The Sun Should Set On This Show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         How many times are theatergoers going to be subjected to "Sunset Blvd?"  And why should they have to?

                                          Because of loyalty to Patti LuPone, I managed to avoid the debacles of Glenn Close, Betty Bukley and Elaine Paige.  Thanks to BARBRA, I knew at least two of the songs, and I thought that was it.

                                            I admit that when this reconceived treatment of the musical arrived, I was intrigued.  Well, let me tell you, darlings, it is not worth it.

                                              Mandy Gonzalez was our Norma Desmond, and she was fine.  Tom Francis is good as Joe Gillis and so is Grace Hodgett Young as Betty Schaefer.  But the standout performance is really David Thaxton, who transcends Erich Von Stroheim, and creates a fascinating character of his own, as Max.  Though all these actors sing beautifully, and work hard, it is all for naught.  Why?

                                                  Because director Jamie Lloyd--who, by the way, just happens to be Andrew Lloyd Webber's nephew-- and choreographer Fabian Aloise--what happened to Fabian Forte, darlings????????--cannot make up their minds if they want the show to be a dance piece, an opera, or a social media presentation.  Settling on one might have made the evening work.  Instead, they combine all three into the mix, and the result, while not the train wreck "Tammy Faye" was cheapened the story and further distorts it in time and space.

                                                      The opening, which is promising, begins as a dance, and remains Gothic with the famed midnight burial of the chimpanzee.  Time and space are completely distorted; it is still set in 1950, but Betty Schaefer is seen finishing typing the screenplay she and Gillis have been writing on a white computer keyboard; not the black one on which I am now writing.  What the hell is the point???????????????

                                                        The second act opening has to be seen to be believed, and I did not believe it at all.  It has Tom Francis, as Joe Gillis, sing the title song, as he wanders down the seven floors of the St. James Theatre, with campy imagery along the way.  This is followed by out onto the streets, in real time, singing of the changes in Los Angeles, when we can clearly see it is Shubert Alley. Soon, a man in a monkey suit joins his side, plus a woman with a rubber chicken, and Francis poses by his theater photo.  What is this trying to prove, and what has it got to do with the story?

                                                             As for the climax, yes, she does say the famous line at the end, but it loses all poignancy and heartbreaking realism, when she emerges covered in blood, like Medea.  Oh, by the way, there are no costume changes, no "waxworks" card players, and everything is conveyed by noir lighting which can often be blinding, or by projections so high on screen they overshine the actors below.  Yes, it is interesting the first time to see the actors match up with their screen images as they perform, but not constantly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                "Sunset Blvd." has got to be put to rest. While I admit I found the complete score better than I expected, as David said, if this is the future of Musical Theater, then count me out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                    Darlings, you can come to our apartment and see me perform one-man shows of better musicals for free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                        Wait till Andrew and Patti see my "Evita!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"