Music by Andrew Lloyd
Webber
Lyrics by Don Black
and Christopher Hampton
Based on the Billy
Wilder Film
Director: Stephen
Pike
Musical Director:
Sharon Tree
Q Theatre, Queanbeyan
8 -25 October 2014
Review by Len Power 8
October 2014
Based
on the classic 1950 film starring Gloria Swanson, ‘Sunset Blvd.’ opened in
London in 1993, played on Broadway in 1994 and in Melbourne in 1996. It tells of a chance encounter of a down at
heel young screen writer, Joe Gillis, and a faded movie star from the silent
era, Norma Desmond, who lives in a gloomy mansion surrounded by past
memories. Agreeing to help with a film
script she has written for a comeback, the opportunistic Joe allows himself to
be drawn into a dangerous relationship with the delusional star.
It’s
a formidable musical for non-professional companies to tackle because it cries
out for lavish staging and must have an actress with star quality for the
leading role of faded movie star, Norma Desmond. Happily, the Q Theatre production got
well-known local actress and singer, Bronwyn Sullivan, to play the role and
solved the lavishness question with a clever composite set filled with
interesting detail by Brian Sudding and scenic artist, Ian Croker.
Bronwyn
Sullivan sings the difficult role of Norma Desmond with assurance. Her Norma has flashes of niceness that may
bother purists wanting a copy of Gloria Swanson’s performance in the film, but
it didn’t detract from her performance for me.
Daniel Wells is in fine voice and gives a strong performance as the
opportunist writer, Joe Gillis. In the
wrong hands, the difficult role of the mysterious butler, Max Von Mayerling,
could be laughable, but Peter Dark is very believable in the role, giving it an
impressive sadness and he sings with great precision. Vanessa De Jager is charming and very real as
the young Betty Schaefer and the duet, ‘Too Much In Love To Care’, which she
shares with Daniel Wells, is one of the highlights of the show.
Ensemble
members, many playing multiple small roles, all have detailed individual
characters which give the show depth, especially in the scenes at Paramount
Studios and at a New Year’s Eve party.
Calen Robinson was especially notable in the role of the oily tailor,
Manfred, who is summoned with his team to provide Joe Gillis with new clothes.
Costumes
by Miriam Miley-Read evoked the period extremely well. Her costumes for Norma Desmond were
especially well-designed for a faded movie star who dresses lavishly in a jarringly
out of date style. The expert lighting
by Hamish McConchie gave the right atmosphere to the show and sound by Eclipse
was well-balanced. Choreography isn’t a
major feature of this show, but Annette Sharp provided polished and appropriate
movement where required for the cast.
The
show has a huge score. Musical director,
Sharon Tree, has done a remarkable job with both orchestra and singers. It was, however, somewhat distracting having
the musical director visible behind the set and lights visible from the music
stands of the orchestra were annoyingly bright.
For
me, it’s not the songs that stand out in this musical. I came away from ‘Sunset Blvd’ with the moody
underscoring repeating in my mind, much the way a memorable film score stays
with you. It’s as if the composer,
Andrew Lloyd Webber, intended to write a cinematic-style musical. If so, he has
succeeded and produced one of his best scores for the theatre.
Director,
Stephen Pike, has done a fine job bringing all aspects of this show
together. It hasn’t been presented in Canberra
before and has been rarely done in Australia, so don’t miss this opportunity to
see it.
Originally
broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 ‘Dress Circle’ showbiz program with Bill Stephens
on Sunday 12 August 2014 from 5pm.