Variety's Business of Broadway Breakfast, presented by City National Bank, celebrates the upcoming season of Broadway with conversations from cast members and directors of “Sunset Boulevard,” “Yellow Face,” and “Our Town.”
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00:00Well, I had the privilege of seeing the performance on Saturday night.
00:04Oh, did you?
00:05And I think there were four standing ovations, if I counted correctly.
00:09Mid-show.
00:10Yeah.
00:11Yeah, mid-show.
00:12I mean, was that the kind of reception you got in London?
00:17Was this like a first night thing?
00:20What's behind that?
00:21Yes, it is.
00:24Yeah, I mean, it's been kind of crazy.
00:30In London, we had a beautiful reception.
00:33We were just so taken back every time they stand in the middle of the show.
00:37But I will tell you, this is my Broadway debut.
00:42Hi, Cole.
00:44And yo, the Broadway audience just hits different, y'all.
00:51Like that audience.
00:52Hi, there.
00:53Oh, my gosh.
00:54I'm seeing everybody.
00:55I know these people.
00:56Ava.
00:58The Broadway audience was like, God, they feel like they're with you on that stage.
01:05Like they're holding on to every breath, and you just really feel their energy.
01:10They blew me away.
01:11I mean, I feel like they're the ones who really brought it Saturday.
01:16But I mean, as a performer, do you sort of feed off of them when they're reacting like
01:21that?
01:22How does it impact you?
01:24Absolutely.
01:26I'll keep it real.
01:28I love it when they're more vocal.
01:29I could always tell when the New Yorkers came across the pond in the UK, because they were
01:33so loud, and you're like, yeah, I'm going to give you what you came for.
01:39You know what I mean?
01:42But yo, that was my first time on Broadway, and I'm not going to lie, I was nervous on
01:46Saturday.
01:47So when they were like, you could hear the roar, you were just like, focus, make sure
01:52you do not let them down, Nicole.
01:54So it was pretty nerve-wracking, I'm not going to lie.
01:59I mean, to back up a little bit, Jamie, how did you come up with this idea to revive Sunset
02:03Boulevard?
02:04Were you approached, or did you kind of initiate this?
02:07No, we had done a production of Evita at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in London, and it was
02:13like an incredible experience, amazing experience.
02:17And a challenging one, you know, because that iconic Hal Prince production of Evita is just,
02:24you know, it's just incredible, masterful piece of work, of direction, and you can't
02:28compete with those original productions.
02:30What's so weird about Andrew's work is that actually the shows themselves are so intrinsically
02:37linked with those original productions, you know, by those incredible directors.
02:40So you really can't compete, you have to kind of come up with a completely different approach.
02:44So that kind of ends up being kind of like the sport of it, like the fun of it, is how
02:48you see these things from a different point of view, and kind of press reset on those
02:53pieces, and you kind of have to, you have to kind of redefine each image, because there's
02:58so much of that original imagery, which is so iconic, and has become a part of our kind
03:04of culture.
03:05Of course, we know Norma Desmond, and the turban, and the staircase, and Evita in the
03:10white dress, and the, you know, gesture on the Casa Rosada, et cetera, et cetera, not
03:16to mention cats, and the lycra, and the makeup.
03:23So it's, so yeah, literally trying to kind of like clear away the kind of legacy of the
03:27performance history is part of the joy of it.
03:30So I really, you know, it was during the pandemic, I was thinking, you know, I really want to
03:33do this again, and do another one of Andrew's pieces, I was listening to some of his shows.
03:38And this sounds incredibly pretentious, and really like annoying.
03:44But it's the truth is that I actually had a dream about Sunset Boulevard, and I could
03:49kind of see some kind of, some of the production in it.
03:53And the next thought that I had when I woke up is that Nicole Scherzinger from the Pussycat
03:57Dolls should play Norma Desmond, which you can imagine was quite a surprising thought
04:02to have.
04:04And it was the best, it was the best idea I've ever had, because I really think that
04:11Nicole is giving us a performance for the ages.
04:13I think it's an exceptional performance.
04:16But also, she's a remarkable artist, but also what's so crucial is that we've become
04:22such close friends, we're like family.
04:26And I've met a collaborator for life.
04:28So it's like just a real joy to be sharing this Broadway experience with this, you know,
04:34amazing new friend of mine.
04:37And Nicole, when you were approached about this, what was your reaction?
04:47As you could imagine, when I was approached by Jamie, by this very glamorous, past her
04:53prime old, faded movie star role, I was a little bit, at first, in disbelief.
05:05I think my words were, honey, I still look good under bright lights, I'm a Pussycat Doll.
05:10I think that's exactly what I said.
05:14But he said, just read the script.
05:16Can you just read the script?
05:17And I said, I saw the movie with Gloria Swanson, The Claw, I saw The Claw.
05:23He said, no, don't look at the movie, just read the script.
05:28And he sent the script that day.
05:31And I read the script.
05:34And I just fell madly in love with her, I just got her.
05:39She just resonated with me in so many ways throughout my life.
05:45And I listened to the score.
05:46I didn't know the musical.
05:49I got to hear songs like, well, Give the World New Ways to Dream, and I was like, who wouldn't
05:55be in love with Norma Desmond?
05:58And I just wanted to really tell her story the way that I resonated with it.
06:03So I couldn't wait.
06:05So what did you resonate with?
06:07What about her?
06:09What did you kind of respond to?
06:12Norma is, just like all of our characters, you know, it's the human story.
06:19The things that we struggle with, we battle with, our own demons.
06:22She goes through a lot of loneliness and abandonment, has her fair share of insecurities, feeling
06:30like she's been discarded and dismissed in this industry.
06:34Like most women, by the time you get to 30, 40, you experience that, you know?
06:40But then I also resonated with her that she was a warrior, and she's a fighter.
06:47And she will never surrender, and that she's a dreamer.
06:52And that's my heart.
06:53She has a lion heart.
06:55Jamie, what about the kind of the look of this show?
07:00It's very minimalistic.
07:01Was that always something that you, and you're sort of known for that approach, but in this
07:06particular case, did you always think in those terms?
07:09How did you kind of approach the staging?
07:13I mean, we say minimalism, but it's sort of like a minimalist, maximalist approach in
07:18that it's not that there's nothing on stage, it's kind of everything on stage because it's
07:23so full, and we're really asking the actors to really commit so fully, and connect so
07:32deeply.
07:33Also, there's a huge screen, it's even bigger for Broadway, on stage, and a massive technical
07:42department.
07:43It's a hugely technically ambitious production, it embraces a cinematic language within a
07:48theatrical context.
07:50And every single shot in that production is entirely live.
07:54So some people here know that the top of act two, there is a 10 minute one shot that is
08:03entirely live, that literally starts off in Tom Francis's dressing room, Tom plays Joe
08:08Gillis, and it tracks us all the way backstage around the St. James.
08:15And then just as you think that Tom is about to go on stage to sing Sunset Boulevard, he
08:21goes out onto the street and sings it on the streets of New York, entirely live.
08:29So you can imagine that this is like a huge technical accomplishment from the sound team,
08:34for the video team.
08:35And what I love about it is that it really is an example of what can be achieved when
08:42we come together as this kind of really interdependent community, and people have been talking a
08:48lot about community, and it really does feel that way.
08:51When you've got this interconnected web of people, every single person in that building
08:55is involved in that moment to pull that off.
08:57Every single person, security, front of house, everybody backstage, the entire cast, the
09:03orchestra.
09:04I mean, it's an amazing moment because of that.
09:08And as we achieve it, and on first preview went without any technical glitch at all,
09:14and he really does walk far away from the theater and back again, and lands back on
09:19stage for the button of the number.
09:22It was cause for a lot of celebration.
09:26And what I'm saying is that, yes, it's minimalist, yes, it's stripped back, but actually there's
09:32a lot that goes into kind of creating that kind of style.
09:36And it really puts the actors, and Nicole, front and center, and it puts Andrew's music,
09:43led by Alan Williams, who's our music supervisor, who's exceptional, and crucially, Adam Fisher,
09:49who is an amazing sound designer, and this sound design is just so immersive, and lush,
09:55and cinematic.
09:57I know that you've been very moved by the sound design, haven't you, in terms of what
10:00your experience is like on stage, as well as those of us in the audience.
10:06Yeah, it's really, the production, as I was saying, so the original production, of course,
10:10very known for its very elaborate set, big, kind of moving, hydraulic design.
10:17But actually, for a lot of the show, a lot of the piece, it's a chamber piece.
10:23You know, there are like three people on stage, there are two people on stage, in this production,
10:27sometimes just one person on stage.
10:29So it's a chamber piece, and it's a psychological drama, and putting the emphasis on that rather
10:35than kind of, you know, kind of big, ornate, circumstantial detail, felt very interesting
10:40and crucial to the way that we were telling the story.
10:43I wanted to ask you a little bit about that sequence, because, I mean, he's crossing the
10:47street and going into Shubert Alley, and...
10:50Spoiler alert.
10:51Yeah, sorry, I hope that's not...
10:52But, I mean, did anybody sort of ask you to pare that back, and how complex is it?
10:57And do you have like a plan B, if the weather is really terrible, or...?
11:02Well, I'm not going to give anything away today, but let's just say that there's a huge
11:07security team out there, so everyone is incredibly well protected, it's incredibly well choreographed,
11:13isn't it?
11:14We spent a lot of time rehearsing it over the last two weeks, and there were various
11:17contingencies in place.
11:20But yeah, it's no mean feat, but that's what...
11:23But neither is doing, essentially shooting a live movie every single night.
11:28As they say, every shot in that show is completely live.
11:31And as we know, as many people here know, there are shots there that would take hours
11:35to set up on a film set, that we're somehow achieving with this incredible team, literally
11:43setting it up live, in the moment, perfectly lit, perfectly timed, and with no delay as
11:51well.
11:52Really, in terms of cutting-edge technology, and seriously specific video design and cinematography
12:00by Joe Ransom and Nathan Amzai, really pulling off...
12:04I mean, you've got a slight delay here, between us here, but no shade to variety.
12:12But he's out on the street, and there's not a single bit of delay.
12:19So even tiny things like that, tiny considerations, that seems like such a tiny thing.
12:23It's so impactful.
12:24And they did it in the rain on Saturday, too.
12:29Yeah, first preview in the rain.
12:32All weathers.
12:33It'll be interesting in a blizzard, but let's see what happens.
12:37Nicole, what about as a performer, to have these cameras, and you're projected on this
12:42massive screen, what's the challenge of that?
12:46And did it take a little while to get comfortable with it, as well?
12:50Yeah, it's scary AF, y'all.
12:53Your pores are like the size of a human head on that screen.
12:57It's a Beyonce-sized screen.
13:00At first, it was really scary, because theater is so different, and I feel more at home on
13:08theater.
13:09I grew up on the stage, and I don't feel as comfortable.
13:12I've been in front of cameras doing all my musical stuff, but I haven't done a lot of
13:16film work and stuff.
13:18And so I was like, Jamie, I'm going to need you to...
13:22If you want greatness, you're going to have to focus on this side.
13:25If you want mediocre, you can go to this side, but greatness, you're going to have to focus
13:30on this side.
13:31And of course, Jamie, the first thing he did is he put the camera over here, because he
13:36loves to take me out of my comfort zone, and now I'm just used to it, but yeah.
13:40As if there's a mediocre side of Nicole Scherzinger.
13:42I mean, it's just baffling that you'd even say that.
13:45I saw that you feel more comfortable with...
13:48No, but it was crazy at first, but to be honest with you, I've never seen anything to do with
13:55the show.
13:56I don't know what I look like on the screen.
13:57I have to ask them.
13:58I'm like, am I too close when I lean in?
14:01Is it blurry?
14:03Is my face in the shot?
14:06The other day, because Jamie's never let me see anything to do with the show.
14:11No rehearsals, nothing back, because he says that it's got to resonate from within, and
14:16I can't see it from the outside perspective, and he wants to keep it the most honest and
14:21raw and truthful that it can be.
14:24But the other day, I was like, Jamie, when the camera's here, it feels so close at my
14:32cross-eyed.
14:33And he's like, no.
14:34And I was like, I need you to look at me, and look at my eye line, and tell me the difference.
14:39So I was like, I'm looking here, I'm looking here, and now I'm focused here.
14:48And everybody was like, yeah, it's the same thing, but to me, it's different.
14:53So anyways, it's all still.
14:58One thing that surprised me was how funny it was.
15:01I've seen the musical before, and I don't remember it being so funny.
15:06And I wondered, did you kind of lean into that a little bit?
15:10That's because I'm funny.
15:12No.
15:13It is because she's the funniest person I've ever met.
15:16I'm stupid.
15:17Huh?
15:18I said I'm stupid.
15:19No, you were amazing.
15:20Jamie and I are actually the funniest humans, you guys.
15:22You just have no idea.
15:24And we have the silliest sense of humor.
15:27And from day one, especially with Salome, y'all, Salome, I was like, what am I going
15:32to do with Salome?
15:33Seriously.
15:34Because I was like, at first, because I didn't know the music at first, and I was like, what
15:38are you supposed to do with this song?
15:40And I was like, you've got to let me bring me to it.
15:43And he did.
15:44He's let me bring myself to it.
15:46And then David has such a good sense of humor.
15:49And Jamie just really wanted us to bring ourselves to the roles, and make it as authentic as
15:56possible.
15:57So he's allowed us to do that, and we've had a lot of fun with it.
16:02What about, this production makes some other changes, too.
16:05There are songs that are excised.
16:08Some lyrics are changed, as well.
16:09Like how open were Andrew Lloyd Webber and Christopher Hampton to doing those kinds of
16:14changes?
16:15What kind of conversation did you have?
16:16And Don Black.
16:17Yeah, I mean, what was amazing is that they were so collaborative.
16:22I mean, I think, coming to Broadway, there was not a part of the plan at all.
16:29I mean, I really thought that we were going to do 16 weeks at the Savoy, try out some
16:32new ideas, and then pack up our bags and leave.
16:35Like I had no idea that it would connect with audiences in the way that it did.
16:39And I guess that neither did Andrew, either.
16:41So he was just like, oh, just let him do whatever he wants.
16:43And I think someone said to him, Jamie will just do something weird, it'll be on two plastic
16:49chairs in a box or something.
16:53So I think he was just like, just whatever.
16:57But he was so open to it, and yeah, let us cut two songs.
17:02And yeah, Don and Christopher have written, I'm going to say, it's probably nearly a third
17:06of the lyrics have been rewritten.
17:09Some structural changes within the book.
17:12And also, Andrew's written some new music, as a lot of the underscore is new.
17:18And he was so open to making that kind of weirder and kind of darker.
17:24And it's kind of pretty experimental, some of that underscore.
17:29I know that when we were looking at the dots, and the sheet music came, we were like, what
17:33is this?
17:34And actually, when you play it, it's like so much atmosphere, and so much tension and
17:40really serves the moment in a really thrilling way.
17:44I really feel like Andrew should be scoring movies.
17:47I think it's incredible.
17:50So yeah, the fact that he was open to all of that, and Don and Christopher, is really,
17:55really amazing to have that kind of trust.
17:57But everyone in this whole process has come with this with an open mind and an open heart.
18:03And sometimes, we can come up with some ideas that may be a little unusual, but we never
18:08know if those ideas are really going to work unless we fully commit to them.
18:13And everyone involved, I mean, literally everyone involved has been, and led by Nicole,
18:19so open and so committed to trying out those ideas.
18:23And that's when we know whether they work or whether they don't.
18:25And that's the only way you can kind of move things in new directions, if you have that
18:29kind of open mind and that kind of commitment.
18:33Were the cuts made just to make it faster?
18:37And the changes in the lyrics, what was the major motivations?
18:40Well, the lady's paying is cut, and that same story, which is the kind of like, just
18:46basically just teaching us that Nicole, Norma, where does Norma Desmond start and Nicole
18:54Jersey?
18:55I'll never know.
18:58When Norma's kind of, you know, dressing Joe up in a suit, and you know, you get this idea
19:04that he's, you know, kind of being paid off with kind of, you know, luxury items and new
19:10clothes and etc, etc.
19:12We addressed that in the story already.
19:14It's done, it can be done in a few lines.
19:16So certainly keeping it motoring, but also it's a very different style of song that wouldn't
19:20really match with the kind of temperature of the production.
19:25Although I would love to hear you say I love flannel on a man, which is one of the great
19:29lyrics of musical theater.
19:32Yeah, that is now cut.
19:36You were saying that, that sometimes you don't know where Norma ends and Nicole begins or
19:41vice versa.
19:42I mean, how quickly did you kind of feel that about the character and, and Nicole?
19:48Did you feel that too?
19:49Did you feel this kind of this kind of meta thing going on too?
19:56Yeah, honestly, I didn't say earlier, but after I had read the script, and, and I knew
20:06that Jamie is just a genius, and I had always wanted to work with him.
20:10And I knew he always thinks outside of the box was like, this is very intriguing.
20:16But after I read the script, I was like, Oh my god, I think this was actually written
20:19for me.
20:24You know, you go through, as we all know, life experiences, right?
20:30Whether it's happiness or heartache, and you go through a lot of shit.
20:39And you think, man, am I going to survive this shit?
20:44And why is this happening to me?
20:47Why?
20:49And then an answered prayer comes along one day, and you're like, wow, I get to be a part
20:55of something, a story that really resonates with me, I can tell it in the most honest,
21:00truthful way.
21:01Why?
21:02Because I've lived that and survived that.
21:05And yeah, so I feel like this has been honestly, this this show, and Norma has been an answer
21:14prayer for me.
21:15So I've always wanted to be able to share with people my, my full potential, my true
21:23capacity for what my love and my passion for what I do with singing, and with acting and
21:29I've never had the material to do it, you know, people put you in a box, as we know,
21:35in this industry.
21:36And that's why I'm so grateful that God blessed me with this man, because he saw something
21:40else in me, and he believed in me.
21:44And so yeah, I feel very close with Norma.
21:48So I mean, given the response, have you felt like the industry's perception of you has
21:54changed too?
21:55I mean, are you getting offers in a different way that are you being thought of in a different
22:00way because of this?
22:01I'm not gonna lie, I feel like when people say my name, they think it's, it's a different
22:07way that they say it.
22:09It means something different to them.
22:10I think it's a very, you know, the way that we create art is extremely exposing and vulnerable.
22:19And I feel like people get to see really all of me more than probably what they, you know,
22:28thought they would.
22:29And so yeah, what was the question again?
22:36You know, what's interesting is that I was so surprised, there was a kind of skepticism
22:39and a kind of cynicism when we announced the production and Nicole, and which I was very
22:45surprised about.
22:46And that actually speaks to, you know, Norma's experience is that, and one of the real reasons
22:53that I, you know, really wanted to work with Nicole on this, not least because she is one
22:58of the greatest vocalists in the world, I mean, she can sing anything.
23:03And they're kind of, as you witnessed on Saturday, the kind of sheer energy and power
23:06of that voice is exceptional.
23:09But she is an amazing artist, an incredible actor.
23:12She's incredibly funny, but she also plummets to the depths, as you saw on Saturday, of,
23:17you know, of the human psyche in a very visceral and powerful way by the end, in terms of,
23:23you know, Norma's descent.
23:26So to be, there's not many people that can kind of do everything that she does and dance
23:31and sing with such power.
23:33And be funny.
23:34Yeah.
23:35But what I love, but crucially, and the real reason I think I probably, why I had an instinct
23:41to, you know, to talk to you about this, this role in this, in this production is because
23:46you know what it's like to be exceptionally famous, you know, because you have, you know,
23:53real, real fame.
23:55And then actually to be kind of discarded and dismissed by an industry who hasn't really
23:59seen what you're capable of.
24:01And it's just such an honor and a privilege to, you know, to be here on Broadway, sharing
24:07what Nicole Shurtzinger can really do and literally have, you know, you now have the
24:12opportunity to show the world what an exceptional artist you are and what you can bring as an
24:19artist to the world.
24:20It is.
24:21Thanks to this man.
24:22I think that's a nice note to end on.
24:23Will you join me in thanking Jamie and Nicole, please?