Sunset Boulevard Revival Broadway Thread — Page 26

I would love to see this from the front orchestra. I generally like to see shows up close. But how close is too close for this production? I don't want to be craning my neck all the time. But I would love to see Glenn Close's facial expressions up close.

muscle - how'd she recover from having difficulty with the gun?

Can someone who was fortunate enough to see the original Broadway production in the 90s please answer a staging/blocking question? When Norma makes her first appearance ("You there, why are you so late?"), where is she? I know the rest of her exchange with Joe takes place inside, after she descends the staircase for the first time, but isn't Joe outdoors in the garden when she first sees him? Where is she calling to him from?

Updated On: 3/6/17 at 08:08 AM

Lot666 said: "Can someone who was fortunate enough to see the original Broadway production in the 90s please answer a staging/blocking question? When Norma makes her first appearance ("You there, why are you so late?"), where is she? I know the rest of her exchange with Joe takes place inside, after she descends the staircase for the first time, but isn't Joe outdoors in the garden when she first see him? Where is she calling to him from?"



Lot666 - your bringing back great memories... Joe had his car parked in her garage and there's just a shadow image of the mansion where you hear Norma say that from off stage and Max meets Joe. As the orchestral underscore of "The Greatest Star" continues, the mansion becomes visible and then you see Norma descend the stairs for the first (of many) times. It really was a perfectly staged moment

chernjam said: "Joe had his car parked in her garage and there's just a shadow image of the mansion where you hear Norma say that from off stage and Max meets Joe. As the orchestral underscore of "The Greatest Star" continues, the mansion becomes visible and then you see Norma descend the stairs for the first (of many) times. It really was a perfectly staged moment"

Okay, let me see if I understand you correctly. Joe pulls into the garage and gets out of the car ("Christ, where was I...") and then Norma sees/addresses him ("You there..."), but she's offstage and the audience only hears her voice, and then Max comes outside ("You heard...")?

Would you please elaborate a little on what you mean by "there's just a shadow image of the mansion"? Was this a projection? Also, when "the mansion becomes visible" for the first time, did it descend from above or slide forward from upstage? I'm trying to figure out what happened to the garage setting to make room for the interior. Thanks for your patience.

Lot666 said: "chernjam said: "Joe had his car parked in her garage and there's just a shadow image of the mansion where you hear Norma say that from off stage and Max meets Joe. As the orchestral underscore of "The Greatest Star" continues, the mansion becomes visible and then you see Norma descend the stairs for the first (of many) times. It really was a perfectly staged moment"

Okay, let me see if I understand you correctly. Joe pulls into the garage and gets out of the car ("Christ, where was I...") and then Norma sees/addresses him ("You there..."), but she's offstage and the audience only hears her voice, and then Max comes outside ("You heard...")?

Would you please elaborate a little on what you mean by "there's just a shadow image of the mansion"? Was this a projection? Also, when "the mansion becomes visible" for the first time, did it descend from above or slide forward from upstage? I'm trying to figure out what happened to the garage setting to make room for the interior. Thanks for your patience.





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If you check this out (starting around 13 min in) you can get an idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_sHCNCbuA4&t=141s Its a little dark, but basically the car is "parked" facing the back wall of the stage with a flap simulating garage door... above it there was simply a projection of a shadow of the house... As Max and Joe walk, the stage goes dark and then the mansion interior "appears" - was even more awesome when Norma says (at the end of Salome) "We'll begin at Nine Sharp" ascends the stairs and you see the mansion lift up and out of view

Lot666 said: "It's very dark to the uninitiated eye, but I'm sure it's all more discernible to those who know what they're looking at. I can see the back end of Joe's car facing the audience and then a brief glimpse of the Isotta Fraschini, but everything after that is pretty much lost. It seems odd that Norma calls to Joe from audience right (at least that's the direction he looks when he hears her), but Max enters from audience left. Then I see the living area of the house comes into focus - did that just slide in, or did it come down from the flys?
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I'm trying to remember... It did kind of descend from above and was still moving when it became visible to the audience - kind of a fade-in effect which was kind of cool. Sorry I can't be more descriptive. Maybe there's some better you tube videos (I think there's an Elaine Paige one...)

Hamilfan2 said: "I also saw the show on Saturday, and it was my first experience with the show. I have to say I did notice both of the mistakes that muscle mentioned, both the flubbed note and the mistake with the gun, but honestly Glenn Close did such a good job I couldnt even tell if they were mistakes or just part of the show. Glenn Close IS Norma Desmond, and if that was an off night for her than I would love to see her on a good night because I thought she was spectacular. That being said I didn't love the show overall. I thought act 1 was very slow, didn't have a lot of memorable music, and found it almost painful at time. Act 2 thankfully really picked up and I thought was spectacular. I do think it is one of those shows where if I see it again I will enjoy it a lot more, especially Act 1. And again Glenn Close is well worth the price of admission, even if the rest of the show (in my opinion) falls a bit flat.



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Did you see the 8pm show?

Lot666, the mansion set definitely descended from above, and I believe it was moving forward at the same time. During "This Time Next Year," the mansion remained elevated throughout the entire song, with Artie's apartment below. There's are videos on YouTube of the entire show with Betty Buckley. The staging of the new production is great, and innovative, but I did miss the mansion set. I saw the original production 9 times, and it always took my breath away.

Updated On: 3/7/17 at 10:27 AM

Lot666 said: "CT2NYC said: "Lot666, the mansion set definitely descended from above, and I believe it was moving forward at the same time. During "This Time Next Year," the mansion remained elevated throughout the entire song, with Artie's apartment below. There's are videos on YouTube of the entire show with Betty Buckley. The staging of the new production is great, and innovative, but I did miss the mansion set. I saw the original production 9 times, and it always took my breath away."

Thanks CT2NYC; I've scoured the internet for such videos and devoured them all. Unfortunately, they're often (and understandably) dark, grainy, and unfocused, which makes it difficult to figure out what you're seeing if you never saw the real thing. Fortunate persons such as yourself can mentally fill in the gaps and relive the experience. I must say, though, that I'm very grateful for the aforementioned Betty Buckley clips because they do a pretty good job of showing the automation in the New Year's Eve scene, which I agree was breathtaking.





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The word that I've always used to describe the original production design is "cinematic." Since the musical is based on the movie, I always assumed it was John Napier's intention to bring the moviegoing experience to the stage, and, in that respect, I think it was an incredible success. The set changes flowed beautifully, and I have yet to see anything that matches it in this regard. It was perfection.

Hoipefiully theyre good seats for that prince for a lottery...damn.

Lot666 said: "CT2NYC said: "The word that I've always used to describe the original production design is "cinematic." Since the musical is based on the movie, I always assumed it was John Napier's intention to bring the moviegoing experience to the stage, and, in that respect, I think it was an incredible success. The set changes flowed beautifully, and I have yet to see anything that matches it in this regard. It was perfection."

I've always thought it sounded like a very ambitious concept that was executed beautifully, and I can't imagine that it would have "detracted" (as some have posited) from my experience. Not having seen the original production is one of my biggest regrets.
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CT2NYC - "Cinematic" - is probably the best description of it. It really was something spectacular that was groundbreaking and innovative at the time (made crashing chandeliers and helicopters on stage seem like nothing). It's probably why they figured it would return a huge profit.

But the difference was that the chandelier (Phantom) and Helicopter (Saigon) both were elements that added an amazing theatrical flair to the story. The mansion was spectacular in its own right.

When I went to see the Second US Tour (the paired down, much maligned - unfairly in my mind - version) I was surprised how much of the story, the music and the performances really hit me differently than the original. It just felt much more moving and human to me - rather than a "movie".

Now seeing Glenn reprising her role in this new production, I appreciate that even more. It really is a fascinating story, with some interesting characters and one of ALW's most beautiful scores. That stands out more... And seeing actors being able to create different theatrical moments (ie - Car chase scene) - well isn't that what theatre is supposed to do?

I was one of the early doubters about a revival sans the original Napier sets, as well as about Close starring again. I am happy to eat both of those sets of words.