Sunset Boulevard Revival Broadway Thread — Page 41

"Shut up, I'm rich..." is a lyric, not part of the score.

I agree with chernjam that the score is glorious. The overture is one of my all-time favorites.

I finally saw this Wednesday evening. It was a dream come true, and here are a few observations:

1. I didn't feel cheated at all by this being "semi-staged." It was a beautiful show and Lonny Price had many elegant solutions to the staging challenges.

2.Like many others, I've never been keen on the score as a whole. I liked the Norma/Max stuff, but didn't care to listen much to the rest. But seeing it in context of the show, with energetic performers putting the studio / Artie's party scenes over, and that orchestra creating a plush, purple wall of sound, I enjoyed the score from start to finish. I think folks have been to hard on it, mainly because it's cool to bash ALW. It's not a masterpiece, but it's a wonderful show.

3. The three supporting principals were great, even though I had no idea who they were. People have not given Michael Xavier enough credit. People come to see Norma, but Joe carries the show. I feel like Xavier was like Atlas Shrugged, holding the show on his shoulders.

4. Glenn sounded rusty, even flat at first, but she nailed the money note at the end of "With One Look", and from there she was off to the races. I really appreciated how her vocal inflections have changed over the years, like the eerie little girl voice she uses for "when he scorned me I knew he had to die... " On the other board, someone who attended the same performance I did is putting forth a conspiracy theory that some of Glenn's notes are being piped in! I think this actually a testament to how strong her voice is these days.

carnzee said: "I finally saw this Wednesday evening. It was a dream come true, and here are a few observations:

1. I didn't feel cheated at all by this being "semi-staged." It was a beautiful show and Lonny Price had many elegant solutions to the staging challenges.

2.Like many others, I've never been keen on the score as a whole. I liked the Norma/Max stuff, but didn't care to listen much to the rest. But seeing it in context of the show, with energetic performers putting the studio / Artie's party scenes over, and that orchestra creating a plush, purple wall of sound, I enjoyed the score from start to finish. I think folks have been to hard on it, mainly because it's cool to bash ALW. It's not a masterpiece, but it's a wonderful show.

3. The three supporting principals were great, even though I had no idea who they were. People have not given Michael Xavier enough credit. People come to see Norma, but Joe carries the show. I feel like Xavier was like Atlas Shrugged, holding the show on his shoulders.

"

carnzee - I've thought that this entire run... not only is Xavier pretty much on stage the entire 2 and a half hours - he has to portray Joe in a way that makes him likable/cynical/opportunist all while matching the intensity of Glenn's Norma. That's a tall order that Xavier makes look easy. And vocally he's the finest Joe I've heard live.

One other point that I thought of today - I really loved the "Ghost" norma when I saw it again on Saturday. I had forgotten when exactly it was used the first time I saw this revival, and when they used her in "The Greatest Star of All" - that made that scene even more emotionally moving. It just made Max's obsessive devotion/enabling of this delusion that much more believable. And in The Perfect Year, watching Glenn watching her younger self (while Joe starts to realize that, yes he has stepped into quicksand and wasn't sure what to do) was heart-wrenching...

Absolutely love this production

I also enjoyed Xavier a lot...hopefully he gets a Tony nomination...he does a fine job as Joe Gillis, and Alan Campbell's shoes are big shoes to fill. Unfortunately there hasn't been a better Betty Schaeffer than Judy Kuhn yet.

Hamilton Addict said: "Is there any chance of a cast recording being made of this production?

"

There's always a chance... I've taken to "harassing" (or rather encouraging ) people on Twitter - @SunsetBlvd @OfficialALW @michaelxavierUK @TheGlennClose @SiobhanDillonuk asking the same thing. Xavier and Siobhan seem supportive as they've retweeted/liked tweets where people have asked for this... so jump in! Hopefully the producers will see that if SITPWG could get another recording, Sunset is long overdue for one

101 DALMATIANS is on HBO right now, and I had forgotten how similar Glenn Close's "Cruella de Vil" is to her original "Norma." It's not surprising, though, considering she made the movie immediately after she left SUNSET in 1995.

10086sunset said: "After reading the news yesterday about the new recording of SITPWG, it made me realize how badly this needs to be recorded and preserved.

I think it will happen.

"

I'm hopeful 10086... looking on Amazon and they barely have the American Premiere Recording in stock anymore, so I'm choosing to take this as a good sign that with the stock running low that they'll produce a new recording. Why not even just take a live recording from the theatre like they did for Woman in White? They could record a couple of performances, take the best cuts of each?

The Palace Theater in London I believe has an in-house recording set-up that facilitated not only the live recording of WIW but also the two live Song & Dance albums.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Lin-Manuel Miranda are having a FB live event at 2pm EST. If there is a Q&A session, I guess I will bring the new cast recording up!

chernjam said: "... they were going to record in studio and then ALW announced they had recorded I think Opening Night (possibly another night) and utilized those, which was how it got released so quickly... I forgot as castlestreet pointed out that there was an in house set up... I kind of thought they could do it from the sound board. But then again, what do I know about those things?"

I guess that explains why the CD includes the opening night, live performance of "You Can Get Away With Anything" by Michael Crawford. I guess what I don't understand is why that one track is described as "live" and features audience applause/sounds.

They really seem to have been on a serious mission to win the BC/EFA fundraising.

10086sunset said: "They really seem to have been on a serious mission to win the BC/EFA fundraising.

"

Do they post the tally somewhere? How long does this go till?

Wow, $6,000 is impressive! When I saw the show two Sundays ago, they had auctioned off Glenn's purple gloves that she wore during the show (which she autographed on the spot), and threw in a picture with her and her dog backstage, and that went for $2,200. The auction process was very entertaining to watch.

I am so glad many here have mentioned Michael Xavier's performance, because when I saw it, I also thought he was definitely one of the highlights of the show! Glenn Close was of course, phenomenal, but I was pleasantly surprised by Michael Xavier (having never seen him before). His voice is amazing (as is his interpretation of the character), and I loved his rendition of "Sunset Boulevard" so much, I wish I could hear it again live. I think the two main reasons I would love to have a cast recording for this production are: the beautiful orchestrations, and to hear Michael Xavier's Joe on a cast recording. Hopefully it will happen!