In Jamie Lloyd’s dazzling new adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, it’s not just Norma Desmond who’s ready for her closeup. Onstage cameras stalk Norma, projecting her image onto the vertiginously slanted, gargantuan screen at the back of the stage. But they also follow the doomed screenwriter Joe, his love interest Betty, Norma’s faithful factotum Max—all the principals are given the full screen treatment in this production.
Former lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls Nicole Scherzinger makes a spectacular Broadway debut as the fading icon of the screen. The gorgeous Scherzinger may seem young for the role, but I found it quite a brilliant stroke to feature this fading celebrity who’s “only” 45 to portray the forgotten Norma Desmond. Scherzinger, after all, has been largely relegated to judging television talent shows since the Pussycat Dolls broke up in 2010.
