With one look, Nicole Scherzinger had followers ready on the Sunset Boulevard stage door in a frenzy on Saturday, Sept. 28.
The Grammy nominated singer stepped out of the St. James Theatre in New York Metropolis wearing her closing look from director Jamie Lloyd’s acclaimed revival of the beloved Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, which options her barefoot and drenched in faux blood.
It is an ensemble that made headlines when Scherzinger started performances in Sundown Boulevard throughout its run in London’s West Finish final 12 months, however Saturday was the primary time the actress greeted followers on the stage door like that.
Maybe that is as a result of Saturday was a particular evening. The night marked the primary efficiency of Sundown Boulevard‘s U.S. run, and Scherzinger’s Broadway debut.
The musical is at the moment in previews. It formally opens on Oct. 20.
Andy Henderson
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Scherzinger performs light silent film star Norma Desmond in Sundown Boulevard. The present, tailored for the stage by e book writers and lyricists Don Black and Christopher Hampton, follows Desmond as she hires younger screenwriter Joe Gillis (actor Tom Francis) to assist her stage a comeback to the silver display after Hollywood deems her too previous for the trade.
Audiences first met the character in Billy Wilder’s Oscar-winning 1950 movie, the place she was performed by Gloria Swanson. Through the years, stars like Patti LuPone, Glenn Shut, Diahann Carroll, Betty Buckley, Elaine Paige, Petula Clark and Rita Moreno have introduced Desmond to life onstage.
However for Scherzinger, Desmond’s story is private.
The previous Eden’s Crush member and Pussycat Dolls frontwoman has fought to search out her footing as a solo artist domestically. Regardless of success as a decide on exhibits like The X Issue, America’s Acquired Expertise and The Masked Singer — in addition to on-screen roles in Cats and Annie Dwell! — there’s lengthy been a sense that her powerhouse vocal expertise has gone unappreciated by the trade.
“I am [46] years previous,” she instructed Lloyd in a video collection produced by the present that PEOPLE debuted final month. “I’ve by no means been extra robust — bodily, mentally, emotionally. I’m in my prime. There isn’t a higher time for me to create work that’s significant on this world.”
“That’s the tragedy: is that you simply’re in one of the best place in your life. You’re so totally, have a lot to present, and other people have discarded you, and dismissed you and stated ‘Your time’s up,’ ” she stated.
Andy Henderson
Final September, Scherzinger instructed PEOPLE that she did not dream of enjoying Desmond earlier than talking with Lloyd concerning the position.
“I used to be like, ‘Are you loopy? Are you mad?’ I didn’t get it, as a result of I solely ever had Glenn Shut in my thoughts — and Gloria Swanson within the previous movie,” she defined. “He was like, ‘Don’t watch the film, don’t hearken to anyone else, simply learn the strains and hearken to the music.’ And after I did, I simply fell in love with Norma. I didn’t notice that that is the position that I’ve been ready to play all my life. We’re doing a totally totally different, new interpretation.”
“There are such a lot of parallels between Sundown Boulevard and what it’s a must to do to make it in Hollywood,” added Scherzinger. “Even whenever you’re totally loaded with a lot expertise, you can nonetheless be missed due to stereotypes and ageism. It’s a tragedy. ” have a lot ammunition for this — a lot gasoline.”
Tickets for Sunset Boulevard are actually on sale.
