Kitty October 13th, 2023
How to reinvent a 30-year-old musical that has only recently enjoyed a star-studded major revival?
A question that undoubtedly must have troubled The Jamie Lloyd Company, but thankfully not for long, because from that esteemed company and their titular director, a sheer masterpiece has materialised into quite honestly one of the most incredible revivals this reviewer has ever had the joy to experience.
The first thing to know is that we've all been sleeping on Nicole Scherzinger's astounding talents. Black slip dress, barefoot and completely at the mercy of many a close-up, thanks to the best in theatre cinematography by Joe Ransom and Nathan Amzi. Scherzinger embraces her racy pop group associations and surpasses them to embody a diva who lurches from playful to bewitchingly unstable in a quirk of her lips or eyes.
Scherzinger is the alchemy that creates unmissable theatre.
As the iconic Norma Desmond, she puts on an iconic performance. Proving no match for her charms, Tom Francis as cynical screenwriter Joe, and David Thaxton as Max are sucked under, whilst providing their own powerhouse performances as the duology of men she has ensnared; one jaded yet vulnerable, the other piously fanatical, but each driven to madness. All three capture some theatrical lighting in a bottle together, but Scherzinger is the alchemy that creates unmissable theatre. Her Nora is so deluded yet highly vulnerable, her sense of reality warped by fame and its trappings. You believe both versions of her, the desperate and the excellently unhinged.
Operatic in its melodramatic scope at times, this whole sung-through piece is given what at first feels like the bare-bones treatment on Soutra Gilmour's sparse set, before it becomes apparent just how huge the production is. Incredible live camera work, choreography, sound, and lighting design fill gaps you don't even notice are there, building the layers of the Hollywood artifice that drive the story. Without offering a spoiler, there is a particular treat in the second half opening that propels the production to innovative new heights.
One of Andrew Lloyd Webber's better scores, the music swells bombastically under the music direction of Alan Williams, with both Don Black and Christopher Hampton's book and lyrics telling a tragic story, perfectly handled by Scherzinger, Francis, et al. The adaptation adds moments of self-referential humour that work well to modernise the show subtly, while still retaining the dark heart of the story. As the action reaches its fever pitch, the humour disappears in favour of thrilling melodrama, putting you on the edge of your seat, which is a good place to be, as come the curtain call, you're immediately on your feet.
While it might look sparse from the promotional materials, without any trappings of older productions (though the famous turban does make a cameo), there is nothing spared in this revival, as the performances, design, music and choreography come together as one, leaving you entertained, breathless and begging for more.
Written by Kitty on October 10th, 2023.
Sunset Boulevard is now booking until January 6th, 2024
