"Sunset Boulevard" Broadway revival getting rave reviews

I told Nicole to take it down a little.

And I didn't mean on stage.

Is handsome Tom Francis a lock for Best Supporting Actor Tony?

Glenn Close is despairingly retching in a corner somewhere.

Who?

Saw it a couple of weeks ago. Nicole sings the role SPECTACULARLY. Her acting is pretty on-point in her first scene, too, but her performance quickly gets derailed by Jamie Lloyd's ridiculous direction and his choreographer's downright silly movement. This is a Norma Desmond who -- I kid you not -- does Beyonce'esque fingersnaps, references the Pussy Cat Dolls directly (how meta!) and whose choreography veers from Martha Graham'esque silliness to the literal Running Man, doing the Robot and the Cabbage Patch. Lloyd doesn't trust (or like?) the material and his pantomime direction undermines her performance. It's a shame because, musically (both her, the cast and the orchestra), the production is pretty sublime.

Tom Francis was excellent. Nicole worked very hard but was miscast. I enjoyed all the attempts to turn it into a noir film.

I hope security is tight.

With Jamie Lloyd involved it can't be too long before Michael Myers shows up. Especially this time of year.

Just listen to "As If We Never Said Goodbye" and I'm sorry it was boring, except for "home" note. This is no where as good as Buckley's.

Nicole has a very strong voice but it lacks real feeling.

I loved that Lloyd had Francis strip down for no other purpose other than to take a bloody half naked curtain call. Of all the bad choices, that was my favorite. Though not for artistic reasons.

Francis will be eligible for a Best Actor Tony. Won that award at the Oliviers.

It sucked.

He was great and deserves it. And there was no reason to strip but I appreciated it also.

It got some rave reviews as well as bad reviews (starting with the NYT). The critics' reviews and word of mouth on the social media platforms have been mixed, at best.

I love that Francis has a hot beefy body and isn't a skeleton with a six pack. He's the sexiest thing on Broadway right now.

I saw it in London and loved it. Hoping to also see it on Broadway. I am a big fan of early cinema and German Expressionism and it really hit a lot of marks for me in both regards. Also Tom Francis is incredible in his role. I saw him in &Juliet as Romeo in London and he didn't make any sort of impression on me and then when I saw him in SB, I was blown away. The role is perfect for him.

[quote]r9 Nicole has a very strong voice but it lacks real feeling.

Right. There often isn’t an emotional throughline to what she’s saying in the lyrics. It’s just singing note to note.

Chris Colfer was 1000 times better than Nicole.

Nicole and her other little Millennial friends need to see how it’s REALLY done:.

Watch and learn, bitches:

I do agree that Tom Francis was EXCELLENT. Actually, all three of the British actors who transferred with Nicole are fantastic. For some reason, they seem to have not fallen pray to Jamie Lloyd's silliness as much as Nicole has. With a better director who actually liked the material and believed in a coherent narrative for a character, I think her performance could have been triumphant. Instead, it's vocally WONDERFUL and, occasionally, dramatically, too.

[quote]Chris Colfer was 1000 times better than Nicole

He does well, but it is more amazing how a network allowed a nelly theater queen a full five minutes to sing the whole song.

Were you lot all in the same performance without knowing you were SURROUNDED by your fellow dataloungers!

[quote]Is handsome Tom Francis a lock for Best Supporting Actor Tony?

There is no such category. This is the THEATER, darling -- not movies.

[quote]Glenn Close is despairingly retching in a corner somewhere.

I hear Glenn's working on MAXIE: The MUSICAL!

I am surprised Nicole got on Broadway after she shafted Andrew Lloyd Webber so hard.

[quote]Betty Lynn, the Voice of a Generation - plus, affable! Call me

I think you meant "affordable," Betty Lynn.

So Norma Desmond is a vampire in this staging? A fucking vampire? Am I getting this right? (Im assuming this, from the images Ive seen of NS covered in blood from her mouth down.)

[quote]I hear Glenn's working on MAXIE: The MUSICAL!

Won't she be exhausted after filming Sunset?

I thought it was visually arresting but totally incomprehensible. And often boring...

R27, she falls in a pool of blood. Lol.

it would have been cooler if she was a vampire.

I never interpreted it as a vampire thing when I saw it, but it does kinda of track with her weird growling and feral behaviour as the show concludes. Could have been his subtext or wink-wink direction. I think the blood on Norma is meant to reflect the Salome line: they bring in his head on silver tray/she kisses his mouth. I assume, after she plugged him, she kissed him. It's all quite ambiguous.

This is an intriguing spin on the show because some stuff really works and other stuff really doesn't. The direction is hugely creative in so many ways - most of the time - and then really self-indulgent at others. Increasingly I think he is a few-tricks pony and just Jamie Lloyded the material, rather than interpret it. It will be interesting to see how his next show is received because it sounds like he's getting repetitive. (I gather his last staging of Evita was similar in styling.) I agree with the comment upthread about the soundtrack... Norma's two big numbers don't sound as powerful on the recording (quite slow.) But when Scherzinger sings them live, it's truly phenomenal. The pipes on that woman are legendary. Just are.

It's fascinating take on the material, but a bit too imperfect where it is. I wouldn't be surprised if Sunset gets a ton of Tony nominations but is almost virtually shut out of wins.

[quote]soundtrack

SOUNDTRACK!?!

Fuck that MAGA bitch and her (good) play.

Do Tony voters take this stuff into consideration when voting? She was a lock for a nomination, correct?

[quote]Do Tony voters take this stuff into consideration when voting?

YES!

The cast scowling at the curtain call and Norma and Joe still covered in blood is beyond pretentious. Btw, covers for Joe and Betty have been on (so far) this week. Don't we have enough lazy actors in this country without having to import them?

[quote]The cast scowling at the curtain call and Norma and Joe still covered in blood is beyond pretentious.

And quite similar to the curtain call of Sweeney Todd.

Who's the MAGA bitch referenced in R34?

Nicole R39. She’s the star.

She'll get a nomination, but Audra now has a lock on the win. There's no way the Tony voters will give it to a Trumper Brit. And everyone hates ALW anyway...

LOL: “In recognition of the passing of Nicole Scherzinger’s Tony chances, the St. James theatre has announced they will be dimming their lights on Nov. 7,” the @OnstageBlog humorously posted on X.

Too funny. That’s some petard with which shes’s now hoisted!

—Jesus’s jugs

So I'm going to say something I've thought for a long time, having seen Scherzinger interviewed several times. She does a convincing performance of a functionally intelligent, insecure person who gets tangled up using big words to express what she thinks are profound ideas.

I saw a YouTube interview with Lucie Arnaz where she was briefly discussing "Sunset Blvd." Lucie did her best to compliment the show, but basically she said she didn't care for the striped-down minimalist interpretation.

Jokingly, Lucie said they should have called it "La Cienga Blvd" because this revival is not Sunset Blvd.

I was planning to fly to New York to see this. Not now. Fuck her.

The show has been a smash hit.

Last week it grossed $1.7 million.

I bet she gets MAGA support now -- most theatergoers are white -- especially if the NY liberals try to crucify her for her beliefs.

Have you seen the show, r47? It’s ridiculous enough when you are open to this kind of interpretation. Still, if this is how MAGA wants to spend the dollars while complaining about the price of gas and eggs, I am 100% for it. Let them fund this nonsense.

Also, watching Mama Rose as a black woman is going to take on new resonance.

Cienga? Is that east or west of Labr?

[quote]There's no way the Tony voters will give it to a Trumper Brit.

She's American. Born in Hawaii and grew up in Louisville, Kentucky.

She's deeply religious. I'm inclined to give her the benefit of the dumb and think it was genuinely about the awful hate. But WTF she's doing, as a "good Christian", following Russell Brand, I don't know. Maybe God gave her a magnificent voice to keep her from talking.

I didn’t think it an intelligent performance, but I could enjoy it on its own terms. It’s bad art, but that’s often potent. That said, I’m thrilled to see it and her get bogged down by this. The gays were cheering her on, but we are a fickle crowd.

R45. I love Lucie. Not mean like Patti but delivers her jabs politely and with good humor.

I was worried it was going to be gimmicky. Thanks for confirming, r52. Spread that opinion far and wide.

On on hand I’m glad I saw this before this cancel-MAGA-Nicole thing happened (everything Trump touches turns to shit) but I wanted to see it again since Tom Francis was out sick when I saw it (Diego was very good but I keep hearing how phenomenal Francis is.)

I hate that orange bastard; he ruins fucking EVERYTHING

See it with Mandy Gonzalez. If producers are smart, she will post her opposition to MAGA. That way they can sell both sets of performances.

R56 I’m not sure Tom Francis performs on the Mandy nights

I don't think Francis is exceptional. He's certainly very good, not arguing that he isn't. But my feeling was his performance stands out because of the direction. This was the first Joe I've ever seen where he was a bitter and cynical guy who knew the walls were closing in, rather than sardonic narrator, and that's why Francis pops. Any talented actor could deliver the same thing with the same direction. It's one of the few things it feels like Lloyd actually put some thought into vs. what seems like a lot decisions that started with 'hey, what if we..."

If they don't clean up this MAGA mess, it will be interesting to see what happens to box office. Sunset isn't a tourist show, it's a theatre-goers and buzz show. I think what they're doing is seeing if it blows over, which in many instances these days is a viable strategy, sad to say. Their problem will be is if they do nothing and do take a hit, it will be too late to do anything to turn it around. The cement will have hardened. She should have gone out with a this was about my faith, not about politics and I'm so sorry it was misinterpreted. That might have worked or at least muddied the waters.

Just saw this yesterday. One of the stupidest shows I've seen in a long time. It didn't even make sense.

Two of the secondary leads, including Tom Francis, were out. The last time I went to a musical where all the original cast members were present was years ago

I can play the part! Three times a week!

That’s super unprofessional, R60!

R62, it's become the norm

First Cabaret, now Sunset Boulevard. Here with popcorn, watching aggressively stupid British revivals falter.

I'm so over the "The critics in London LOVE this musical" BS. When they move to the US, so many of them just suck

Saw it. Was largely bored. It looks like a really good black box production. The gays went nuts for her. I suspect that’ll change a bit.

To be fair, the London critics did say they weren't sure the US would get on board with this version of Sunset.

I agree, R65!

R60. Try to see the cast of "the Outsiders."

I knew if I just waited long enough...

This hysterical reaction going on online about Scherzinger's supposed Trump support is the height of hypocrisy from the Left in this country. God forbid someone has different viewpoints. That happens in a democracy. Yet let's shoot them down and try to cancel or destroy them because they don't think like we do? That is fascism. This is why the Left is losing support. It's like we're in the barnyard in Orwell's "Animal Farm."

It’s hardly hysterical. There are a ton of overpriced, mediocre shows on Broadway right now. Why choose the one with a leading lady who supports a rapist?

Look at what MAGA did to Bud Light. A harsher punishment for a lesser crime. Oddly, you have no criticism there.

R71's point is valid on a logical basis... but this ain't the week for logic.

Is Michael "fascist" Riedel posting on this thread??

Sorry R72, but the Bud Light thing is one example versus countless examples of that behavior on the Left. Also, Trump is a "rapist" because some random lady made a claim and a civil jury sided with her, with basically no evidence whatsoever. The claim would never have stood up in a criminal court. If it would stand up in criminal court, we should all be very afraid, because anyone could be accused by a rando without any actual evidence. Again, this is the type of thing that goes on under fascism. It's hilarious to me that people can't see how hipocritical it all is.

Yep, Michael Riedel.

the show will remain a hit. They're not going to lose box office over this, because they've done such a good job selling it and making it such a "MUST SEE" for all those lemmings who only go to a show because "it's the show to see...). But Nicole has lost the Tony over this. She will get a nomination but there are too many voters who would be repelled by this, and if Audra delivers, she's been a beloved member of the community for decades who will be rewarded.

No idea who you are talking about R76. But if course you can't refute any of what I said.

Ok, you lost me even before you misspelled hypocritical, r75. E. Jean Carroll is far from a nobody. She also had corroborating witnesses. You are the one who drank the Koolaid.

Are we now going to have to put up with trolls like r75 now? Your guy won and your work here is done.

They'll just replace the gays with enthusiastic MAGATs wanting to find a "suitable" show for them. Poor cast.

R79 Yes, continue sticking your head in the sand and clinging to the hypocrisy, learning absolutely nothing about the behavior that led to the Left's defeat in this election. Seriously, we cannot see the forest for the trees anymore.

No, asshole, you refute yourself, as r79 quickly showed. You're just a garden variety asshole and nobody owes you shit. Enjoy the fruits of your stupidity and quit putrifying my universe with your repugnant soul. 🚫

[quote]This hysterical reaction going on online about Scherzinger's supposed Trump support is the height of hypocrisy from the Left in this country.

Broadway is a progressive and gay-focused medium. MAGAs are about as welcome there as a liberal is welcome in the country music world. Now your audience. Expect blowback if you want to go against the beliefs of the majority of your audience.

Perhaps Nicole would be more comfortable starring in a revival of Jesus Christ Superstar in Branson, MO.

Has Kecia Lewis posted a video about Nicole yet?

[quote]Expect blowback if you want to go against the beliefs of the majority of your audience.

ALW was a conservative peer, only resigning the post because he got bad PR in the UK. He won't care if the audiences for Sunset turn into a MAGAfest.

R84 Theatre is for everyone. Listen to yourself.

No one is stopping you from attending the theater, R87. Go. Go watch your new MAGA goddess in action.

Exactly. We're not stopping you all. Knock yourselves out!

Grow up R88.

It was fun way back when you called the box-office for the Lupone production and they played Streisands version of "With One Look" while you were on hold.

Nicole Scherzinger has every right to make her opinions and beliefs known if she chooses. Whether we choose to support her endeavors is also our right to make.

[quote]Theatre is for everyone. Listen to yourself.

Theatre is for the very wealthy. Listen to me.

R85, THAT was funny!

Eat MAGA pussy, R90.

See The Roommate instead and support two old broads about to lose their social security!

R90 is a herpetic cunt.

R71, It's the Russell Brand connection that's causing the furor. Brand is a horrible person who turned Jesus to get out from under his rape accusations. Trump is just the cherry on top but NOT what started this.

We did the grown-up approach, and this is what we got. Fuck off and go be with your people, because we obviously aren't and we'll continue to let you know, r90.

She stood (along with Jenny McCarthy) and clapped for that wretched dog Ghouliani when he was revealed on The Masked Singer when Robin Thicke and Ken Jeong had good enough sense to walk off the set.

It's now being claimed she also liked a post by RFK Jr. that includes a photo of Tucker Carlson and hopes for Trump's re-election. She's MAGA.

I said it on the other thread, but I love the idea of using Tom Francis’ singing on the street sequence to broadcast anti-MAGA messages. 8 times a week.

Tom Francis was very sexy in the role. It’s kind of rare to have a genuinely sexy guy in a musical. And he takes off his clothes which is a big plus.

As asked before, why has everyone who has played Norma on Broadway done the 8 shows a week but this one can't?

Would love to be a fly on the wall backstage tonight.

When the first act of this show was done, my partner and I both turned to each other and said simultaneously, “What the fuck was that?”

There are a few numbers I adore, but the book is atrocious and the show is cursed. LuPone (and Kevin Anderson — I hope he talks one day), Dunaway, Sarah Brightman's Australia disaster, and now this.

R102 So Tom Francis, who had nothing to do with this (and isn’t an American voter) should be negatively impacted by this?

It's unfortunate and unfair, but this is all on her.

It’s the cunt’s arrogance that gets me.

The book has way too many scenes centered on Joe Gillis. That’s when the audience’s interest dies

I honestly don’t care if she’s MAGA or just a stupid Jesus lover.

she’s only there to entertain me, not to be my friend.

So dance, bitch

[quote]r104 = As asked before, why has everyone who has played Norma on Broadway done the 8 shows a week but this one can't?

Aren't there more physical demands of Norma in this production?

She supports removing LGBT protections and undoing gay marriage.

So fuck you, R112. You’re a bilious and rancid cunt.

Remember when this whore didn't even know who Malala is...At a gala event honoring Malala!

She was hesitant to take the role of Penny in the Dirty Dancing remake due to the abortion plot line.