After winning an impressive 7 Olivier awards during its London run, the Jamie Lloyd Company revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard has opened on Broadway. Starring global popstar Nicole Scherzinger (The Pussycat Dolls, The X Factor) this award-winning musical began performances last night at New York's St James Theatre. Check out what the critics had to say about the highly anticipated opening.

The Plot

Desperate for a comeback, outmoded Norma Demons enlists the services of wide-eyed screenwriter Joe Gillis, believing he can save her career. But for Joe, helping Norma comes at too heavy a price, despite the wonder of her luxurious lifestyle. When Joe loses his heart to budding writer Betty, Norma sees her chance slipping away and decides to act - with tragic consequences.

The Reviews

TimeOut:

"Part of what makes this revival so absorbing is that you don't always know where to lookat the actor on stage or the same actor live on screen. The giant images tug at your eye; you sometimes can't help choosing them over the small, real person who is actually there. In this revival, itself a kind of re-production, that doesn't feel like a gimmick or a trick. It's a new way to see an old dream."

The New York Times:

"I can't help feeling that Lloyd's talent and that of his designers, let alone Scherzinger's, would be better lavished on better material."

Theatermania:

"Lloyd has somehow managed to create a giddily thrilling revival, with star Nicole Scherzinger delivering one of the greatest performances I've ever seen as a psychotic Norma Desmond for the TikTok era."

Variety:

"Norma Desmond's problem, as she tells us upon her entrance, is that she is big, but the pictures have gotten small. No such problem here. Scherzinger and the stage she inhabits push each other to grand extremes. The result is something like magic."

The Hollywood Reporter:

"Her command is never in doubt, and Lloyd provides unimpeded access to her every emotion by frequently giving Norma what she craves most a camera and a closeup."

Deadline:

"The current revival, if it does nothing else, should put the show's mixed reputation to rest. With its silent movie-style black & white color scheme and heavy-shadowed expressionistic sculpting, Sunset Blvd. is quite unlike anything else on Broadway today, fierce and ferocious."

New York Theatre Guide:

"Scherzinger, in bare feet and a black slip, could use a shade more vulnerability as past-her-prime Norma. But she shows off powerhouse pipes in the show's best songs, her crowd-rousing solos "With One Look" and "As If We Never Said Goodbye."