Sunset Boulevard Revival Broadway Thread — Page 30

Lot666 said: "chernjam said: "RE: The visible, dead Joe Gillis - one theatregoer from London who went to the Director Q & A said:
Isn't it a reminder that the story is being narrated to us by a dead man? Not that he dies at the end and this is all some kind of flashback, but that the dead man is actually telling us the story. Does the body descend just after he's shot? I guess that means from that point on he's no longer narrating and we're on our own to watch the final scene."

I don't know, I still think my staging of the body-in-the-pool would be more effective.

I have a friend who saw the show for the first time recently, and she didn't even realize the body belonged to Joe Gillis until he got shot at the end. The opening scene of the musical is nearly identical to the the film with one big exception: in the film, William Holden's face is clearly visible in the pool, thereby alleviating any confusion. It's not supposed to be a surprise that Joe dies at the end. The best way to insure that the audience knows it's him in the pool would be a projection with Michael Xavier's face clearly shown.

CT2NYC said: "I have a friend who saw the show for the first time recently, and she didn't even realize the body belonged to Joe Gillis until he got shot at the end."

Wow! A lady seated next to me asked at the interval whether it was "a real man up there".

CT2NYC said: "The opening scene of the musical is nearly identical to the the film with one big exception: in the film, William Holden's face is clearly visible in the pool, thereby alleviating any confusion. It's not supposed to be a surprise that Joe dies at the end. The best way to insure that the audience knows it's him in the pool would be a projection with Michael Xavier's face clearly shown."

I did wonder why they used the mannequin instead of a projection, which seems like it would've been the easy (lazy?) way out. Chernjam recently suggested a conscious avoidance of design elements that might feel "cinematic" to critics, so perhaps that had something to do with it. In the original production, was the body a projection on the screen or did they use a mannequin suspended behind the "pool" surface?

Updated On: 3/15/17 at 11:31 AM

Lot666 said: "chernjam said: "a new quasi-review/story about Sunset in Parade magazine:

https://parade.com/555236/janicekaplan/a-glorious-glenn-close-in-sunset-boulevard/"

Great piece!

Am I the only nit-picker who gets annoyed when critics misquote lines from shows, especially famous lines { “I’m still big—it’s the pictures that got small" )?

It's not just you, and it's hardly nit-picking. As a person who's extremely detail-oriented, I find it infuriating. A journalist who is not conscientious enough to do his/her research is a hack, in my opinion.

TNolen3 said: "Has anyone heard yet where the lottery seats are? I'm debating whether it'd be better to do lottery or rush...



" I don't know about lottery, but I got rush seats (there were plenty left at 4pm) for rear mezz for $55 and it was well worth the price.

CT2NYC said: "It was a projection, no mannequin. However, in that case, as well, it was just a generic form, with no face clearly visible."

Ah, that explains why I could never figure out how they got the body's clothing to seemingly move as though underwater when it was being fished out of the pool. All this time, I thought the suspended mannequin was also used in the original, so that bit always stumped me.

I really enjoyed the links you guys posted...thanks!

Did the lottery on Weds 3/15 for the matinee. Had a great seat in the mezzanine, left side A 1. A really fantastic view with no issues at all in terms of sight lines. The mezz was fairly empty and some empty seats in the orchestra. I had very little familiarity with the show beyond the film and it was an interesting way to adapt a work that seems somewhat unadaptable.

Lots of cheering here and there for Norma's entrances in her different costumes. I am really glad I did this show because Glenn Close is really fantastic and the lottery is a steal at $55. Saw her on Monday at the taping for Seth Meyers and she is just incredible and seems to really care for this role and bringing it back again.

It was the first show I saw on my trip that had the collection for BCEFA. Glenn started the speech and handed it off to the guy who played Joe (had no idea he was British, saw the West End credits but clearly didn't put it together in my brain, his American accent is really good). He thanked the audience for being so responsive because he said the Wednesday matinee are often quiet since it is the middle of the afternoon during normal working hours.

Saw the matinee yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. What a show! Completely blew me away and I definitely reccomend it. I won the lottery and got orchestra row m seat 118 for $55. I go on ticketmaster to see what its normally priced and its $199 to sit there! Crazy how I got so lucky to this amazing show for such a great price in such a great seat. Perfect view and heard everything. Go see it!!!!!

Lot666 said: "Here's an old NY Times chestnut I stumbled on, about the fallout from the closing of the original production.

Thanks, great article! I did my part to help the original production recoup costs, but, after Glenn left, I don't think I ever spent more $40 on a ticket. I guess it was a tough sell, unfortunately.

So, I'd been trying to remember what I didn't like about Elaine Paige as Norma, so I decided to watch a couple of videos on YouTube for some recollection, and I figured out what it was. Her body movements were all over the place, and, for lack of a better word, off. The characterization of Norma relies heavily on how she moves, especially her hands and how she walks. I think it works best when her movements are exaggerated, but graceful. Elaine Paige seemed very manic, and it didn't work for me. She did this this thing with her hands when she sang "with one LOOK" that's I really couldn't stand. It crossed the line from "camp" (which I think Glenn's original performance relied heavily on, and which I enjoyed very much) into "cheese." Also, the way she walked was problematic and, frankly, ungraceful. This might have been due to the fact that her height required her to wear higher heels than normal. In any event, the effect was jarring. I know this is all subjective, so I'm curious to hear others' opinions on this topic.

CT2NYC said: "I saw Glenn, Betty, Karen Mason, and Elaine Paige. If I recall correctly, that was all of the original Normas."

WOW. I guess Petula Clark was only in London, right?

CT2NYC said: "Lot666 said: "CT2NYC said: "I saw Glenn, Betty, Karen Mason, and Elaine Paige. If I recall correctly, that was all of the original Normas."

WOW. I guess Petula Clark was only in London, right?

Right, but she also toured with the show in the U.S.

"

CT - I hated Elaine Paige in this. Thought her singing was overrated (Mason and Buckley definitely were better than Paige) and her acting was ridiculous. She was playing it almost as a cartoon.

I saw the "Revival" last night and I can't say with confidence that this show by webber/black/hampton deserves a second look.

Yes, it is a former best musical winner, but you have to put it in context with what was happening in the commercial theater the year it was eligible. It was a NOTORIOUSLY weak year for new musicals with only one other nominee...Smokey Joe's Cafe (a musical revue at best). Plus, Sunset Boulevard was the only nominee for original score/book of musical. In other years, I highly doubt that the show would have won either of those three awards. Watching it last night, it was apparent that the show hasn't aged that well.

The book is serviceable, but dated mellow drama of the 1990's where characters real problems are glossed over instead of truly examined. The only memorable parts of the score are Norma's (those still work well, but the lyrics aren't necessarily gold throughout..especially the title song Sunset Boulevard). The recitative is amateurishly written filler at best. The underscoring abruptly switches sounds from that of hollywood film glamour to what seems like cut material from webber's unabashedly upbeat Joseph and the amazing technicolor dream coat. The show does work, but age reveals that its not in ways the classics like South Pacific, or the King and I do...it has that late 80's early 90's mega musical style that just doesn't play very well in 2017....we're too sophisticated for it now.

I get how Napier won best set design...which leads me to why they revisited this show without it. Lonny Price has not envisioned something radically different than Trevor Nunn did, so the result is one of confusion and thrift. It looks cheap in all the ways it shouldn't. The scaffolding does not resemble anything having to do with film or old hollywood. Calling this a revival is a stretch, this is a concert staging. Not a problem in the slightest except they are misrepresenting what this is. This should be at encores, not the palace. And I have to say, as much as I respect Price for his life dedicated to the theater, he has not done this concert staging any favors....it's confusing, it's half baked, it's just flat out uninspired. Having a young chorus girl play her ghost is ridiculous.

The principal cast is mainly wonderful, and where price has succeeded is in getting their performances. xavier as joe and johanson as max are first rate performers and use all their talents to bring the characters to life. dillon as betsy is winning if not stereotypical ingenue. The legendary close is wonderful as always...you aren't watching close you are watcihng norma. The only thing that I think is truly an issue is her singing. She took flack in the 90's for not really being a singer which i've never understood. She was a wonderful singer then and sounded the perfect combination of where character meets song....here she just doesn't have the voice anymore and concentrates on on the acting (brilliantly i might add). But, I think its essential to the character for her to be able to sing the score. otherwise she IS just a washed up has been who has no business even trying to go back to work. We need the singing to know that she was a star, had the talent. Those songs need to sound gorgeous for us to understand how much passion she has for what she did and wants to do again. close is giving a screen performance here, but it calls for a musical theater performance....it doesn't work well without her being in full voice.

I get it, with the palace going through construction soon no long running show would want to move in at this point. Plus, close got the reviews in london which they could use to attract people who never saw/want to revisit this ronny award winning performance. And of course its cheap to produce at this level, but this is just not for broadway in this form in my opinion.