“Sunset Boulevard” Review: There May Never Be Another Norma Desmond Like Nicole Scherzinger

Nicole Scherzinger during curtain calls at the St. James Theater (Image Credit: Keith Vena)

Recently, I attended Samsung’s new Galaxy Unpacked 2025 event in Brooklyn and could not resist the opportunity to take in the much-talked-about new production of Sunset Boulevard at the venerable St. James Theater on 44th Street. Accompanied by my brother (who is not the theater aficionado that I admittedly am), I honestly did not know what to expect

In a nutshell, the current Broadway revival of Sunset Boulevard, starring Nicole Scherzinger as the iconic Norma Desmond, is a bold reimagining that both dazzles and disorients; and yet, by curtain call, proves itself to be one of the most ambitious and talked-about productions in recent memory. It’s a daring mix of stripped-down minimalism, Hollywood myth-making, and stage innovation, anchored by a performance that feels both fresh and mythic.

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Let’s be absolutely clear: this is Nicole Scherzinger’s show. To say she surprises is an understatement. In a performance reminiscent of Barbra Streisand’s transformative turn in Funny Girl back in 1964, Scherzinger doesn’t just fill the role of Norma Desmond — — she reclaims it, reshapes it, and makes it entirely her own. She radiates a charisma and vocal power that keeps you glued to her every movement, every facial flicker, and every line delivery. Critics and audiences alike came with raised eyebrows, wondering if the former Pussycat Doll had the gravitas and vocal chops to shoulder such a demanding role. But from her first haunting lines in “With One Look,” it’s clear that Scherzinger came not just to act, but to claim her Broadway legacy. She received not one, but two standing ovations in the middle of the show, a feat that I had not seen accomplished on Broadway since I saw Richard Kiley in a revival of Man of La Mancha in 1972 and Richard Burton before the intermission of Camelot in 1984.

What makes her performance so compelling is that it’s not the expected, tragic grande-dame take. Instead, Scherzinger taps into Norma’s faded glory with a surprisingly kittenish, almost Valley Girl-like air, a stylistic choice that shouldn’t work, but stunningly does. She glides between moments of coquetry and derangement, imbuing Norma with both absurdity and aching vulnerability. While her physical appearance makes her easily pass for someone a decade younger than Norma is traditionally played, Scherzinger’s emotional range more than bridges the gap. Her Norma isn’t just delusional or pitiable; she’s magnetic, seductive, and at times chilling. This performance is a bona fide star turn, through and through.

There’s an undeniable electricity when she performs numbers like “As If We Never Said Goodbye,” where her voice soars and quivers with yearning. Her phrasing is precise, her tone both rich and nuanced. In these moments, Scherzinger joins the ranks of Broadway’s most unforgettable divas. And she does it without leaning on cliché or mimicry. Instead of trying to replicate Gloria Swanson or Glenn Close, she finds a path that’s entirely her own. It’s a reinvention in the truest sense of the word.

Visually and structurally, the production is an austere departure from the opulence of the 1994 Glenn Close-led original. Gone are the gilded staircases and maximalist sets. Instead, the stage is stripped bare, almost concert-like in its minimalism, echoing the black-box aesthetics of avant-garde theater. This abstraction gives the production a certain edge but also lends itself to occasional confusion. Director Jamie Lloyd leans into a highly stylized, occasionally chaotic blend of satire and parody, attempting to straddle both the scathing commentary of Billy Wilder’s 1950 film and a meta-theatrical commentary on Broadway spectacle itself. At times, particularly during the “wink-wink” delivery of the second act opener from behind the stage, the audience is left wondering whether they should laugh, cringe, or lean in.

It is in these moments that the production flirts with over-intellectualization. The line between irony and sincerity blurs, and while some audience members may revel in the layers, others might find the narrative disjointed. However, it must be said that Lloyd’s bold vision deserves credit for not playing it safe. He is not content to simply revive Sunset Boulevard; he wants to interrogate it, pull it apart, and reconstruct it in a language for a new generation.

That said, some of these bold choices absolutely pay off, none more so than the jaw-dropping integration of video and live performance. Lloyd and his design team have transformed large-scale video screens into dynamic storytelling tools, rather than merely serving as background wallpaper. Perhaps the production’s most audacious moment occurs when the lead actor performs the title song, “Sunset Boulevard,” live, as he walks through Shubert Alley and circles the actual St. James Theatre, with his journey broadcast in real-time to the audience inside. It’s not just a clever trick; it’s a breakthrough in immersive theatricality. It punctures the fourth wall, blending the nostalgia of Hollywood with the immediacy of New York’s theater district. It’s a moment that will likely be remembered as a “before and after” moment in live stagecraft.

This use of live video adds a fascinating duality to the show — it reinforces Norma’s obsession with being watched and adored, while also giving the audience a voyeuristic lens through which to experience her unraveling. The irony is sharp: a woman desperate to be on screen, now broadcast on enormous screens as she clings to memories of a cinematic past. It’s both heartbreaking and brilliant.

Of course, Sunset Boulevard is nothing without its score, and here, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music emerges as one of his most melodic and cohesive achievements since Phantom of the Opera. It’s easy to take Webber’s soaring orchestrations for granted, but this production underscores just how well the music fits the dramatic arcs. Songs like “As If We Never Said Goodbye” and “The Perfect Year” land with fresh emotional impact. There are a few tweaks to Don Black and Christopher Hampton’s lyrics that may raise eyebrows among purists. Still, for the most part, the score remains gloriously intact and fluidly embedded within the story’s architecture — a welcome contrast to the often-leveled critique that Lloyd Webber’s tunes are simply stand-alone pop hits in period costume.

In fact, this production may be the best argument in years for the strength of Lloyd Webber’s compositional storytelling. The motifs recur with purpose, the orchestrations shimmer, and the music — though romantic and sweeping — never feels manipulative. It’s no small feat that in a production so minimal in design, the score fills the theater with such opulence and emotional weight.

It is, however, a real shame that no national tour is planned after the show wraps its Broadway run on July 20th. This production deserves to be seen beyond the confines of New York, not just for Scherzinger’s star-making performance but for the innovative staging and reinterpretation that breathes new life into a musical too often remembered solely for its grandeur. If anything, this version of Sunset Boulevard argues that the show doesn’t need chandeliers or palatial sets to work — it just needs conviction, vision, and a lead who can make an audience believe she’s still big, even if the pictures got small.

That missed opportunity is particularly stinging because this production feels like a cultural moment. It redefines what a revival can be: not just a nostalgic rehash, but a contemporary meditation on fame, decay, and artistic relevance. One can only hope that the show is recorded in some form or given life through international stagings.

As a whole, this revival makes a compelling case for why Sunset Boulevard still matters. It may stumble in places — satirical tone here that muddles the message, a self-aware wink there that feels a touch too knowing — but those are minor quibbles in a production that dares to reimagine a classic for a new era. If you’re expecting a traditional restaging, you might be momentarily thrown. But if you’re open to something bolder, starker, and wildly more present-tense, this is a show you won’t want to miss.

Ultimately, Nicole Scherzinger’s Norma Desmond is one for the ages. She might not storm the stage in a fur-lined robe or belt with the seasoned gravel of previous Normas, but she seduces the room just the same. And like Norma herself, she proves that star power — the real, goosebumps-inducing kind — never truly fades. It’s just waiting for the right moment to step back into the spotlight.

So catch it while you can. Because come July 20th, this brilliant, brave Sunset will set and we may not see one quite like it again.

Mark Vena is the CEO and Principal Analyst at ***SmartTech Research based in Las Vegas, Nevada. As a technology industry veteran for over 25 years, Mark covers many consumer tech topics, including PCs, smartphones, smart home, connected health, security, PC and console gaming, and streaming entertainment solutions. Mark has held senior marketing and business leadership positions at Compaq, Dell, Alienware, Synaptics, Sling Media and Neato Robotics. Mark has appeared on CNBC, NBC News, ABC News, Business Today, The Discovery Channel and other media outlets. Mark’s analysis and commentary have appeared on [Forbes.com](http://forbes.com/) and other well-known business news and research sites. His comments about the consumer tech space have repeatedly appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, [TechNewsWorld](https://www.technewsworld.com/)* and other news publications.

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