'Boulevard' a lush experience
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard” isn’t your usual Music Theatre of Wichita feel-good summer fun.
Based on Billy Wilder’s 1950 noirish classic that pokes in the shadows beneath Hollywood’s glamour and glitz, it’s a dark, lush experience.
It’s virtually wall-to-wall music, bubbling along on a jazzy riff that bespeaks the hip 1950s and plunges into an evocative anthem about the grandeur of an earlier time. It has the approachability of a musical crossed with the gravitas of an opera. Music director Thomas W. Douglas makes good use of the largest orchestra this summer — 27 pieces — to ensure that we hear every unique twist and turn, from harp for dreamy effects to sax for brassy sass.
And this lavish production under the direction of Mark Madama, built by local designers, is remarkable and riveting. It also serves as the long-delayed Midwest premiere of the 1993 show.
“Sunset Boulevard” is a tale of madness, murder and misbegotten dreams of a forgotten star dangerously jolted out of her memories. She becomes primed for a comeback when a brash screenwriter stumbles into her delusions.
Broadway veteran Ann Morrison is brilliant as Norma Desmond, the silent film star who couldn’t transition to talkies and retreated to her mansion to watch her movies and relive past glories.
Morrison has a powerful, precise soprano that can lilt and lull you, but then pin you to your seat in a fit of belting rage. She is a grand presence you can’t get enough of. Morrison plays Norma as imperious but not intentionally mean. She is pathetic but sympathetic. She is sweetly ridiculous in her dramatic gestures, but you never question the character’s dignity. Morrison slips skillfully between dangerous passion and deadly madness, and holds us in her grasp wondering what she’ll do next.
Chris Peluso gives a powerhouse performance as gigolo screenwriter Joe Gillis, who uses Norma’s generosity, then comes to genuinely care for her. Peluso is loose and lanky as he glides and sprints about the stage as our guide to this tale. His baritone blasts out a showcase ballad to seedy “Sunset Boulevard” as well as teaming for romantic turns in delightful “Boy Meets Girl” and beautiful “Too Much in Love to Care.”
Veteran Broadway and opera star Nicholas F. Saverine plays Max, Norma’s faithful and overprotective butler. He is skeptical of letting Joe into her life, but then goes along with it when he sees how happy it makes her. Saverine — whose Max has his own deep, dark secret — has one of the most beautiful, haunting and difficult songs in “The Greatest Star of All.” He absolutely nails it with all its nuances, giving us chills. Kaleigh Cronin as Betty, a screenwriter who attracts Joe’s eye and sparks Norma’s jealous rage, gives a breezy, feisty, memorable performance. She has a natural stage presence and strong voice, her duets full and spot-on.
Sunset Boulevard Cast - News
Her recent credits include Guys and Dolls at Salisbury Playhouse, Copacabana at the Watermill and Sunset Boulevard at both the Watermill and its West End transfer to the Comedy Theatre. Simon Bailey (Tom Watson) played Raoul in Phantom of the Opera and
Cast members from the upcoming Music Theatre of Wichita production of "Sunset Boulevard": from left: Chris Peluso and Kaleigh Cronin. (June 29, 2011) Cast members from the upcoming Music Theatre of Wichita production of "Sunset
"They thought I would take one look at the cattiness and people from Yale and Julliard begging for jobs and hightail it out of town," Wilde said recently over lunch at a tucked-away little cafe on Sunset Boulevard. But Wilde was almost immediately cast
The film cast features Tom Cruise as rocker Stacee Jaxx; Alec Baldwin as Dennis, the owner of the Bourbon Room, the Sunset Boulevard nightclub at the center of the movie, Russell Brand as Lonnie, a guy who works with Dennis at the club, Bryan Cranston
Frederic Von Anhalt has taken out a billboard on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles to celebrate the couple's 25th wedding anniversary. Beside the couple's wedding photo, it reads, “Prince Frederic & Princess Zsa Zsa 25 years and counting.
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Sunset Boulevard - Original Los Angeles Cast Recording
As If We Never Said Goodbye (From "Sunset Boulevard") - Glee Cast - Sunset Boulevard Cast - Bookshelf
Close-up on Sunset Boulevard, Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond, and the Dark Hollywood Dream
For the fund-raiser in April 1995, the Sunset Boulevard cast did a skit about auditioning for the role of Norma Desmond. Colleen Dunn directed a parade of ...Billboard
With Ball in the American cast as well, it played 377 performances at the Broadhurst Theatre. SUNSET BOULEVARD "I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. Webber," ...Pocket Guide to Collecting Movies on DVD, Building an Essential Movie Collection-With Information on the Best DVD Extras, Supplements and Special Features-and the Best DVDs for Kids
Sunset Boulevard CAST: Gloria Swanson, William Holden, Erich Von Stroheim, Nancy Olson, Fred Clark, Lloyd Gough, Cecil B. DeMille, Buster Keaton, HB Warner, ...Sunset Boulevard
And the man — dying in Double Indemnity or dead in Sunset Boulevard — narrates the film to explain how his tragedy has occurred. Casting Erich von Stroheim ...Sunset Boulevard - original London cast, World premiere recording
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Sunset Boulevard - Wikipedia
History and synopsis of the musical by Christopher Hampton, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Don Black.
Sunset Blvd. (1950) - Full cast and crew
Sunset Blvd. on IMDb: Movies, TV, Celebs, and more...
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent-film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity. Visit IMDb for Photos, Showtimes, Cast, Crew, ...
Sunset Boulevard [Original London Cast] - Original London ...
Find out about Original London Cast's Sunset Boulevard [Original London Cast] from the online music source Billboard.com. Listen to songs, read reviews, find late ...
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