Sunset Boulevard

[foxy]

I never saw the original production. Now Glenn Close is back 22,years later to do it again. I have a ticket next week and I'm looking forward to seeing it. Got good reviews in London.

[handiacefailure]

I'm planning on seeing it next month when I'm back in NYC. I think it would be great if Glenn won the tony for best actress in a musical seeing she won it the first time. I also want to see Hello Dolly with Bette. Another musical I want to see again that is coming to broadway in a couple weeks is War Powder with Christine Ebersole and Patti Lupone, I saw it prebroadway this summer in Chicago and it was one of the best musicals I've ever seen.

 

I saw Sunset over ten years ago when it was touring with Petula Clark. I wish I could have seen it in London before Patti Lupone had her fall out with Andrew Lloyd Weber. She was suppose to have had the role when it went to broadway and sued Weber and won when he gave the part to Close.

[Kevin Slater]

I saw Sunset over ten years ago when it was touring with Petula Clark. I wish I could have seen it in London before Patti Lupone had her fall out with Andrew Lloyd Weber.

 

I saw it in London with Petula Clark. I guess you can say I saw it... downtown.

 

Kevin Slater

[+ Robster]

I had the pleasure of seeing Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard at the Shubert Theatre in L.A., New Year's Day 1994. A truly amazing experience!!

 

My ex and I both had the flu, but we weren't going to let anything stop us from seeing that show. We probably got everyone in our row sick.

 

Rob

[Zman]

I never got to see the Glenn Close production. The cast recording is often in my playlist however. I love it.

 

I'm jealous enjoy the show!

[Tommygunzz]

I'm headed to NYC Feb 10-12 and already have a single ticket for Friday (2nd row) and a pair for Saturday night (Orchestra, row T). Hoping I'll be with a particular young man on Saturday night (found on Seeking Arrangements), and will most likely be looking to sell my single on Friday. PM me if interested.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

I saw it with Buckley and she just killed it. For me, it is the definitive performance by an actor in this role.

 

I have no want to see Close in this. They lower the keys for her, taking what should be a thrilling song and turning it into a 'meh'

[actor61]

I saw it in London with Petula Clark. I guess you can say I saw it... downtown.

 

Kevin Slater

I saw Clark do it too. She was dreadful. I also saw her in "Blood Brothers". She was good in that but the show itself was dreadful. I love that word. Dreadful.

[body2body]

When I saw Glenn Close in LA at the Shubert you could hear the speakers in the Theater hiss as the sound tech cranked up the volume and make the most of her limited vocal abilities. The highlight of that performance was sitting directly in front of Meryl Streep and Carrie Fisher who attended the same Matinee.

I really loved the score and always wished I had seen Betty Buckley, or Lupone, or Elaine Paige. Close is a fine actress, but not so fine a singer IMHO.

[actor61]

When I saw Glenn Close in LA at the Shubert you could hear the speakers in the Theater hiss as the sound tech cranked up the volume and make the most of her limited vocal abilities. The highlight of that performance was sitting directly in front of Meryl Streep and Carrie Fisher who attended the same Matinee.

I really loved the score and always wished I had seen Betty Buckley, or Lupone, or Elaine Paige. Close is a fine actress, but not so fine a singer IMHO.

As Mr. Trump said about Ms. Streep, I will say about Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard: overrated. Betty Buckley was very fine in both the singing and the acting. Close was fine in the acting - the singing was off key and they had so much reverb on her that I thought there was something wrong with my hearing.

[+ Robster]

Maybe there's something wrong with my hearing, because when I saw her at the Shubert, I thought her singing was superb.

 

Rob

[actor61]

Wasn't Faye Dunaway originally supposed to play Norma in L.A.? Or was she slated to replace Glenn Close when Close went to Broadway? I remember reading that Dunaway was fired during rehearsals. Does anybody have the details?

 

I saw Diahann Carrol play Norma in Canada. She was excellent. And I saw a production of it in Long Beach with a woman who had played Evita in one of the touring companies. She was very good too. But the show itself is a dud. It's a vehicle and lives or dies based on the Norma, kind of like Mame or Dolly, although if the women playing Mame or Dolly are funny, the show's got a chance.

[handiacefailure]

Wasn't Faye Dunaway originally supposed to play Norma in L.A.? Or was she slated to replace Glenn Close when Close went to Broadway? I remember reading that Dunaway was fired during rehearsals. Does anybody have the details?

 

I saw Diahann Carrol play Norma in Canada. She was excellent. And I saw a production of it in Long Beach with a woman who had played Evita in one of the touring companies. She was very good too. But the show itself is a dud. It's a vehicle and lives or dies based on the Norma, kind of like Mame or Dolly, although if the women playing Mame or Dolly are funny, the show's got a chance.

 

Patti Lupone was to have played the role on Broadway. She sued Weber over it and won $1 Million (a lot of money at the time) and named her pool the Andrew Lloyd Weber pool:)

 

Faye Dunaway was suppose to have played the part in LA but Weber fired her as well.

 

http://nypost.com/2016/04/05/this-andrew-lloyd-webber-musical-is-finally-getting-some-love/

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Wasn't Faye Dunaway originally supposed to play Norma in L.A.? Or was she slated to replace Glenn Close when Close went to Broadway? I remember reading that Dunaway was fired during rehearsals. Does anybody have the details?

 

I saw Diahann Carrol play Norma in Canada. She was excellent. And I saw a production of it in Long Beach with a woman who had played Evita in one of the touring companies. She was very good too. But the show itself is a dud. It's a vehicle and lives or dies based on the Norma, kind of like Mame or Dolly, although if the women playing Mame or Dolly are funny, the show's got a chance.

 

Yes. Dunaway was considered for LA, but ALW ultimately threw her under the bus.

 

He did the same thing with Meryl Streep, another name thrown out to open the original London cast. Webber put LuPone through hell in the papers with all of this talk. She was told the role was hers to originate, especially since she had premiered Norma at Sydmonton.

 

I guess she got the last laugh on that one

[handiacefailure]

Yes. Dunaway was considered for LA, but ALW ultimately threw her under the bus.

 

He did the same thing with Meryl Streep, another name thrown out to open the original London cast. Webber put LuPone through hell in the papers with all of this talk. She was told the role was hers to originate, especially since she had premiered Norma at Sydmonton.

 

I guess she got the last laugh on that one

 

Sounds like he pissed off a lot of diva's with Sunset Blvd. I've heard the London cast recording with Patti and have heard her perform songs live from Sunset and she was perfect for the role. Not sure why he threw her under the bus seeing she won a Tony for Evita and made him a lot of money off that show

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Sounds like he pissed off a lot of diva's with Sunset Blvd. I've heard the London cast recording with Patti and have heard her perform songs live from Sunset and she was perfect for the role. Not sure why he threw her under the bus seeing she won a Tony for Evita and made him a lot of money off that show

 

Really Useful (ALW's theater group) did what they do best: They stirred the PR pot in order to get people interested. What's better than pitting two divas against each other in the gossip rags? London ate it up and Really Useful kept fanning the flames. It cost them a lot of money when they did it to Patti again for the Broadway production.

[N13]

Saw it with Buckley first. She was perfect!!! Later saw it again when Elaine Page was a Broadway replacement. Voice was great but she was too little for the costumes which they did not alter for her. Looked like a little girl playing in her mother's clothes. Disappointing. Incidentally, with the exception of two song, in my opinion it is a bad show.

[actor61]

Saw it with Buckley first. She was perfect!!! Later saw it again when Elaine Page was a Broadway replacement. Voice was great but she was too little for the costumes which they did not alter for her. Looked like a little girl playing in her mother's clothes. Disappointing. Incidentally, with the exception of two song, in my opinion it is a bad show.

I agree with you 100% - it IS a bad show. So is Phantom of the Opera, and it has been running for 30 years. Cats is deplorable and I say that having been in one of the major companies of the show in the 1980s, but again, it ran for over 10 years in New York and even longer in London. Go figure.

[N13]

Cats is deplorable and I say that having been in one of the major companies of the show in the 1980s, but again, it ran for over 10 years in New York and even longer in London. Go figure.

 

First saw "Cats" in London very early in its run. It was a totally different show then the blown-up mega over-produced version that hit Broadway. The show was intimate and very effective. Glad I saw that version!

[+ sync]

Saw it starring Betty Buckley. What a voice, while reclining on a sofa she rang the rafters.

[foxy]

I haven't seen the film in quite a while and found it on Netflix. So I'll watch it again before I see the musical on Sunday. Seems to be quite a divide here as to the lead actresses and the show itself. Now I'm looking forward to it even more.

[N13]

You might want to wait to see the movie until after you have seen the musical. The film is a classic for a very good reason and the disappointment level may be very high for the show if you see the movie first.

[hornytwells]

Patti Lupone can be amazing, especially as a belter, but she is low on vulnerability which makes Norma Desmond more sympathetic. I find the musical hard to take as the movie is probably my favourite movie of all time

[body2body]

The film is one of my all time favorites. I'm a fourth generation Angelino, and the film's glimpses of L.A. in the late 40s are of special interest to me. The many parodies of the film often depict Norma Desmond as an old crone. Gloria Swanson was only 49 when the film was made. Silent Film stars often made huge salaries. When Colleen Moore, one of the top box office stars of time, decided to retire with the arrival of " talkies" an interviewer asked why she wasn't inclined to continue. She replied frankly " I'm too rich to care". She was making $25,000 a week at the height of her career in 1926. She went on to be a very successful investor, and wrote several books encouraging women to become investors.

[foxy]

This afternoon I saw the show. First off I have to admit to not being a big ALW fan and I'm not too crazy about sung dialogue. This show switched back and forth. The great thing is the 40 piece orchestra on stage. So the score has a full rich sound. The set is two sweeping staircases that go on either side of the orchestra. The rest of the set is basically done with a few props. The cars are handled by two guys running around with headlights. Sort of silly but I don't have a better idea. There's also some B&W film projected onto the stage and curtain at times. That was all fine. So it's almost more of a concert staging.

 

I thought Michael Xavier was fine as Joe Gilles. He's on stage most of the time. He has a good voice and at the beginning of the second act every climbs onto the stage as if emerging from the swimming pool. He's wet and wearing a small pair of trunks. He turns to the stage and spreads his arms as if to say "what do you think" we all thought "fine" and applauded.

Then Max brings out a small robe for him to put on, Joe turns his back to the audience and pulls off his trunks.

I'm sure I wasn't the only one who wondered if we'd see any more. We didn't.

 

Now we get to Glenn which is primarily why we're here. She looks great and she has many costume changes. How she gets up and down those staircases in those heavy beaded costumes is beyond me. Glenn is 69 years old. She's no spring chicken and curious that she's playing an over the hill actress who is 20 years her junior. You have to give it to Glenn, she has guts. I read that she's hoping to do a filmed version of the show and ALW has written more songs. So who knows if that will happen? This stage production might kick the project along. Or not.

 

So can she sing? Early on her voice sounded thin, weak and off key. I thought this does not bode well. In retrospect I wonder if that was on purpose because as the show roles along her voice gets stronger and more on key.

In the second act when she is on the Paramont set comes her big number. "As If We Never Said Goodbye". Well I'm happy to say she knocked it out of the park. It was what I think the whole audience was hoping for and one of those moments when you were glad to be in the house. Glenn received a well deserved standing ovation that stopped the show. The entire onstage cast applauded along with the audience. It seemed real and not staged but maybe it happens every night. Still it was a nice.

 

This evening I found on YouTube filmed performances of Glenn, Patti Lupone, Betty Buckley and Elaine Paige all performing the same song so if anyone is interested you can make your own comparisons. Also there's a version by Shirley Bassey. I found her voice a little too swoopy for my taste but still fun to listen to.

I haven't looked to see if any of the paid critics have reviewed the show. I'll be interested in what they have to say. But I'd recommend the show to anyone, like me, whose never seen it. If you have and loved another version you're probably best off to stick with your memories.