I always “knew” I did not like Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s Sunset Boulevard. I saw the revival with Glenn Close and found it syrupy and muddled, without the black humor and poignancy of the Billy Wilder film.

Then I saw the Broadway revival starring Nicole Scherzinger and directed by Jamie Lloyd. Although the Lloyd production could be TOO artsy, all I remember was that Nicole Scherzinger made me “get” this score and musical like no one else could. Her acting was both ghoulish and sweet. With the use of video and projections, she took us into the world of Norma Desmond. And of course that voice!

 

Ivy Lin

Ivy Lin teaches science as her day job, and in her spare time reviews dance for Bachtrack. She also obsesses over her 20-year-old cat Pumpkin. Ivy is excited to be back in this wonderful, vibrant opera community after a long hiatus. If she were singing opera, she'd still be cast as Despina until she was in a wheelchair. You can follow Ivy on insta as poisonivy326. Although she's mellowed from her "poisonivy" days she still had a discussion recently with her editor about being "too harsh" in her reviews.

Comments