Nicole Scherzinger Gets 6-Minute Standing Ovation for Triumphant Performance at Opening of Broadway's Sunset Blvd.

If you’re lucky enough to get a ticket to see Nicole Scherzinger in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway revival Sunset Boulevardmaybe you should wear comfortable shoes.

The Grammy nominee gives a chilling, career-defining performance in a musical so commanding, so seductive and so majestic, that she receives multiple standing ovations mid-show — including one that lasted six minutes on Sunday, Oct. 20, when the show officially opened in the theater of St. James Theater in New York.

It’s an incredible moment to witness, and fans of the former Pussycat Doll singer think it’s long overdue. After years of failing in the music industry and failing to connect as a solo artist in the US, Scherzinger is finally getting the flowers she deserves as she makes her Broadway debut.

She even dwells on the word “home” in the line “I’m finally back home” from “Like We Never Said Goodbye,” as if to remind everyone that the stage is where she belongs.

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Nicole Scherzinger in ‘Sunset Blvd.’ on Broadway.

Marc Brenner

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But Scherzinger is sure to get a lot more than flowers for playing faded silent film star Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard – styled as Sunset Blvd. this time.

He is already the winner of the Olivier Award after showing the musical in London’s West End The X factor and Masked singer the judge should make room on her shelf for a Tony Award, and many consider her the favorite for the coveted award.

Not only is Scherzinger’s powerful voice in top form, but she’s given layers to the character that audiences have never seen before (and that’s not counting choreographer Fabian Aloise’s trendy new dance moves). Scherzinger’s Desmond is charismatic, funny, sensual, intelligent, dramatic, subservient and monstrous – all at the same time. She flirts her way into the hearts of everyone around her and will leave you rooting for her, even when her behavior turns ugly and outrageous.

Let’s just say, she would make a fantastic Real Housewife of Beverly Hills.

David Thaxton and Tom Francis in ‘Sunset Blvd.’ on Broadway.

Marc Brenner

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The series, adapted from Billy Wilder’s Oscar-winning 1950 film for the stage by book and lyricist Don Black and Christopher Hampton, follows Desmond as she enlists young screenwriter Joe Gillis (Tom Francis) to help her plan a return to the big screen after Hollywood deems her too old. for industry. Desmond, however, begins to feel threatened when he discovers Gillis’ relationship with young writer Betty Schaefer (the bright Grace Hodgett Young). And in her desperation, not even Desmond’s steadfast butler Max von Mayerling (theatre veteran David Thaxton, better than ever) can stop what she does next.

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The cast of ‘Sunset Blvd.’ on Broadway.

Marc Brenner

Those who have seen previous versions Sunset Boulevard they may think they’ve seen it before, but Lloyd’s bold vision makes this story completely fresh. While it may be set in 1940s Hollywood, he sees it told through the eyes of the 21st century, with a production so technically excellent it’s impossible to look away.

Set on a bare stage designed by Soutra Gilmour, surrounded by strings of lights, everything is completely black and white (which makes the red blood oozing from Desmond’s face all the more striking in the play’s finale). A tilted black screen anchors the central back wall, where live footage captured by steadicam cameras on stage is broadcast, showing the audience new viewing angles of each performance.

Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom are responsible for the inventive video design and cinematography.

It’s an incredibly effective technique that allows new statements to be made about the show’s themes, such as when the camera fades between close-ups of Scherzinger and Hannah Yun Chamberlain (who plays a young Norma) as Desmond reflects on his faded youth. There’s even an opening title and exit credits, fitting for a story about the appeal of cinema.

The cameras also give the show a meta element. The second act begins with a lens that follows Francis, spectacular in his own right, as he meanders through the backstage halls of the theater littered with today’s references to the Pussycat Dolls and a cardboard cut-out of Lloyd Webber. He then sings the musical’s title song as he walks down 44th Street, through Times Square’s famed Shubert Alley, and back to the stage.

Francis didn’t flinch once during the sequence, probably used to it since he did the same thing while playing the part in London. (He got a standing ovation, too, on Sunday night after the song ended – one of only four the show got). Yet that steadiness is characteristic of the cautious ride the actor gives Gillis, who narrates the play’s action after unzipping a body bag at center stage.

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Tom Francias and Nicole Scherzinger in ‘Sunset Blvd.’ on Broadway.

Marc Brenner

Sunset Blvd. also starring Olivia Lacie Andrews as ‘Nancy,’ Brandon Mel Borkowsky as ‘John,’ Shavey Brown as ‘DeMille/Stan/The Financier,’ Cydney Clark as ‘Joanna/Guard,’ Raúl Contreras as ‘The Financier/Frank,’ Tyler Davis as ‘Sheldrake’, EJ Hamilton as ‘Lisa’, Sydney Jones as ‘Dorothy’, Emma Lloyd as ‘Mary/Heather’, Pierre Marais as ‘Sammy’, Shayna McPherson as ‘Camera’, Jimin Moon as ‘Morino/Hog Eye’, Justice Moore as Jean, Drew Redington as Myron/Jones/cameraman and Diego Andres Rodriguez as Artie.

Desmond will be played by Mandy Gonzalez in some performances, while Caroline Bowman is on standby for that role.

Swings for the production are Giuseppe Bausilio (Dance Captain), Kristina Garvida Doucette (Assistant Dance Captain), Brandon LaVar, Maggie Likcani, Abby Matsusaka and Rixey Terry.

Ahead of the opening, Lloyd Webber sent his best wishes to the Broadway team. “Hello everyone in Sunset. You are the most wonderful cast, the most fantastic orchestra — everyone involved in the production was absolutely brilliant,” he said in a video on his Instagram Stories. “I wish you the best of luck at the opening.”

Tickets for Sunset Boulevard they are on sale now.

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Source: HIS Education