Photo by Joan Marcus
"I don't know why I'm frightened... I know my way around here..." Well, Glenn Close certainly knows her way around this role like the back of her hand, and if she had any fears about reprising her most acclaimed stage performance as Norma Desmond on the Great White Way, it certainly doesn't show. This revival of Sunset Boulevard has arguably become the theatrical event of the season and is now our #ShowOfTheWeek!
When it was announced that Ms. Close would be making her West End debut and reprising her role as Norma Desmond at the London Coliseum over twenty years after her Tony-winning performance on Broadway, a huge ripple of anticipation swept through the theatre community. According to the critics and London theatregoers, the production lived up to its hype and the prayers of musical theatre aficionados were answered when the Broadway transfer was finally confirmed.
Having seen this production on both sides of the Atlantic now, it is striking to me how the two audiences (normally displaying quite different demeanours) have merged into one overly excited fan club. The reactions to certain iconic lines are rapturous ("I am big. It's the pictures that got small," anyone?) and the standing ovations are dished out in equal measure. It is genuinely moving to see the theatre being able to re-create the same atmosphere of euphoria that existed during the infamous British Invasion of the 1980s and 1990s. However, this production doesn't rely on grandiose sets, instead we are treated to one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's most lavish scores by an onstage 40-piece orchestra. Never have these musical theatre standards sounded so rich, filling the massive Palace Theatre with the foreboding melodies of the show's titular song or the melodramatic and longing tones of "With One Look." Of course, Close's rendition of "As if We Never Said Goodbye," finally, if just for a moment, back under the spotlight at a Paramount Pictures studio, brings the house down. She unashamedly soaks up her standing ovation after the number and patrons are left with a theatrical moment to cherish for the rest of their days.
The minimal set is dominated by a structure of black staircases, with the occasional extravagant piece (such as a string of chandeliers roped together like a ladder or an actual size car that drives across the stage) and black and white cinematic projections. The supporting cast includes Close's London co-stars Michael Xavier (as Joe Gillis), Siobhan Dillon (as Betty Schaefer) and Fred Johanson, who effortlessly nails Max von Mayerling's dark and mysteriously ominous manner.
Full disclosure: Sunset Boulevard is my favourite of all Lloyd Webber musicals. To have been given the opportunity to experience its original Broadway star and her "magic in the making" after so many years - and with an extended orchestra to boot - has truly been a dream come true for a theatre fan like myself. This limited engagement is not to be missed and should be a part of your perfect year! Is Glenn "The Greatest Star of All?" She certainly comes Close.
Click here for tickets to Sunset Boulevard for performances through to June 25, 2017 at Broadway's Palace Theatre.
Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard More Production PhotosOriginally published on