“All right, Mr DeMille. I’m ready for my close-up.”
Norma Desmond
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard” the musical is hard to forget. In fact, it’s impossible to wash the characters and the score away once you’ve seen it. It premiered on July 12, 1993, at the Adelphi Theatre in London and has since toured the world, more often than not with a star performer in the role of the screen legend Norma Desmond. Glenn Close, Elaine Paige, Patti LuPone, Australia’s Debra Byrne, and Maria Mercedes, are just a few names that have stepped into Norma’s sequin gowns. Alongside the role of Mama Rose in Stephen Sondheim’s Gypsy, Norma Desmond is considered one of the most complex and challenging roles written for a stage musical.
“I’m Big. It’s the pictures that got small!“
Sunset Boulevard the musical is based on the 1950 Hollywood film of the same name. The story is centred around a faded star of the silent screen residing in a decaying mansion, clinging to her glory days. The plot thickens when an opportunistic screenwriter, Joe Gillis, stumbles upon her and her servant, Max, burying a pet monkey. Norma needs a writer for her self-penned script of Salome and hires Joe to help plot her big-screen return. Their volatile working relationship leads to an awkward romance, and madness and tragedy follow.
Opera Australia has cast English star Sarah Brightman as Norma Desmond. Brightman is returning to the musical theatre stage after a thirty-year break. She played Christine in the original production of The Phantom of the Opera in London and is one of the world’s best-selling sopranos. Brightman’s portrayal of Norma in this reimagined production of Sunset Boulevard is delicate and fragile, not fierce like other interpretations of the role. She doesn’t storm the stage, chewing up the scenery and belting out numbers, but instead floats like a lost soul looking for a place to rest her weary head. When the studio spotlight finds her in the second act waiting at Paramount studio for Mr. DeMille, Brightman’s portrayal of the unhinged Norma Desmond wholeheartedly wins over our hearts. Her rendition of “As If We Never Said Goodbye” suddenly is as poignant as “Un bel di vedremo” from Puccini’s famous opera, Madame Butterfly. Brightman, with her light operatic voice, skill, and grace, makes the character of Norma Desmond her own and finds new ways for her to dream.
“Audiences don’t know somebody sits down and writes a picture; they think the actors make it up as they go along.”
In the role of down-and-out screenwriter Joe Gillis (played by Hugh Jackman in the original Australian production), Opera Australia has cast Tim Draxl, fresh from a Logie win for outstanding actor. Tim plays Joe with gusto and vigour, not unlike a young Errol Fynn. He brings a light touch to the role; his ‘Joe Gillis’ is the kind of guy you might hang out with at the pub and play a game of darts. Joe, of course, would lose miserably and could never afford to shout a drink. Tim commands the stage with his chiselled features, and his singing, particularly the title song “Sunset Boulevard,” is nothing short of sensational. Together, he and Sarah make unlikely lovebirds, which is exactly what’s needed for this dark tale about Hollywood to weave its magic spell.
Supporting Brightman and Draxl on stage in Sunset Boulevard, reprising the role of Max Von Mayerling, Norma’s servant, is Robert Grubb, and in the role of sweet Betty Schaefer (the girl who takes a shine to Joe) is Ashleigh Rubenach. Being critical, in the preview performance, the first act suffered a little from pacing and sound issues. I was disappointed with the minimalist set design for Swabbs Drugstore and the lack of a set completely for the New Year’s Eve party. Perhaps Opera Australia ran out of money or told set designer Morgan Large they’d spent too much on Norma’s enormous mansion. However, the choreography by Ashley Wallen, particularly in the opening sequence, “Let’s Have Lunch,” was quirky and intriguing. Also worth mentioning is Joe and Betty’s duet under the Hollywood sign, “Too Much in Love to Care.” It was beautifully executed by Draxl and Rubenach and helped to remind jaded audience members, like me, of the power of love. The song appears in the score at just the right time, before the storm hits Norma’s Hollywood mansion, and gives the audience a chance to breathe before Norma dramatically sweeps down the staircase for her final close-up. This is a thrilling production, and its themes of ageism and the search for eternal youth still resonate today—think of Instagram influencers. It features stunning sets and costumes evoking the Golden Age of Hollywood. It’s extremely well-directed by Paul Warwick Griffin, with hit musical theatre songs like ‘With One Look’, ‘The Perfect Year’, ‘Sunset Boulevard’, and the showstopper, ‘As If We Never Said Goodbye’.
Sunset Boulevard is a musical noir masterpiece, and this Opera Australia production presents global superstar Sarah Brightman on the Melbourne stage, with a knockout performance by Australia’s own Tim Draxl. The storyline acknowledges that life (in the spotlight) can be tough; people quickly forget, and the search for love can lead to one’s downfall, particularly in Hollywood. Be prepared to give it a standing ovation, as the audience I saw it with did, and shed a tear as you leave the theatre. You won’t see a better stage production in 2024.
PS. Silvie Paladino in the role of Norma Desmond at certain performances.
SUNSET BOULEVARD has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and the book and lyrics are by Don Black and Christopher Hampton, based on the Billy Wilder film. This brand-new production is directed by Paul Warwick Griffin with set and costume design by Morgan Large. The choreography is by Ashley Wallen with musical supervision by Kristen Blodgette.
Booking: www.sunsetmusical.com.au
More Info: https://linktr.ee/noelanderson
Harlequin ink 
My Casting Idea For a film adaptation of Sunset Boulevard (musical), Glenn Close as Norma Desmond, Timothée Chalamet as Joe Gillis, Martin Short as Max von Mayerling, Katherine Langford as Betty Schaefer, Jonathan Bailey as Artie Green, Jon Favreau as Cecil B. DeMille,
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