Scherzinger in SUNSET BLVD. Previews- Page 5

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 10/1/24 at 3:10pm

raddersons said: "I felt a little robbed sitting house left at Doll’s House and missed the big exit reveal. Any house right / left preferences for this production?"

I don't think so. Definitely nothing to the level of Doll's House. 

[inception]

Posted: 10/1/24 at 3:21pm

According to someone on reddit, about 20 minutes after security said Nicole wasn't coming out & most of the crowd left, she did indeed come out & signed for a few people.  Personally I don't know why any performers do it.  But if it's important to you, perhaps be more patient.

jkcohen626 said: 

Stage door was mobbed, as can be expected. Nicole and Grace did NOT come out tonight, but everybody else did. I was disappointed, but I am fully in support of actors' right to not come out and grateful for everyone who did. Sticking it to the autograph dealers is always a bonus too when that happens. What I will say is that they kept us there for quite a while after the last person (Tom) came out before telling us nobody else was coming. IDK if they decided not to come out last minute or if there was miscommunication or something. But, I do feel like there could be a better system for alerting the door staff/security that someone isn't coming out. Not the biggest deal. But I did feel more peeved about waiting 20 minutes after Tom came out than Nicole and Grace not coming out.

"

 

[raddersons]

Posted: 10/1/24 at 4:08pm

jkcohen626 said: "raddersons said: "I felt a little robbed sitting house left at Doll’s House and missed the big exit reveal. Any house right / left preferences for this production?"

I don't think so. Definitely nothing to the level of Doll's House."

Thanks :) Just booked. Can’t wait to see Norma push all Joe’s buttons, babe.

[darquegk]

Posted: 10/1/24 at 4:16pm

jkcohen626 said: "raddersons said: "I felt a little robbed sitting house left at Doll’s House and missed the big exit reveal. Any house right / left preferences for this production?"

I don't think so. Definitely nothing to the level of Doll's House."

What was the big moment/reveal in Doll’s House?

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 10/1/24 at 5:30pm

darquegk said: "jkcohen626 said: "raddersons said: "I felt a little robbed sitting house left at Doll’s House and missed the big exit reveal. Any house right / left preferences for this production?"

I don't think so. Definitely nothing to the level of Doll's House."

What was the bigmoment/reveal in Doll’s House?"

Nora's big exit at the end of the show happened through a loading door at the back of the stage. The idea was that she wasn't just leaving the house, she was leaving the show and entering the real world. Only problem is that the door was way stage right, so only half the audience could actually see it. 

[Shubert Alley Cat]

Posted: 10/1/24 at 5:37pm

jkcohen626 said: "darquegk said: "jkcohen626 said: "raddersons said: "I felt a little robbed sitting house left at Doll’s House and missed the big exit reveal. Any house right / left preferences for this production?"

I don't think so. Definitely nothing to the level of Doll's House."

What was the bigmoment/reveal in Doll’s House?"

Nora's big exit at the end of the show happenedthrough a loading door at the back of the stage. The idea was that she wasn't just leaving the house, she was leaving the show and entering the real world. Only problem is that the doorwas way stage right, so only half the audience could actually see it."

This.  I was house left on the aisle and couldn’t see it.  I was pissed.  The director had no respect for his audience.

[BETTY22]

Posted: 10/1/24 at 6:16pm

She is sensational..........

[Skip23]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 12:27am

Wow, wow, wow, fellas!

Look at the young girl now, fellas!  Spectacular miscasting!  

Less like Norrma Desmond, and more like Brandi Glanville mixed with Liat from South Pacific who finally gets the leading role, in a Martha Graham black shift with bare feet. Great voice, wrong role.

The biggest camp fest since Mommie Dearest.  She actually mugs shamelessly to the ubiquitous video cam. Like a Valley Girl Mae West. Has everything - gigantic video head closeups, people aimlessly running around the stage to portray frenzy, slow dialogue for the drama of it.  Lots of standing center stage with single lights on them to heighten the drama, black gym clothes, a chorus of writhing bodies, absolute NO sets, and audiences giving standing Os for sub-par performances.  

Don't miss it, guys and gals.  You'll be talking about it for Years!     

Updated On: 10/2/24 at 12:27 AM

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 12:44am

Shubert Alley Cat said: "jkcohen626 said: "darquegk said: "jkcohen626 said: "raddersons said: "I felt a little robbed sitting house left at Doll’s House and missed the big exit reveal. Any house right / left preferences for this production?"

I don't think so. Definitely nothing to the level of Doll's House."

What was the bigmoment/reveal in Doll’s House?"

Nora's big exit at the end of the show happenedthrough a loading door at the back of the stage. The idea was that she wasn't just leaving the house, she was leaving the show and entering the real world. Only problem is that the doorwas way stage right, so only half the audience could actually see it."

This. I was house left on the aisle and couldn’t see it. I was pissed. The director had no respect for his audience."

I still can't believe this happened. People paid hundreds of dollars for a set-free production, and then could not see the big reveal at the end. Just criminal. 

(and while i wasnt all that impressed with the shtick of the production, it was quite a moment at the end...making it even more criminal). 

[ardiem]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 12:49am

Saw this Tuesday night and think Skip23's post nicely syncs up with my reaction. Also detracting from my experience was that the lyrics weren't audible for me for much of the show (I was seated in center orch E), and I had to furiously read the Wikipedia synopsis at intermission to make sense of it. I will say that I was impressed with how crisp and vivid the video wall was from up close, and I liked many of the compositions and play of light in the live footage.

[Skip23]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 12:53am

ardiem said: "Saw this Tuesday night and think Skip23's post nicely syncs up with my reaction. Also detracting from my experience was that the lyrics weren't audible for me for much of the show (I was seated in center orch E), and I had to furiously read the Wikipedia synopsis at intermission to make sense of it. I will say that I was impressed with how crisp and vivid the video wall was from up close, and I liked many of the compositions and play of light in the live footage."

Oh yeah...I forgot about the terrible diction. Even with mikes, I felt like I was watching HAMILTON...couldn't understand a thing they were saying.

[dearalanaaaa]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 1:46am

Saw this tonight, ADORED IT, cannot rave enough, but even going in with knowledge of the show I agree audio felt spotty. House right mezz, definitely should be fixed before the end of previews. The act two opener felt clearest and it was literally outdoors. Wow. I will say it could be that the ensemble has too many mics, as "Let's have Lunch" was so hard to understand.

I will recommend the mobile rush for this show! It was very worth it and the view was completely clear and felt premium. 

Also, the classical covers look stellar in person. Got 3/4 tonight.

[Jvj24605]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 1:53am

I attended the first preview last Saturday evening.  Previous to this I have send the show 5x (Glenn's final performance in 1995, the final Broadway show in 1997 with the luminous Elaine Paige, Glenn's return NYC engagement in 2017, as well as the misguided Petula Clark National  US tour in the late 1990s and the Signature theater DC production with Florence Lacey).  I love the movie and have a strong affinity for the musical: I recognize its many weakness while waxing rhapsodic over countless passages in the score that allow musical theater divas to display their vocal prowess. acting range, fabulosity and idiosyncrasies to full effect. 

Now onto my thoughts on this production:

I found Nicole's performance to be big on the surface, but ultimately undisciplined and bloated and unfocused.  It's all over the place from one second to  the next. Yes she has a powerful voice, but it's not character driven; in no way does her performance reflect a faded silent film star.  To me she feels overdirected, and most traces of subtlety/emotional shading are erased.  My favorite moments are her "looks" captured on film, when she doesn't speak/sing: during these haunting moments I found her to be most effective. That being said, the audience was going wild and I felt like a minority dissenter.

Lastly, I was emotionally distanced by the actors speaking out at the audience (in most cases) rather than interacting face to face.  I know this production has its champions, but I'm somehow not seeing it.

Updated On: 10/2/24 at 01:53 AM

[binau]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 2:42am

I agree she does not literally come across as a faded film star. In fact the vibe to me is more a faded pop star (which somewhat mimics Nicole's career and mindset herself - and I can see on Broadway with the marketing and interviews etc. they're trying to double down on this idea).

The production is an abstract take on the material not a literal one. Within this framing, I do think it feels disciplined and logically coherent to me, at least. Everyone raves about her singing (and to be clear I do think it's more than just simply a powerful voice - someone has worked with her bar by bar to capture every nuance in phrasing and dynamics etc. so that she is truly acting while singing). But I think what is amazing about Nicole is also her spoken lines too. I think her spoken lines as she is talking to Mr DeMille for example "we were dancing on a table" with the fake forced smile fading with  almost desperation and shame trying to claw back was so nuanced and heartbreaking. 

Nicole could be acting in a play without music like this and still impress in my opinion. Jamie Lloyd and Nicole have essentially created a new character and a new show using existing material. It does make me disappointed if not everyone can get into it mainly because I wish you could experience what I experience watching this production, but I recognise not everything can work for everyone. 

[djoko84]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 3:30am

Gopher4 said: "Hi all! I have an extra ticket to tonight’s (Tuesday’s) performance in Orch Row O seat 7. True name-your-price scenairo as I’m out of folks who I know to give the ticket to. Feel free to message me and we can set something up. (also apologies if this request isn’t within the parameters of this forum!)

Really excited to check this production out, never been huge on Sunset Blvd as a musical but this seems like something special."

I CAN'T believe i missed this message. I have to now check these boards everyday. I would've snapped it up in a second. 

[JasonC3]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 6:16am

I enjoyed the show overall in London, but frequently found Scherzinger's line readings to be laden with affectation and some of her vocal tics to be a tad off-putting.

There is no denying that it is a bravura performance, however, even when it feels more about her than Norma Desmond. I look forward to seeing how she shows up here when I see the production next month. Updated On: 10/2/24 at 06:16 AM

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 6:55am

Bit of a random one but do you think with Sunset being this hot, sexy, new commodity again that the film adaption could be revived again. Perhaps in a completely different form closer to the current production?

[dwirth]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 7:40am

Jvj24605 said: "I attended the first preview last Saturday evening. Previous to this I have send the show 5x (Glenn's final performance in 1995, the final Broadway showin 1997 with the luminous Elaine Paige, Glenn's return NYC engagement in 2017, as well as the misguided PetulaClark National UStour in the late 1990s and the Signaturetheater DC production with Florence Lacey). I love the movie and have a strong affinity for the musical: I recognize its many weakness while waxing rhapsodic over countless passages in the score that allow musical theater divasto display their vocal prowess.acting range, fabulosity and idiosyncrasies to full effect.

Now ontomy thoughts on this production:

I found Nicole's performance to be big on the surface, but ultimately undisciplined and bloated and unfocused. It's all over the place from one second tothe next.Yesshe has a powerful voice, but it's not character driven; in no way does herperformance reflect a faded silent film star. To me she feels overdirected, and most traces of subtlety/emotional shading are erased. My favoritemoments are her "looks"captured on film, when she doesn't speak/sing: during these haunting moments I found her to be most effective.That being said, the audience was going wild and I felt like a minority dissenter.

Lastly, I was emotionally distanced by theactorsspeaking out at the audience (in most cases) rather than interacting face to face. I know this production has its champions, but I'm somehow not seeing it."

Your "strong affinity" for Sunset, and takes on performers and productions, matches mine (I have a truly unnatural love for this show and its story and score) and my Sunset past also includes Petula ("misguided" tour), Glenn (revival) and the superlative Elaine, in London, (my favorite performance in 5 decades of theatergoing) + Diahann Carroll in Toronto and Linda Balgord on tour. 

I'm seeing this next week and haven't anticipated something more in years - as I assume I will be entertained by my mere familiarity with the material,  but also stunned/surprised/appalled by the audacity of it all  (But perhaps in a train wreck good way?) - while others eat it up  To be determined...

 

[Ball of Buttah]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 8:15am

Never saw the musical before, only the movie.

And, Nicole blew me and my friends away. Wow. Wow. Wow. Saw the 3rd preview yesterday and they are ready to open now. The main cast is also impressive. Only quibble I have is the lack of chemistry between Betty and Tom (specially compared to Nicole and Tom). But, that doesn't matter because it's all about Nicole. Her singing is beyond phenomenal and her is acting very nuanced, moving, funny, and tragic. 

[TBone]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 8:52am

I saw this last night and have really mixed feelings about it. I enjoyed most of it, but for me it really fell apart in the last 30 minutes or so.  I thought the cast was mostly pretty great and I loved the concept of the cameras.  I did not care much for the new/different lyrics. 
Nicole’s vocals were great, but I found some of her acting to be not so. I really could have done without all the finger snaps and modern day “sass” moments. I also thought her final “I am the greatest star of them all!” was laughably/shockingly bad; It was as if she turned into Gollum. I got the thriller/horror movie vibe throughout the night and I was on board with them but that moment, for me, was just really awful.

There were a few other things that made me scratch my head:

 

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Why so much Artie? The close-up of him with the tears streaming down his face seemed a bit much for a character that doesn’t mean very much to us.  

 

The business of the ensemble member and the drugs behind Joe and Betty before “Too Much in Love to Care” was distracting and had the audience laughing at a moment when I thought we should be listening to what’s going on with Joe and Betty… 

 

Can anyone explain the removing of the mics? 

 

 

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[dearalanaaaa]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 9:46am

TBone said: "
There were a few other things that made me scratch my head:

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

Why so much Artie? The close-up of him with the tears streaming down his face seemed a bit much for a character that doesn’t mean very much to us.



The business of the ensemble member and the drugs behind Joe and Betty before “Too Much in Love to Care” was distracting and had the audience laughing at a moment when I thought we should be listening to what’s going on with Joe and Betty…



Can anyone explain the removing of the mics?

 

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"

I'll take this one on! 

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

Removing the mics symbolized letting go of something I believe- Max is finally letting go of Norma towards the end, and walks away removing his mic, and Artie is letting go of Betty, removing his mic and moving to Tennessee.

Also, I agree Betty and Joe had 0 chemistry as characters. Very laughable bad- is it the actors or direction? I felt they barely interacted, but even in cast recordings they have more chemistry.

I personally loved the show but also the fog when you walk in at the beginning was a bit...

But! It's still previews, hopefully they're working on some of these things. Is Arties actor also a draw of some kind for audiences? He's attractive but I don't remember his part being massive until this productions staging.

I will also say I'm only familiar with the Patti Lupone recording & the film, so I could be missing some stuff.

[TBone]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 12:05pm

Thank you - that makes sense. They definitely each felt like an “I’m out” moment, but for some reason in the moment it wasn’t obvious to me. 

[Skip23]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 5:28pm

ANOTHER HEAD SCRATCHER FROM S.B.:


SPOILER (I Don't know how to include this in messages):






What's with the blood at the end? with the sound effects in the black before the final scene, it sounded like Norma was EATING Joe to death!!! And she forgot to wipe her...body.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 5:45pm

Maybe she did

[yyys]

Posted: 10/2/24 at 6:20pm

Blood from gunshot wound?  It's not clear but that's the ending of the movie.