“Sunset Boulevard” is a gripping and passionate cautionary tale of Hollywood

1950’s Sunset Boulevard was a Paramount picture starring Gloria Swanson and William Holden. It tells the tale of Norma Desmond, a faded silent movie star with delusions of making a comeback, and Joe Gillis, an opportunistic writer who takes advantage of her fantasies. Written by Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and D..M. Marshman Jr., it was directed by Wilder. The film is considered a classic.

Sunset Boulevard was transformed in 1993 by book writers and lyricists Don Black and Christopher Hampton and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. The show, first appearing in London’s West End, starred Patti LuPone and Kevin Anderson as Norma and Joe. The show was also noted for its set, including a three-story representation of Norma’s Hollywood mansion which rose above and moved around the stage.

A reworked version of the show opened later that year in Los Angeles, with Glenn Close and Alan Campbell as Norma and Joe. It moved to Broadway in 1994, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical.

Now a new version of Sunset Boulevard has made it to Broadway’s St. James Theatre, riding the wave of acclaim garnered from its West End production last year. The cast is headlined by Olivier Award-winners Nicole Scherzinger as Norma with Tom Francis as Joe, repeating their London roles. And just as the 1993 stage version was compared and contrasted with the film, this 2024 edition is getting similar discussion vis-à-vis the 1994 production. I’m here to say that all the London acclaim was justified. 

Norma Desmond, a once-famous actress, has secluded herself in her mansion since the end of cinema’s silent era. Joe Gillis, a down on his luck screenwriter, hides out from repo men by driving onto her property. Norma chooses him to work on the script for her comeback movie — much to the displeasure of her butler, Max (David Thaxton), an ominous presence who is the only servant in the mansion.

Joe is torn between allowing Norma to make him her “kept man” and helping Betty Schaefer (Grace Hodgett Young), a novice writer, adapt one of his short stories for the movies. Joe’s attempts at living a double life — wooing a willing Betty, who is already engaged to his best friend, Artie (Diego Andres Rodriguez), while making love to the possessive and jealous Norma — become increasingly difficult to maintain.

Original London director Jamie Lloyd has conjured on stage a black-and-white film atmosphere, brought into existence by scenic designer Soutra Gilmour, (who has also designed the show’s costumes in the same palette), lighting designer Jack Knowles, and sound designer Adam Fisher. Gilmour and Knowles are also responsible for the effective use of heavy fog to symbolize Norma’s descent into delusion, especially in her big arias, “With One Look” and “As If We Never Said Goodbye”.

Steadicams project cinematic close-ups and motion effects, designed by Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom, in real time onto a large background stage screen. Choreographer Fabian Aloise moves Joe, Betty, and the ensemble in a series of sharply defined movements meant to convey the frantic desperation of those working at the bottom rung of the Hollywood power ladder. He also creates a seductive New Year’s Eve tango for Norma and Joe, and guides Hannah Yun Chamberlain in her sensual, ethereal on-stage movements as the young Norma.

Under Jamie Lloyd, this new interpretation of Sunset Boulevard is creepy and thrilling, electrifying in its stripped-down coolness. It doubles down on the grittiness of its film-noirish story, heightening the emotional depths of its characters and displaying flashes of black comedy. The story of the heartless grind of working in motion pictures stands the test of time, especially in this arresting interpretation. It is, I believe, the first great Broadway musical of the 2024-2025 theater season. I cannot more strongly urge you to see Sunset Boulevard!

Sunset Boulevard is playing at the St. James Theatre, 246 West 44th St., in New York. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to sunsetblvdbroadway.com. Be aware that, at certain performances, the role of Norma Desmond is played by Mandy Gonzalez.