Sunset Boulevard and the Palace of Dreams

[@trminturn]

I was a swing in the original Australian cast of Sunset Boulevard. I remember during tech in the theatre, my fellow swings Amanda Levy, Graciano Debeljuh & Michelle Slater were all on stage at one point, and I was sitting in the auditorium saying to my self allowed “I’m never going to go on”. When a voice behind me said “Tim, when I was a swing in a show with Barbra, Barbra Streisand, my best friend who was in the cast said to me “ don’t bother learning my plot, I never go off. Next day, he broke his leg and I was on”. Two things from that conversation stay with me. Bob Avian knew my name. And I was in the same conversation as Barbra Streisand! It was an honour to work with him and proud to be part of that amazing production! Vale Mr Avian

[@MarkvanBeelen]

Rest In Peace, Bob Avian

[@fletcherhc653]

Amazing production! Thank you for sharing!!

[@trminturn]

@@fletcherhc653 you are most welcome!

[@trminturn]

@@fletcherhc653 and I love your profile pic! Do you recognise who’s in mine?!

[@grahamfrear9270]

I bet you were amazing playing such a wonderful part in sunset boulevard👍

[@vidconceptual]

Sunset Boulevard is my favorite Broadway musical. Thank you for posting this amazing look into the making of this masterpiece.

[@trminturn]

I was very lucky to be part of this magnificent production! I so glad this documentary was made!

[@DrexelGregory]

Cool. Who'd you play?

[@christiangillett4171]

THANK YOU!!! I was obsessed with this as a kid. After seeing the show, I would watch this doco over and over on VHS tape.

[@scar6862]

Wow. That bought back some memories. I was floor LX and Auto. What a phenomenal show.

[@trminturn]

simon c ! It was, wasn’t it! I remember them telling us on our first day in the theatre that you had been technically running the show for a week before we got there!

[@hans.z7217]

Thank you so much, for making this available!

[@DistantCousin]

This is wonderful - thanks for uploading. My favourite musical, and having now been in a production, the behind the scenes ensemble rehearsals were fascinating to me

[@mrbevan]

Thanks for uploading Mr Minturn - I'm playing Joe in September, and stumbled upon it - small world!

[@trminturn]

Did you pick me on the stairs looking all sad! Little did I know that after it opened, I hardly ever went off!

[@MarkvanBeelen]

@@trminturn Ah, the life of a swing. I remember my first swing job on Carzy for You. Tech was hell. Also, I was very young and almost naturally impatient for someone that age. I've had those stair moments. But then Opening Night happened en BOOM, there I was, wishing for an off-show!

[@arthistoryliterature]

Wonderful. Thank you for posting. I think everyone, if they look deeply enough inside, can understand the characters, especially and including Norma Desmond.

[@mrtweak77]

How fantastic to see this! Cheers :)

[@trminturn]

mickwebb, pleasure! Such great memories for me!

[@grahamfrear9270]

Yes I saw a one night special from the royal Albert hall in London about 5 months ago 2024. The orchestral arrangements are fantastic. I live in Yorkshire in England and travelled down worth every penny

[@GiftSparks]

This is a brilliant documentary. Thanks so much for posting.

[@douglasduff4466]

Elaine Paige was the best Norma on Broadway.

[@QuentinRolfe-bd2dq]

Saw a performance front row one evening ! ❤️👏👏

[@hannahelizabeththomas9267]

Hugh is awsome

[@ARetroWorld2000]

It's never too late to thank you for posting this, Tim - I'm a big fan of the show, and I've never seen anything of the Australian production. This was absolutely brilliant. I only wish I'd been able to see it live, or that there existed some recordingof it in full (which i assume there's not?). Thanks again! 👏👏👏

[@trminturn]

Thank you! We all wished there was a recording made too! But alas,no. 😢 But this is documentary they made is such a great piece of history to have & share!

[@ProfessorStuDDS]

Hugh Jackman as Wolverine @20:21

[@trminturn]

Haha! I now can’t NOT see that!

[@hannahelizabeththomas9267]

Oh he is awsome

[@grahamfrear9270]

This is always been my favourite Andrew Lloyd Webber musical the music is fantastic. I've seen it three times the Alhambra in Bradford West Yorkshire. The palace theatre in Manchester in the UK. I'm the one night special at the royal Albert hall in London. Oh I forgot yes and at the yedon town hall in Yorkshire. And the king's theatre Ilkley West Yorkshire England..

[@danromero]

This is the first I've ever really seen of the Australian production, and it's a great documentary. I love Trevor's comments about Hugh. And this Debra Byrne is wonderful. I read a little bit about her on Wiki and what an interest life, and I wonder if she's among the youngest of the Normas - she's only 60 now, at least 10 years younger than most of that era.

[@hawby7mgh]

LuPone, Close, Buckley & Page were nowhere near 70 when each played Norma. Check your facts first.

[@disneydanny2]

is it just me or does it seem like a lot of the women who played Norma ,previously oplayed "Grizabella" in "CATS" ?

[@MrKDHay]

Did Leigh-Anne do the opening night performance or did she come back at all?

[@trminturn]

She didn't make opening night. The doctors wouldn't let her. But she was back soon enough and in a way, we were able to have another "opening night" to celebrate!

[@MrKDHay]

Aw, that nice and thanks for replying. Thank you also for posting the documentary, I've never seen it before

[@Dandmpeck]

Hugh Jackman can have a great career…..you think?? 😂😂

[@royperez8965]

Didn’t this Norma have a drug problem?

[@hefinrosser8685]

I really hate the look some actresses have taken on for Norma! They maker look hideous 😢

[@hefinrosser8685]

NO ANDREW! YOU WROTE THE MUSIC! THE PRODUCTION ETC IS BECAUSE OF AMAZING TALENTED PEOPLE WHO CREATE SOMETHING FROM YOUR MUSIC!! Eg HAROLD PRINCE & MARIA BJORSON PRESENT .. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber

[@matsudaseiko]

glenn is still better though she has more soul......

[@narvelancoleman3813]

Looks like a fabulous production....but why does this Norma Desmond look so grotesque? This is not what Gloria Swanson looked like!!

[@hawby7mgh]

The musical took a very different approach to hair & makeup for Norma. It left her more trapped in her silent movie persona.

[@TheMaestroCraig]

remember also you're seeing the stage makeup up close, it's not intended to be seen at such a vantage point. The distance of sitting out in the theatre (and The Regent is huge) means that the makeup has to "read" across that divide and often in quite dim lighting.