Video: Nicole Scherzinger Reflects on Overcoming Typecasting with SUNSET BLVD Role

With the continued success of Sunset Boulevard and now her first Tony nomination, Nicole Scherzinger visited CBS Morning to discuss the production and her gratitude in the midst of a deeply emotional and vulnerable role. 

"This is over 30 years in the making for me of just working and grinding and preparing for this moment," the Tony-nominated performer shared. She noted that, despite her success with the girl group The Pussycat Dolls, it sometimes had difficult side effects. "People pigeonhole you. They put you inside a box, and so, for a long time, I wasn't able to audition for musicals, films that I dreamed of."

"I got a bit fed up and I created, six years ago, my own show where I invited people from the industry. I brought it to Broadway, New York City, London, and L.A. I was like, 'I just need to educate people on my first love and passion, which is communicating and connection through song and music."

The stripped-down nature of the production amplifies that connection with the audience, Scherzinger says. "I've grown so much because you're completely vulnerable out there. You have no sets. You have no costumes. You have nothing to hide behind." Watch the full interview now.

Based on Billy Wilder's classic Academy Award-winning film, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard features a book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton. Before it premiered on Broadway, the show was first performed in London's West End at the Adelphi Theatre in 1993 starring Patti LuPone, where it ran for almost four years and played to nearly two million people. The American premiere was at the Shubert Theatre in Century City, Los Angeles in December 1993 with Glenn Close as Norma. The musical was an instant success and played 369 performances before moving to Broadway in 1994 with, what was then, the biggest advance in Broadway history, at $37.5 million.

Jamie Lloyd's reimagination of Sunset Boulevard is currently playing at the St. James Theatre. The production has received seven Tony Award nominations, making it the most nominated revival of the season.

Haunted by her memories and dreams, movie star Norma Desmond yearns to return to the big screen. A struggling screenwriter who can't sell his scripts to the Hollywood studios may be her only hope, until their dangerous and captivating relationship leads to disaster. Drenched in champagne and cynicism, Sunset Blvd. focuses the lens on the ambitions and frustrations of its characters and puts their intoxicating need for fame and adoration in stark close-up.

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