10086 SUNSET BOULEVARD

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 1/25/13 at 7:00pm

I have heard many people including some on here say that Sunset Boulevard only won its Tony because there was no competition from other musicals that year, which to a point is true.

I have recently watched a recording of Sunset Boulevard the Minskoff and it may of fluked its Tony win, not Sunset fault, nothing opened to compete with it. But let me 100% clear on something, most years Glenn Close would wipe the floor with her fellow competitors, the performance she gave was nothing short of tour de force and one of the best I have seen. she gave the role the vulnerability it required. I have seen Patti Lupone, Betty Buckley and Katherine Evans perform as Miss Desmond, but I can honestly say, I truly rue not being there to see Ms Close give her mesmerizing astounding performance.

A truly Broadway defining performance.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 1/25/13 at 7:45pm

When I saw her in LA, she certainly commanded the stage, but the entire performance was done with tongue placed firmly in cheek.

It was Cruella de Ville "lite".

I'm not one of the LuPonistas, but LuPone's performance (which I only know from the recording) strikes me as much more heartfelt--even to the point of exposing the banalities in the libretto. Close made the material look slightly better by going for laughs where the text is thin (i.e., often).

Again, this was fairly early in LA. Close may have grown in the role by the time Phantom saw her. She has the skill.

Updated On: 1/25/13 at 07:45 PM

[chewy5000]

Posted: 1/25/13 at 7:51pm

I get that feeling from the recordings too. Patti actually sounds like a human being, which makes her descent into madness all the more apparent. Glenn sounds mad from the very beginning.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 1/25/13 at 8:03pm

When I saw it, Close was doing sight gags like forming claws with her hands and fingernails when she first embraced Joe. Yeah, it got a laugh, but at what cost!

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 1/25/13 at 9:09pm

There is a recent Glenn Close Sunset thread-add to that discussion.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 1/25/13 at 9:21pm

^^^^Fine. But I want to first say to Phantom that Kaye Ballard--who knows a little something about singing and acting--told me that not only was Elaine Paige the best of the Norma's Kaye had seen, Paige's performance was one of the best performances of any kind that Kaye had seen in 70 years of theatergoing! Another friend--a pianist--saw the show several times in NY and thinks nobody can touch Betty Buckley.

So please don't take my post above to say "I'm right and you're wrong." For whatever reason, each woman who played the role left very different impressions, pro and con, on many people.

Updated On: 1/26/13 at 09:21 PM

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 1/25/13 at 9:31pm

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 1/26/13 at 11:45am

wiped my idiotic message away.

Updated On: 1/26/13 at 11:45 AM

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 11:45am

I'm with Kay. Elaine was certainly my favorite, the only Norma who had a little sense of humor about herself which made her descent into madness heartbreaking. Betty played it like Medea from the jump (as she did Mama Rose) and Glenn was a caricature. Karen Mason was also very good and human in the role.

[chernjam]

Posted: 1/28/13 at 1:24am

Saw Sunset Blvd 9 times
2 with Close
2 with Karen Mason
2 with Betty Buckley
2 with Elaine (including Closing night)
and 2 with Petula on tour.

Close indeed commanded the stage. I'm not an actor or completely familiar with all things theatre... so I can say I never understood the meaning of "making an entrance" till I saw her come down that stair case. It was an amazing spectacle

But Betty Buckley is probably my favorite all-around. Her voice was amazing. As great as Close was, she worked hard to navigate the score with her thin voice. Buckley from the first notes of "Surrender" vocally blew it out of the house. And she brought a real vulnerability and humanness to the role.

Karen Mason's vocal performance was equally thrilling. Of all the Normas, her singing "As If We Never Said Goodbye" is the one engraved in my mind.

Elaine Paige - I personally felt was a disaster. Her cartonish approach to Norma Desmond made the whole thing seem ridiculous and I found her to be overrated as a singer.

Petula Clark was quite good and that touring production was effectively moving. Appreciated a different director's contributions and mixing the story up a bit.

As for LuPone --- being a Sunset fan, I followed the whole opening and everything from June of 1993 when Variety published a special edition to celebrate the World Premiere... I probably know more Sunset trivia than I even want to admit. In any event, her continued bitter and ugliness toward ALW has forever tainted her in my book. Bad deal or not, Evita was the role that launched her career and post-Sunset, she's found ways to denigrate that role just because ALW wrote it.

I'm sorry she was hurt and all... and I get it, but seriously, get over it. And another thing - the critics were right- watching her clomp around on stage and her nasaly voice were all wrong for the role. Although now at this age and with her outrageous DIVA behavior, she'd probably be near equaling Glen Close's legendary performance

[Leadingplayer]

Posted: 1/28/13 at 5:38am

Was Patti as critical of Evita prior to the Sunset firing?

[The8re phan]

Posted: 1/28/13 at 6:22am

Though I find this to be Webber's best work (and Buckley my favorite Norma), I think the most interesting thing about the musical is that it was the end of the big budget British mega-musical of the 80's and 90's. A fairly decent run, but a huge flop that lost millions.

Updated On: 1/28/13 at 06:22 AM

[bryan2]

Posted: 1/28/13 at 8:18am

1 with Close
1 with Karen Mason
4 with Betty Buckley =1 london 3 nyc
1 with Elaine (including Closing night

ALL were Great....I agree Glenn was crazy from the beginning and very funny whether intentional or not
I personally like Betty best because of the power in her voice..and her approach to gradually go nuts..
Elaine made the score sound so beautifully her voice was amazing..
Karen Mason...what can I say -should be a major star ...amazing vocals and great acting ...loved her thought she was actually the 2nd best I saw....love them all love the show

Updated On: 1/28/13 at 08:18 AM

[JRybka1611]

Posted: 1/28/13 at 10:01am

I actually thought Petula was amazing! She was my favorite.

[eyehrtfood]

Posted: 1/29/13 at 8:57am

For whatever reason - the grand set, the moody music, the Hollywood in 1950ish vibe, etc.. Sunset Boulevard has a strange appeal to me... Can't get enough, even though I know it pales next to Broadway's truly great shows.

I saw Paige, Petula, Diahann Carroll and Linda Balgord perform Norma, In London/Toronto/tour, and have enjoyed complete performances of Close, Buckley, Patti and standby Maureen Moore on video. However, since I saw it in London in 1995, I've said to pretty much anyone who'd listen that - to me - Paige (as Kaye Ballard apparently said) gave my favorite/ the best - peformance I've seen in 40 years of theatergoing. What a Norma!

It was surely a much different interpretation than the others... made all the better by Paige's short, can't-see-over-the-railing stature (the silent movies made short Norma 20 feet tall on the screen) and nasaly attempt at a Midwestern accent (could this be why Norma couldn't make it in the talkies?). Add in her golden voice - and the extra deliberate(?) "acting" that Norma appeared to be doing at times (like a switch turned on/off) - and it seared this performance in my memory.

Plus, unlike other Normas - who didn't seem all there from the first scene in the show, and descended even more into madness by the end of the show, I took it that Paige's Norma was totally acting her madness in the final scene. Truly the "greatest star of all."

[Whileshesleeps]

Posted: 1/29/13 at 10:30am

Have seen Sunset 6 times in London.
Patti - opening preview - kept audience spellbound and played the character as more complex and irrational. Not my favorite performance as personally I find her singing voice rather contrived (as she was in Les Mis)
Betty - completely over acted and vocally not as strong as Patti. The character became far more crazed. Felt it would have been interesting to see how Patti interpreted the role with the changes.
Elaine - twice in two different stints. Vocally stunning. Brought out the humor much more and excellent balance between the acting and singing. The character seemed far more vulnerable and sympathetic. You began to realize why Joe took pity on her.
Petula - Completely played for laughs and had the audience in stitches and milked the applause.Vocally the weakest I've seen (sorry her voice was not at its strongest) but left the audience feeling they had seen an icon perform.
Katherine Evans - left me unmoved until act 2 scenes- appeared to be a carbon copy of the Glen Close version I've seen on Youtube clips.There was no irony or humor in this performance.She was turned into a complete dragon, although completely demanded the audience's attention throughout. Played the character far less crazed and led me to think was it planned to make her appear far more manipulative and playing the actress right till the end?

[castlestreet]

Posted: 1/29/13 at 10:37am

I've said it a thousand times in conversations about the show with my Sunset friends, that I think Patti would have been much better IN the better version of the show. When Webber moved the show to LA it was with considerable changes made to almost the entire show. I remember reading somewhere that out of all the cues in the show, only 3 remained in tact from London to LA. Even in listening to the OLC recording vs. the American Premier the show has a totally different feel.

I know it never would have happened, and even finding out in years past that Patti was offered LA to replace Close and of course said no, I would have loved to have seen her in the better version of the show.

[Leadingplayer]

Posted: 1/29/13 at 11:38pm

How was Kevin Anderson in the original?

[eyehrtfood]

Posted: 1/29/13 at 11:52pm

I rather like Kevin Anderson's performance from everything I've seen on video - and he did have some name recognition during that time frame. (Just looked athis IMDB - and virtually nothing in 10 years... Ouch...)

And on repeated viewings, though I thought him perhaps a bit boring at first, Alan Campbell really has the tone just right for Joe. Watched John Barrowman's complete performance opposite Paige tonight and have never seen such overacting - pretty awful (though I love him in Torchwood...) Thought Cleale on 2nd tour was mediocre at best and Rex Smith was, well, Rex Smith... Do not remember Alexander Hanson's performance opposite Paige in the West End, unfortunately, especially now that he is much more known to me.

[metropolis10111]

Posted: 1/30/13 at 8:38am

I just got the chance to see a very good regional production over the weekend. It's the first time I've seen the show since it was on Broadway and I gotta admit that I loved it. Even without the grand staging the show is compelling. There are a few bits in the score I would want to fix and cut out some of the many references to "new ways to dream'. If you can cast to strong leads that command the stage I think 2/3 of the show is done. I'd love to see this come back soon. WIth Andrew you KNOW there is going to be a re-working somewhere in it's future.

[chernjam]

Posted: 1/30/13 at 10:21am

The8re phan = I know its considered a flop - but I remember remember when it closed it had recouped appx. 90 (maybe 95) percent of its investment - at least here in NY. And lest we forget, it Sunset Blvd still holds the record for the largest advance ticket sales of over $37.5 million dollars on Opening Night. Again, someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe anyone has matched or surpassed that (including lion king or wicked)

Leadingplayer - I'm not a LuPone follower - but I remember reading/seeing interviews leading up to the World Premiere where she talked very glowingly about Evita - how it changed her life, blah, blah, blah. Post Sunset anything ALW wrote she had a negative thing about. I understand her being hurt and pissed, but come on - take some of your settlement and get some therapy to get over it.

To me, I loved Sunset Blvd. My theory about the problem - yes it was over budget and some of the expenses were ridiculous (something like $200,000 for the replica of the car that's onstage for 30 seconds?) But the real issue/problem I thought was Trevor Nunn's direction or rather lack there of. Just seeing the touring production with another director (who's name escapes me) revealed what a difference that could make. For example, during "As If We Never Said Goodbye" the entire cast is standing their watching Norma sing like she's giving a speech. It would've made more sense that Norma would be revealing that to the Audience with the cast almost unaware of all that Norma was feeling/experiencing.

Just my rant... Sunset really is an all time favorite so I tend to have strong feelings about it :)