An intersection of film and theatre, Sunset Boulevard’s 2025 Broadway revival is the most intelligent, thoughtful, and frightening musical I’ve ever seen. Second only to Sweeney Todd in scare factor, this musical takes psychological horror to the next level in its exploration of expired fame and Hollywood’s obsession with youth. I was skeptical of the revival’s choice to use simple black-and-white sets and costumes. It came across, at first, as if the show was embarrassingly smug with its own “deepness”, and the juvenile slo-mo running didn’t help. However, the first glimpse of the main character, Norma Desmond (played by the insanely talented Nicole Scherzinger) shatters the illusion that this show is meant to be gaudy and colorful. Her backstory gives meaning to the black-and-white appearance of the show- she, like the rest of the characters, lives in Hollywood, a dull world that prizes conformity but wants each star to be unique. While I didn’t really enjoy the lack of color, I appreciated the thought behind it.
Along with the costumes, this show was unlike any other in its use of a huge projector screen that showed live footage from onstage. A cameraman, visible to the theatre audience but not on the big screen, followed certain scenes from up close and this added to the idea that the characters were “performing” in some moments and being genuine in others. The camerawork was very well done, although I was very confused about where to look at times. This aspect of the show brought it to a whole new level.
Concerning the musical’s shortcomings, I thought its biggest flaw was the plot. Of course, the revival had nothing to do with this as the plot had been decided when the musical was written. But I thought that the way the entire musical relied on constant miscommunication and coincidence. This cheapened the very important message of how fame and ageing are seen in Hollywood. It felt frustrating and repetitive when most conflicts would be solved by communication between the characters. However, I liked Norma Desmond’s intense but not sudden descent into obsession because I thought it was very interesting to watch and made sense for her character. The music was well-matched to the story. Although there were some overdone pauses, each performer captured my attention even when they weren’t speaking or singing.
This revival had its ups and downs, but I can wholeheartedly recommend this show to people who enjoy psychological explorations on-stage, Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, or Nicole Scherzinger’s unbelievable voice bringing Norma Desmond to life.
