of her face, then moved to super closeups of Nicole Scherzinger reliving the scenes.  Scherzinger’s age was exaggerated when contrasted against the young Norma.  A great visual image that said so much about Norma’s delusion.  

Act 2 may have been one of the two or three perfect acts in a musical.  It started absurdly high, Francis’s Sunset Blvd. walk to Shubert Alley followed by the amazing ‘…Never Said Goodbye’, and never let down from there.  It was thrilling.

As to the performances, the four leads were all great, with Scherzinger giving a performance for the ages.  She took so many risks and most worked brilliantly.  Her last ‘mad’ scene could not have been more different from Glenn Close’s.  Close played it so very over-the-top that it was in danger of becoming ridiculous (miraculously it did not…a reflection of Close’s willingness to take risks and succeeding brilliantly).  Scherzinger’s  was so quiet, remaining us that somewhere in there Norma wanted to belong.  She sang the score like it has never been sung.  

Francis was exceptional in a role that seemed much better written than I ever remembered.   It is not a showy role,  it requires a lot of talent to pull it off as well as he did.

The audience clearly loved the show.  The curtain call was explosive, with the applause going on for a lot longer than most shows i can remember.  I think they realized that they were seeing something truly special that they would be talking about for years to come.

 

 

[The8re phan]

Posted: 10/17/24 at 6:23am

Jarethan said: "I saw this tonight and I was completely blown away. I had a little trepidation ‘earlyish’ in Act 1, basedon some of the silly expressions on Nicole Scherzinger’s face, which were a little over the top."

This kinda bothered me too at first...... but after the show, I realized that this was the same kind of 'awkward' as when a Baby Boomer or Gen X'er tries the same catch phases, gestures and mannerisms as Gen Z.  Like when a 40- or 50-ish person continuously says ' EERR-KAY' like Cardi B.  Not sure if it was her or the director, but ultimately a brilliant choice...

Updated On: 10/17/24 at 06:23 AM

[OhHiii]

Posted: 10/17/24 at 8:25am

I saw this last night and whew did it live up to every ounce of hype. No aspect more than Nicole’s performance. It’s one of those that will be looked back on as legendary. She is a force of nature. That. Voice.

To me, the Tony is hers. We generally know what the contours of Audra’s Rose will be. And it will be great (though I’ve been skeptical from the start about her vocals for this role in particular), but Nicole is doing something that is just on a whole different plane of *any* lead performance I’ve seen in quite some time.

Everyone was uniformly great. And as someone who saw the Glenn revival and found the material to be pretty lame and the score meh, this production elevated all of it. Grace’s Betty was so nuanced and her voice was incredible. The Act II number was spectacular even knowing what was going to happen. And Thaxton’s Max was devastating. 

Also this is truly a feat of incredible lighting design. So many musicals lean on generally the same old lighting design these days because it’s always the same few designers working and frankly it’s gotten lazy. I was in the first row of the balcony and, while it may have been a happy accident and I’m not sure if it read this way from other parts of the house, but during Too In Love To Care the beams of light creating shadows and the haze all created what looked like an enormous skull of light and shadow. Bone chilling given Nicole standing there between Grace snd Tom and what is set to come in the next couple of scenes. 
 

To a previous conversation, it is very clear this production implies that Norma was sexually abused in her career as was common in Hollywood. I won’t spoil, but this is made clear by the lighting/shadow play when Joe is given his new clothes. No question. Especially given the context given in the text around her age at the peak of her career. Another chilling effect. 

All in all, this is the most exciting production there’s been period post-pandemic and even perhaps several seasons pre-COVID as well. 

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 10/17/24 at 10:48am

The8re phan said: "Jarethan said: "I saw this tonight and I was completely blown away. I had a little trepidation ‘earlyish’ in Act 1, basedon some of the silly expressions on Nicole Scherzinger’s face, which were a little over the top."

This kinda bothered me too at first...... but after the show, I realized that this was the same kind of 'awkward' as when a Baby Boomer or Gen X'er triesthe same catch phases, gestures andmannerisms as Gen Z. Like when a 40- or 50-ish person continuouslysays ' EERR-KAY' like Cardi B. Not sure if it was her or the director, but ultimately a brilliant choice..."

Reading both your comments, I'm reminded of a performance I saw thirty years ago. When I saw the original Broadway production of Angles in America, I had missed Marcia Gay Harden. Cynthia Nixon was Harper at that point. If the play ran roughly 7 hours, Nixon spent six hours and 45 minutes being positively unlikable. Strident, shrewish, someone who could make a Mormon troll for d*ick in the Rambles. And then, in the last 15 minutes, she got to the 'Night flight to San Francisco' speech and every single choice she made until that moment came into crystal clear focus and my entire opinion of the character and the actress did a 180. It was an intensely bold performance, putting people off for hours only to win them over in the last 15 minutes. I feel the same way about Sherzinger's performance here. The over-the-top mugging and ridiculousness of her earlier scenes gets put into sudden relief against her remarkable mad scene. As an actor, I hesitate to ever use the word 'brave' when describing what actors do, but it's a word that may work here. Allowing yourself to be seen as a fool or as intensely unlikable for hours knowing you can pull a reversal in the last few moments is, at the very least, a daredevil act. Maybe even a little brave. 

[OhHiii]

Posted: 10/17/24 at 11:01am

Also. There is something else in the undercurrent of this production that I think has the potential to put it into the zeitgeist in a unique way and that is that there will absolutely be a mention of The Substance in one of the reviews. Mark my words. Remarkable the parallels these two pieces draw thematically and in execution without having anything to do with each other. 

[SunsetBlvd]

Posted: 10/17/24 at 11:47am

I swear I was JUST thinking about this. It's indeed true how much these two pieces of art parallel each other. 

Also, just to give y'all some more food for thought about this production and how it literally also parallels Nicole's own career trajectory:

I have been a fan of Nicole's for more than 15 years now. I've always seen way past her 'Pussycat Dolls' box. And any genuine Nicole fan can attest that we've BEEN known of what Nicole is capable. The caliber of her talent is astronomical. 

Yet, Hollywood/The Industry reduced her to a sexy pop star and they NEVER allowed her to break out of that image in the US. She managed to do that in the UK, where she is truly appreciated and celebrated for the incredible vocalist and artist that she is. But the Industry in the US has never given her a platform to showcase her potential and what she's truly capable of. 

For years now, she's been the laughing stock of gay pop music fans due to the multiple failures to launch a successful solo pop career following her stint with the Pussycat Dolls. Americans have literally no idea how fantastic she is, especially in Musical Theatre. 

So, Nicole hit it big time with The Pussycat Dolls, even though she was put in a 'box' but after that and for well over a decade, she was shunned out. They reduced her to a ****ing TV personality (granted, some where also Nicole's choices, but those were the only offers she would get). Imaging having that much talent, so much to give, and for over a decade, the only gig you can get is judging or appearing on some Reality show or small TV gigs. This is why she's literally pouring her heart and soul every day with this performance. Norma's story IS her story - with some minor adjustments. 

And this reimagination is doing exactly that. It's showing you Nicole is ALL OF HER GLORY. How she can sing, how she can dance, show she can act, her physicality, her mental and physical strength, her beauty and sexiness but also her vulnerability. This show and especially Jaime managed to utilize Nicole's FULL potential and THEN SOME. Nicole is literally showing the industry how wrong they were to count her out. At 46, she's literally IN HER PRIME. She's never sounded better, she's moving like she's in her 20s while also looking incredible. 

Also, she has been through tough situations within the industry, things I'm sure she will never talk about because she's not a victim. But trust and believe, she's channeled all of that in this performance and it's why it will go down as one of the greatest performance in Musical Theatre history.  

[Robbie2]

Posted: 10/17/24 at 11:57am

WldKingdomHM said: "Is anyone going to see Mandy next week ?"

Save your money and spend it on seeing Nicole! That's the performance everyone needs to see in SB!!! Nicole gives one of the most breathtaking performances in a musical ever -  She's mesmerizing!

[binau]

Posted: 10/17/24 at 12:50pm

Unless Audra can really surprise it feels like Nicole already has this Tony in Jan Maxwell’s bag. 

[chernjam]

Posted: 10/17/24 at 12:52pm

SonofRobbieJ said: "The8re phan said: "Jarethan said: "I saw this tonight and I was completely blown away. I had a little trepidation ‘earlyish’ in Act 1, basedon some of the silly expressions on Nicole Scherzinger’s face, which were a little over the top."

This kinda bothered me too at first...... but after the show, I realized that this was the same kind of 'awkward' as when a Baby Boomer or Gen X'er triesthe same catch phases, gestures andmannerisms as Gen Z. Like when a 40- or 50-ish person continuouslysays ' EERR-KAY' like Cardi B. Not sure if it was her or the director, but ultimately a brilliant choice..."

Reading both your comments, I'm reminded of a performance I saw thirty years ago. When I saw the original Broadway production of Angles in America, I had missed Marcia Gay Harden. Cynthia Nixon was Harper at that point. If the play ran roughly 7 hours, Nixon spent six hours and 45 minutes being positively unlikable. Strident, shrewish, someone who could make a Mormon troll for d*ick in the Rambles. And then, in the last 15 minutes, she got to the 'Night flight to San Francisco' speech and every single choice she made until that moment came into crystal clear focus and my entire opinion of the character and the actress did a 180. It was an intensely bold performance, putting people off for hours only to win them over in the last 15 minutes. I feel the same way about Sherzinger's performance here. The over-the-top mugging and ridiculousness of her earlier scenes gets put into sudden relief against her remarkable mad scene. As an actor, I hesitate to ever use the word 'brave' when describing what actors do, but it's a word that may work here. Allowing yourself to be seen as a fool or as intensely unlikable for hours knowing you can pull a reversal in the last few moments is, at the very least, a daredevil act. Maybe even a little brave."

 

Yes - this 100%... I've seen every Broadway Norma, the US Tour, The Revival in total 12 times - and seeing this revival was the most emotional I felt seeing Sunset Blvd.  Which is amazing that something I know (and love) so well could feel so remarkably new and indeed bold.  The fact that Tom Francis as Joe (oh I should put spoiler here)

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

for basically the entire show barely demonstrates any genuine emotion, only to genuinely laugh in Norma's face after her's brought her to her breaking point (revealing how Max has enabled her delusions, that she is forgotten) and as she defiantly shrieks "I AM THE GREATEST STAR OF THEM ALL")   When he laughs in her face it was the first time I actually wanted Norma to shoot him as I felt shattered for her.  Never have had that reaction before. 
It was brilliant. It brought out layers and colors I had never considered before.   I can't say enough about this production... and am looking forward to I would imagine several more visits for sure.   

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/17/24 at 12:57pm

Yeah, Joe is a real opportunistic f&#k boy in this production.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 10/17/24 at 12:57pm

binau said: "Unless Audra can really surprise it feels like Nicole already has this Tony in Jan Maxwell’s bag."

I really hope Tom is all but a lock too.

[SunsetBlvd]

Posted: 10/17/24 at 4:54pm

OhHiii said: "Also. There is something else in the undercurrent of this production that I think has the potential to put it into the zeitgeist in a unique way and that is that therewill absolutely be a mention of The Substance in one of the reviews. Mark my words. Remarkable the parallels these two pieces draw thematically and in executionwithout having anything to do with each other."

WTF, Nicole literally just posted a photo with Demi Moore, she attended the show yesterday.