Sunset Boulevard NYC Reviews and Tickets

"Close delivers a more subtle, nuanced performance well suited to a production dramatically scaled down from the original...The lush orchestrations do ample justice to the beauty of Lloyd Webber’s score...The book by Christopher Hampton and Don Black is largely faithful to the film, although its lack of nuance sometimes gives the musical an excessively campy feel that thankfully is now lessened...Ultimately, it’s Close’s return that is this revival’s reason for being."
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"Trimmed, scaled down and economically revitalized by director Lonny Price, the old opulence stripped of its glamour...It is clear from her first entrance down that treacherous staircase looking like a drag queen who owns the stage...The magic Close conjures of the brevity of fame is as rare on the proscenium stage today as that 40-piece orchestra. Her experience, knowledge and craft prove that 'Sunset Boulevard' is an old warhorse that can still finish the race in first place."
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"A performance that’s gutsier and more gripping than ever. Her mesmerizingly spooky, clinging Norma, dissolving bit by bit into a dementia of faded silver-screen glory, blots out everything else in this eternally second-tier musical—except for the gorgeous crescendos of the 40-member orchestra...One wishes there was a more compelling rationale to dissect other aspects of the show, but 'Sunset' doesn’t reveal many new colors in this revival."
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"You could argue that 'Sunset' is a commentary on women in Hollywood — but Hampton and Lloyd Webber never really followed Wilder there. And Price is not about to take that on here either, any more than he is about to cast anybody who might pull too much focus from the star...What makes this performance work is Close's palpable vulnerability...It's a very tart and terrifying performance at the core of one of the more lush, sentimental and absurd musicals of the 20th century."
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"Close acknowledges the decades of high camp baked into Desmond’s glittery delusions. But even as she plays them for laughs, she digs for the pathos too. Whether mourning her dead pet chimpanzee, begging her recalcitrant lover not to leave, or drawing out the money notes from Lloyd Weber’s lavish score, she takes care to keep her hands cupped around the tender flame of humanity that still flickers somewhere beneath all the brittle melodrama."
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"The revival makes a strong case for Lloyd Webber’s music (an uneven but bold mix of sweeping romantic melodies, jazz and underscoring) and Don Black and Christopher Hampton’s book, if not their prosaic lyrics...Despite some obvious vocal difficulties, Close once again gives a fully invested, psychologically revealing performance...Michael Xavier has a strapping presence and a pleasing rock tenor voice, but he gives a shallow performance that downplays Gillis’ self-loathing."
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"It’s been a while since Broadway has had a bona fide, pull-out-the-stops star performance, but Glenn Close’s return as Norma Desmond is all that and more…It’s a leaner production, musically enhanced and guaranteed to make you surrender! The voice is huskier now, but every bit as powerful…The minimalist staging allows for a sharper focus…Her co-stars are equally winning…Close is delivering one of those ‘must-see’ performances that come around every decade or so."
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"Close delivers as if no time has gone by at all. Joined by a 40-piece orchestra, we're privileged to witness theater history in the making...Price's discombobulating staging, which often features his actors running up and down the Escher stairs to nowhere, doesn't really achieve a feeling of intimacy...All bets are off when Close hits the stage...It's not cliché to say that we can hear a pin drop during each number as she commands the spotlight in triumph."
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