This bare-bones Broadway reinvention strips away the spectacle, a minimalist set, all black costumes, and virtually no props.
The result is a masterful, raw, and emotional take on the classic tale, with Nicole Scherzinger, who is more than ready for her close-up. She first stepped into the role of Norma Desmond on London's West End.
Now, she's laying it all out on the stage of the St. James Theatre, showing off her powerhouse pipes. She is also the frontrunner for best actress at the Tony Awards.
"She's so raw. I think Norma has finally found a voice. It's not from somebody else's perspective of being crazy and deranged in a caricature of herself, but to be like, hey, I hate loneliness and abandonment, and I want to be seen, and I want to be accepted, and I want to be validated, and change is hard, and it's just all human aspects of life and things that we go through," Scherzinger said.
She said the script spoke to her personally.
"I feel my life is very parallel. You know? I've been in the industry for a very long time, and it's hard to be dismissed or discarded or overlooked or put in a box," Scherzinger said. "But what I do also relate to and love about Norma is that she's a warrior. She's a fighter. I will never surrender. I will never give up. And, I just love that about her."
But the best part about her Broadway ride...
"I finally get to share with the world who I really am," she said. "Forty-six years later. But, hopefully, I can inspire everyone else out there that it's never too late because we all have that in us, and we all need to be challenged and pushed, and we all need to be brave and then braver and be courageous, and then we make a difference."
Nicole Scherzinger and Tom Francis star in Broadway's 'Sunset Blvd'
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