The celebrity is selling, that’s for sure! That’s how I ended up buying a ticket to the Sunset Boulevard musical in 2016. I saw Glenn Close on the poster, and I didn’t hesitate!
The story didn’t matter much, or the fact that I risked not understanding much. It was the fascination of seeing live, in London, an actress from Hollywood!
And I saw it. I thought she was fabulous!
SUNSET BOULEVARD WITH NICOLE SCHERZINGER
As I was wasting time on the internet in 2023, I received a newsletter from those who send me infos about London musicals. And what do I see?
“Sunset Boulevard” reappears in the West End, this time with Nicole Scherzinger! Another star, same temptation: to see her live, in the musical.
Especially since I really liked her in the concert after the coronation of Prince Charles, where she sang so well alongside the pianist Lang Lang that it gave me goosebumps!
I admit I wasn’t a big fan of the Pussycat Dolls, of which Ms. Scherzinger was a part. So I hadn’t really followed her career. I only caught bits and pieces here and there…
However, this time, I was curious to see her. Her – a 45-year-old woman playing the role I had seen Glenn Close, a 69-year-old, play!
I hadn’t stood in line like that in a long time, it seemed never-ending!!! I thought the show couldn’t start on time, as it usually does in London, because there were too many people outside. And indeed, it started 8 minutes late.
My big surprise was the fact that the two shows – the one with Glenn Close and this one with Nicole Scherzinger, 7 years apart, are different, which I hadn’t seen in the case of other musicals (except for some natural upgrades). While keeping the story and music, the approach in 2023 is unexpected! On a screen as big as the stage, sometimes performances of the artists filmed by their fellow actors are projected, with a Ronin – a trendy toy.
With a leading character who is no longer an older lady past her prime, but a hottie dressed in a negligee, skillfully moving her legs on the stage and living the delirious moments in front of the audience, or with her face in front of a camera lens.
Well, I won’t analyze the show, as I’m not an expert, I just want to tell you how crazy I was, seeing a certain moment in the musical.
CHASING THE STAR
Sunset Boulevard in London in 2023 and the beginning of 2024 is being performed at the Savoy, in a 130-year-old theater.
I read that it is the world’s first public building to be electrically lit! Cool, right?
Act 2 begins with the male lead character singing as he takes a long journey through the theater’s backstage – dressing rooms, hallways, behind the set, more dressing rooms, stairs, then he goes out on the street and keeps singing while circling the theater until he re-enters from where we, the spectators, entered, and then he opens the door of the auditorium and walks through the audience towards the stage. This moment is followed by us on the screen on stage. Like at cinema.
Everything takes a few good minutes, and I thought that the moment was recorded some time before the premiere and broadcasted on the screen where we all gaze. And then, the actor would appear like a flower in the theater and continue.
BUT… on his sequence outside, I see a girl, tourist, with a phone in her hand. She’s filming. I see people in jackets, I see the store I passed by earlier, I see the beggar I noticed near the building, and I realize that everything is live!!!
It’s 1 degree Celsius outside, but it feels like minus 1. Ah, clearly, the man isn’t singing – I tell myself. He couldn’t possibly do this whole route night after night, go up, go down, enter doors, go out into the freezing cold, and sing.
And you know what I did??? The next evening, I didn’t go to any musical, so I could come to the theater at the time of Act 2, to see the reality!
I arrive determined at 8:45 PM, not to miss the moment (I estimated around 9:10 PM). If it really is live. Let’s see how I catch them red-handed…
I identify the alley from which the artist exited onto the main street, I am close to the store I saw on the screen on stage, I glance at the corner of the theater and the entrance to the Savoy Hotel. Alright, I’ve identified them, now to stand guard!
Goodness, it’s so cold! My head freezes, then my hands freeze, because I don’t keep them in my pockets, what do you know… I pretend to be an innocent tourist, taking pictures in the area. Darn, there’s not much to photograph: there’s a café next to me, I’ve already taken pictures of the bright street decorations several times, as well as the red buses. I cross the street back and forth, looking for a spot to film the moment. If it really is live.
There are no clues on the street to make me believe that the outdoor moment is truly live. There’s no bodyguard. Nothing.
No, it can’t be live! Furthermore, it’s so cold that I think that guy, stripped down, coming from the theater after a long route, would catch a cold instantly! Which is out of the question, being the only person in his role.
Oops. Hold on, I see some kind of guard appearing, chatting with a bodyguard from the neighboring pub. Some private stuff…
I check the time. It’s 9:06 PM. By my calculations, the artist should appear in a few minutes, the moment should happen. If it really is live.
On the street, people pass by, some Japanese tourists stop to decide on directions, and a few cheerful Brits emerge from the pub.
Suddenly, a young man in a suit, with an earpiece, appears. Oh my, wait, it is live!!!
I start filming. Nothing much happens, except for the shivering of that young man who has been out in the cold for a few minutes. The guard from earlier complains to him. I stop filming.
Then, finally, I see the camera used in the musical, and I quickly start filming again, pretending at first to be filming the main street, so as not to attract attention.
And behold, the male lead character appears, making the route I saw the previous evening on the stage screen. Immediately, staff members appear: some to ensure the smooth progress of the route, others for the safety of the protagonist, and others from the technical team to ensure a good transmission (someone holds an antenna, someone else has a backpack).
I film, super excited! No one stops me. (Well, I didn’t interfere with them, I filmed from a short distance, quietly.) They just make sure to have a safe zone, so the actor could play his role and the one filming could have a clear path. They didn’t drive away the beggar from the corner, nor the passersby who were already on that piece of sidewalk, they didn’t clear the rubbish from their path. Just a few pedestrians were slightly held back, so as not to congest the acting area.
And that’s how I convinced myself that this guy really sings live, with the orchestra in his ear! He sings in such freezing cold that your nose hairs freeze, let alone his vocal cords… And he does this night after night, and on some days, even twice, because they have two performances! I find this really impressive!!!
You have the video here:
I leave happy from this experience. I can’t feel my hands anymore, they froze on the phone. But this experience has warmed me up to the max. Just like the one from the previous evening when I watched Sunset Boulevard from the spectator’s seat. I saw Nicole Scherzinger live, and I also tip my hat to the performance of the guy in the lead role, whom I’m looking up in the program booklet: his name is Tom Francis.
Are you someone who enjoys musicals? Or are you still undecided if any of them are worth watching? Either way, read this 🙂
