Sunset Boulevard – Savoy Theatre 2023/24

Out of 100?
Sorry, couldn't resist.

Agreed she sounds absolutely nuts! I love it.

I’ve just booked a second (it says you can have 2, they assume a pair - I’d rather go solo twice!)

ETA: rules are fuzzy enough that you could easily justify 2 tickets per performance!

I think it could work well if the opening lines are shared. Takes away Norma's big entrance later - "you there, why are you so late?". But...

...if this starts with her saying "I guess it was 5am" perhaps we're in Norma's cell or police interview the whole way through. Would like to hear her spit "Before it gets distorted, by those Hollywood piranhas". Perhaps she, Joe, and Max all think they've got "the real facts" and compete to to tell them. I like it.

If this isn't what they're doing then my previously threatened sock puppet version of this will be seen in Covent Garden piazza soon after.

I wonder if Patti will attend.

I've noticed that almost all successful new musicals recently (or new productions of old musicals) have a lot of interactivity with the audience. Either through direct address to the audience, immersive qualities, or other kinds of collusion (such as understanding a pop culture within the piece). Things behind a fourth wall are less attractive right now.

By this measure alone (and disregarding any other problems people had with it) 'Aspects Of Love' wasn't stylistically right for the moment.

Of ALW's works, that puts 'Sunset Boulevard', 'Evita', and 'Joseph' out front. 'Jesus Christ Superstar' a bit too - Judas doesn't talk direct to us, as in the other three, but is clearly our contact character, an everyman we can relate to.

Anything could misfire in this version of 'Sunset Boulevard' - but telling us a story direct, with us knowing it's happening right now, in the moment without artifice (aka artifice dressed up as casually punk), is a good start within current tastes.

Lloyd Webber always does that with artists recreating roles. He did it when Elaine Paige played Norma in 'Sunset' and said on her South Bank Show profile that, basically, she sang and interpreted 'As If We Never Said Goodbye' better than the three other ladies who'd played the role at that point. He's just opportunistic but, hey, he's a showman and it's all about selling tickets!

Whilst I’ve never been a huge fan of Jamie Lloyd’s work - I was pretty impressed by what he did with The Effect recently at the National. If he can build a sustain that sense of suspense and dramatic tension, he’ll have something the audience can hold on to. Nicole can certainly belt out a tune and I think we’re just going to have to go in with an open mind rather than compare it to what we’ve seen before. I’m now rather excited - my favourite Lloyd Webber musical reimagined for a new generation

My prediction is that people will go to this, having read the thread and known in advance it’s a JAMIE LLOYD production, and still be surprised/disappointed by the staging choices and “set”. Lloyd is good at what he does, but has never once surprised me with a production. They are all the same in feel. Everything I’ve seen and heard confirms once again, in advance, exactly what this show will be.

Some will love it because it’s stripped back, low-key and very stark. Others will hate it for exactly the same reasons.

Seems plainly obvious to me if you like Jamie Lloyd, go and see it. If you hate him, definitely avoid. If you’re indifferent, it comes down to the show’s appeal.

‘No costumes?’

‘All in your mind’

I was excited, now I’m terrified. Nicole doesn’t really sound like she’s exploring the character, so much that shes been told some things by her friend Jamie and shes just going to do that…in her one costume.