Sunset Boulevard Revival Broadway Thread- Page 32

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 3/17/17 at 1:38pm

Also, no Norma I've seen (not even Glenn) ended the show like Betty. Her reprise of "With One Look" to lights out was flawless. The growl in her voice when she sings "look" still gives me chills. It was fierce, on every level.

https://youtu.be/j-RnHI29_Mg

Updated On: 3/17/17 at 01:38 PM

[chernjam]

Posted: 3/17/17 at 4:37pm

CT - spot on.  Buckley was a phenomenal Norma.  Was perfect to follow Glenn in that she was so different - vocally and performance wise.  And that ending with the younger Norma on the screen raised the hairs of my neck.  

Shoot... do I have time/money to run in to see this tonight.  I so love this show

[chernjam]

Posted: 3/17/17 at 4:42pm

btw - how awesome is the "bows" music for Norma.  Get chills all the time when I hear that :)

[chernjam]

Posted: 3/17/17 at 4:54pm

Alec3 said: "Had an additional thought on Sunset Boulevard.

I agree with most of the positive comments on here, so don't want to re-hash.

I have been thinking a lot tho about this production, and the real soul/needs/wants of the characters. Would love to see a Steven Pasquale / Glenn Close pairing, or Steven with Jan Maxwell.

"

Have to confess my ignorance - don't know who Jan Maxwell is.
But - Steven Pasquale as Joe - that's an awesome casting suggestion... (No offence to Michael Xavier, who of all the Joe's I've seen is by far the best)

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 3/17/17 at 11:18pm

chernjam said: "CT - spot on.  Buckley was a phenomenal Norma.  Was perfect to follow Glenn in that she was so different - vocally and performance wise.  And that ending with the younger Norma on the screen raised the hairs of my neck.  

Shoot... do I have time/money to run in to see this tonight.  I so love this show

 

"yes you do, this show is priceless, it will never be done like this before. I've seen it 3x and counting!

 

[Lot666]

Posted: 3/17/17 at 11:43pm

http://www.broadway.com/videos/157640/broadwaycom-liveatfive-with-preston-truman-boyd-of-sunset-boulevard/#play

Preston Truman Boyd: "We're extended through June 25, but we're hoping for more."

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 3/18/17 at 12:04am

Awwww, I adore Preston, poor Artie Green! Thanks for posting that. I highly doubt they will extend. Glenn must be exhausted.

[chernjam]

Posted: 3/18/17 at 2:19am

That's interesting though... There must be some discussion about extending it since Riedel reported about that and they're openly talking about it. Obviously Sunset is doing well enough that it's even being considered.  And since the Palace construction isn't pressing (I forget what the timeline is) - if they can keep it going, everyone's happy and it's still doing great business - why not?  That's really awesome.

I'm still hoping for a new recording or DVD of this.

BTW - anyone seen the souvenier brochures yet or are they still being printed?

[chernjam]

Posted: 3/19/17 at 1:41am

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NORMA - Glenn Close turns 70 today!

https://parade.com/556186/lindsaylowe/glenn-close-celebrates-a-big-birthday-8-video-clips-that-remind-us-of-her-amazing-singing-voice/ 

[A Director]

Posted: 3/19/17 at 3:48am

I just watched the Parade videos of With One Look.  The 1994 one is a hoot. Glenn Close's performance would work well in a melodrama.  Talk about chewing the scenery.  The 2015 one is also a hoot.  We're back in melodrama land.  Her singing is no more than passable.

I found a video of Betty Buckley singing the number in the London production.  What a world of difference.  She can sing the role.  She doesn't need to chew the scenery.  She just is!

To me one of the best versions of the song is by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.  Her diction is first rate with every word clear.  Unlike the theatre version, this version is not cover in orchestral goo.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 3/19/17 at 4:13am

Glenn can't even get a break on her birthday from haters. I happen to like Glenn's voice much better than Betty's by the way. I don't like the color of her voice at all...and don't start me with the vibratto. I do like Patti Lupone's voice, but although her voice is amazing, I didn't think she acted the role well. Glenn is perfection in my book, her acting capacity is overwhelming.

[gypsy101]

Posted: 3/19/17 at 10:53am

no wonder Meryl Streep calls her "Glenn Close But No Cigar"

[A Director]

Posted: 3/19/17 at 3:33pm

muscle23ftl said:I do like Patti Lupone's voice, but although her voice is amazing, I didn't think she acted the role well.

Did you see her in London?

 

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 3/19/17 at 4:24pm

muscle23ftl said: "Glenn can't even get a break on her birthday from haters. I happen to like Glenn's voice much better than Betty's by the way. I don't like the color of her voice at all...and don't start me with the vibratto. I do like Patti Lupone's voice, but although her voice is amazing, I didn't think she acted the role well. Glenn is perfection in my book, her acting capacity is overwhelming.

 

"

 

Those who disagree with your sycophantic praise of Close aren't haters: We just know the technicalities of a well-trained voice.  Buckley made the role thrilling to listen to.  Close will never, ever approach that.

 

There's a reason ALW chose LuPone to originate this role.  If you had seen her in London, Australia or were lucky enough to be sitting at Sydmonton all those years ago, you'd know.  She was a force of nature.  

 

[chernjam]

Posted: 3/19/17 at 4:43pm

BenjaminNicholas2 said: "Those who disagree with your sycophantic praise of Close aren't haters: We just know the technicalities of a well-trained voice.  Buckley made the role thrilling to listen to.  Close will never, ever approach that.

There's a reason ALW chose LuPone to originate this role.  If you had seen her in London, Australia or were lucky enough to be sitting at Sydmonton all those years ago, you'd know.  She was a force of nature.  
"

Probably the first time I ever agreed with Frank Rich was when he reviewed Patti saying: Ms. LuPone is a gifted actress whose vocal pyrotechnics are especially idolized by the British, not least because their own musical-theater stars can rarely match them. Yet despite her uncanny mimicry of Gloria Swanson's speaking voice and her powerhouse delivery of the score's grand if predictable ballads, she is miscast and unmoving as Norma Desmond. 

 Sure, I enjoy listening to Patti singing songs from Sunset in concert - and would even go to see her if she did take the stage in this role again out of curiosity more than anything.  But, whether its on the World Premiere Recording or any of the videos of her performances -- from her bitchy delivery of "I am big... it's the pictures that got small" with her characteristic snarky, arrogant growl, she does not get Norma Desmond.

Glenn, for whatever might be lacking in vocal power, quite simply is Norma Desmond from the moment she walks on stage until the curtain finally comes down.  I loved Buckley in the role...But Glenn has a command on this that I've never seen matched.   

 

[A Director]

Posted: 3/19/17 at 7:11pm

Glenn, for whatever might be lacking in vocal power, quite simply is Norma Desmond from the moment she walks on stage until the curtain finally comes down.  I loved Buckley in the role...But Glenn has a command on this that I've never seen matched.   

Do you think she'll be buried in one of Norma's costumes?

 

 

"

 

[A Director]

Posted: 3/19/17 at 7:13pm

From the 1994 New York Times review written by David Richards.

The musical's two big songs, "With One Look" and "As If We Never Said Goodbye," are Norma's, even if Barbra Streisand has already staked her claim to them. Ms. Close does not sing them so much as cast a spell over them. Her voice is small and unexceptional. The amplification comes from her acting skills: the flashing eyes, the magnanimous stance, the histrionic gestures actually give the notes color and power.

[wolfwriter]

Posted: 3/19/17 at 8:39pm

Finally caught this last night and all I can say is..wow! Today, is Glenn Close's birthday and, yet, she gave us the gifts. I didn't think I would enjoy this as much as I enjoyed, the original, but I'm hard-pressed to find anything I didn't like as much, if not more.

Ms. Close may have hit more notes "correctly" back then, but I doubt there has ever been a better acted Norma. It took a bit of time for Michael Xavier as Joe Gillis, to grow on me, but by the second act, I was with him.

I won't rehash everything that has been said, but I will add that, I question whether anyone, who calls this a "staged concert" has seen the show. To think that this belongs at Encores is, by any objective measure, just wrong.

As If We Never Said Goodbye is among the best, if not, the best, acted performance of a song I have ever seen. I could see people around me wiping tears and the ovation that followed was long and genuine and some stood.

The orchestra was glorious. By the end, I was thinking that I would like musicals more, if they stripped them all down and had 40-piece orchestras (wishful thinking :)

The audience sang 'Happy Birthday' to Glenn and they auctioned off her gloves from the final scene and Michael's boxer shorts for BC/EFA. 

My theater companion had never seen the film or the stage version and was blown away. He sent me a text earlier to reiterate how great he thought it was.

I intend to come back (sorry, return) to see it before it closes.

[carnzee]

Posted: 3/19/17 at 9:30pm

A Director said: "From the 1994 New York Times review written by David Richards.

The musical's two big songs, "With One Look" and "As If We Never Said Goodbye," are Norma's, even if Barbra Streisand has already staked her claim to them. Ms. Close does not sing them so much as cast a spell over them. Her voice is small and unexceptional. The amplification comes from her acting skills: the flashing eyes, the magnanimous stance, the histrionic gestures actually give the notes color and power.

Well, if David Richards (who?) said so, I guess the matter is settled.

I adore Dame Kiri, listen to her often and she has the most beautiful voice I've ever heard.( In fact she dubbed Glenn in a movie years ago when Close played an opera singer.)

There's no question whose performance of With One Look I prefer : Glenn Close. She connects with the material in a way Kiri doesn't. Glenn's voice is so redolent of Old Hollywood glamour. 

[chernjam]

Posted: 3/19/17 at 10:40pm

wolfwriter said: "...
The orchestra was glorious. By the end, I was thinking that I would like musicals more, if they stripped them all down and had 40-piece orchestras (wishful thinking :)
 

"

Honestly, I  am hoping that this might start a new trend and we can dismiss the notion "even though there's only 9 musicians in the pit it sounds like 50" - uhm no... When I first heard the notes of the overture from the Sunset orchestra a few weeks ago, I was immediately blown away by the lushness of that sound.  Just absolutely spectacular.  Wish more would follow suit.  Definitely would love to go back to Phantom with a 40 piece orchestra

[Lot666]

Posted: 3/20/17 at 8:49am

CT2NYC said: "Also, no Norma I've seen (not even Glenn) ended the show like Betty. Her reprise of "With One Look" to lights out was flawless. The growl in her voice when she sings "look" still gives me chills. It was fierce, on every level.

https://youtu.be/j-RnHI29_Mg"

Watching this clip, I began to think about how I usually favor a specific performer as the definitive incarnation of a given character and that individual becomes the only one I want to see/hear in the role. However, this footage of Ms. Buckley presents me with something of a dilemma and has me very much wishing that I'd seen her do the show. It's not necessarily that she's better than Ms. Close, but that she plays it differently and both takes are valid. For example, her speech near the foot of the staircase is far more restrained than Glenn's, but Betty also punctuates her performance with moments of intensity that create more of a roller coaster ride than Ms. Close's consistently bristling energy. And, as CT2NYC said, Betty's final reprise is electrifying. There's no doubt that she's technically a much better singer than Ms. Close (who, to be fair, has never really claimed to be a singer) and there are key moments when that ability allows for a transcendent performance. Now I wish there was a complete cast recording with Betty.

This footage also shows a lot of the exquisite detail in the set design and I just can't wrap my head around the criticism that it was "distracting" and "too cinematic". When Max calls "Lights!" and a flood of beams sweeps upward onto Norma near the top of the staircase, the color and texture of everything around her - the banister, the wall finish, the sconces, the artwork - screams vintage Hollywood and makes the whole thing "real". Why shouldn't it be cinematic? It's a show about a film star and the film industry!

Can anyone explain the significance of the red ribbon that Norma continually toys with in this scene? It seems to be there in every production, including the current revival, and I don't understand the intent of this accessory.

Updated On: 3/20/17 at 08:49 AM

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 3/20/17 at 9:19am

Lot666 said: 

Can anyone explain the significance of the red ribbon that Norma continually toys with in this scene? It seems to be there in every production, including the current revival, and I don't understand the intent of this accessory.

The red ribbon holds the script together when she first presents it to Joe. In that scene, and on the staircase at the end, she uses it as a prop when doing Salome's dance, also known as the "Dance of the Seven Veils." It's not a veil, obviously, but it's meant to suggest one, and I'm assuming it's red to represent the blood that's been spilled.

 

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 3/20/17 at 9:43am

Lot666 said: 

This footage also shows a lot of the exquisite detail in the set design and I just can't wrap my head around the criticism that it was "distracting" and "too cinematic". When Max calls "Lights!" and a flood of beams sweeps upward onto Norma near the top of the staircase, the color and texture of everything around her - the banister, the wall finish, the sconces, the artwork - screams vintage Hollywood and makes the whole thing "real". Why shouldn't it be cinematic? It's a show about a film star and the film industry!
 

 

As I've said before, I miss the mansion set. For me, it was a character in the show, its dark and cavernous space beautifully representing Norma's loneliness. It was used, to stunning effect, in "This Time Next Year," with the juxtaposition of the quiet sadness at the mansion above and the raucous jubilation at Artie's tiny apartment below. 

 

[Lot666]

Posted: 3/20/17 at 9:59am

wolfwriter said: "...they auctioned off her gloves from the final scene and Michael's boxer shorts for BC/EFA."

That's brilliant.

[Lot666]

Posted: 3/20/17 at 10:07am

chernjam said: "Definitely would love to go back to Phantom with a 40 piece orchestra"

The dream of a lifetime, for me. While the 2004 film was woefully miscast (although the award for Worst Movie Musical Casting In History is reserved for Russell Crowe in Les Miserables), the orchestral performance/recording was absolutely gorgeous. The overture has never sounded better and really diminished that pre-recorded synthesizer sound. The orchestra for the 25th Anniversary Celebration at the Royal Albert Hall was also wonderful.