Sunset Boulevard - West End [July, 1993]

Patti LuPone (Norma Desmond), Kevin Anderson (Joe Gillis), Daniel Benzali (Max von Mayerling).

[@ZidaneWarner]

To this day I’m still amazed how John Napier’s set designed worked. I still don’t know how any theater could house these sets.

[@douglasduff4466]

The first time i saw it and how it moved up, down, forwards and backwards- I was astounded. The "split screen" scene at the end of Act I with the New Year Party and Norma and Max above in the Mansion alone playing was astounding to watch.

[@jlasf]

I remember a kind of gasp in the audience when the set rose.

[@adsheff]

Did it not cause the show to make a loss ultimately?

[@adam4757]

@@adsheff Multiple factors. Have you read Lupones autobiography?

[@adsheff]

@@adam4757 I know she was paid off so that was a major cost - but I also read that even the US tour struggled to make money because the set was so big it needed so many trucks to transport it etc.

[@lisam8402]

Saw this five x in the west end with Patti then Betty Buckley. Kevin was the ultimate Joe G. Asked Patti at the stage door if she was going to Broadway."if they're nice to me" 😢

[@bar10ml44]

I saw Betty and will never forget that performance.

[@douglasduff4466]

​@@bar10ml44I thought her vocals were terrible.

[@daretoder]

Patti deserved so much more from this....I am so glad at least we have this!

[@douglasduff4466]

The Original and Best Cast and production.

[@josebenito15]

I was there - Adelphi Theater - September 1993- Great production and wonderful memories. Pity the film was never made with, who else,? than Glenn Close. This winter it was another production at Savoy Theater - West End which was well praised but this one I didn't see it. 🌟

[@maurodebans6035]

Thanks for sharing this jewel. Amazing. I saw it on Broadway with Elaine Paige. The stage was bigger than the Adelphi's, and script, set design, and orchestrations were very much improved at the Minskoff run. It is the greatest show I have ever seen to date.

[@biav]

@@maurodebans6035 thank you for sharing that 💙

[@thefonzkiss]

1:31:44 oh dear. Betty Buckley used to get a standing ovation mid song on that.

[@trex1563]

I remember watching one of these previews and thinking. Bloody hell, she really is the greatest star of them all. I wish the role had come to her 10 years later.

[@morebaileyskim]

I have wanted to see how this original production was designed my whole life thank you so much for posting this gem!

[@Itstonytime77]

I definitely like the ending on Broadwa better with her singing in front of the video of her young self it’s so haunting. I saw Elaine Paige she was brilliant

[@crazyguy98456978]

I never knew that the stage rose and fell… that’s INSANE!

[@gonakedmagazine8835]

It was to simulate the split screen you'd see in the movie.

[@DavidMcFarner]

Something needs to be impressive I guess. In a good way, that is.

[@jrj624]

Saw this in London with Patti and then later on with Elaine Paige. They were both amazing in the role. Elaine even look a bit like Gloria Swanson. Somewhere I have a photo of Patti that I took at the stagedoor after the performance. Got her autograph, too. 🙂

[@douglasduff4466]

I wrote to Patti and got into her Dressing Room to meet her. She was lovely.

[@arthurinuk]

I remember my jaw dropped as the massive set rose for the New Year's party.

[@x1daj]

The best Norma Desmond !

[@douglasduff4466]

Absolutely yes ❤

[@thefonzkiss]

Betty Buckley?

[@josephjackson-vl7mz]

I wish that Patti Lupone had played the role of Norma Desmond in the Broadway Production of Sunset Boulevard. Thank you for posting this video.

[@rossp1467]

With One Look sung without the ridiculous key change - Brava!

[@haiderodes]

The staging reminds me of Cirque du Soleil IRIS which called the Dolby/Kodak Theatre home for a few seasons. Now I see where IRIS got it’s design inspiration, especially the use of masking to focus the eye of the viewer and to frame interstitial on-stage action.

[@hubert6260]

17:01 wow how did they manage to bring on that staircase in seconds?! I love theatre magic, this set is truly magical

[@alexoy2k]

you know the stage floor? imagine it as an elevator. at 32:48 you can see the house shadows going up slowly. edit: you can see it at 1:05:01

[@TheSpinDoctor]

the entire house is in the flies above the stage and the lighting rig used when the house is NOT on stage is inside the base of it, under the staircase and floor (that’s why so much of it is raised up on steps or with hollow “sofas” built into the floor of it - to make space for all the lights - whole house is just plywood). It raises and lowers several times, some in view of the audience. This version of the house set was the most beautiful in golds and creams and burnished bronze, like a setting California sun. They repainted it in greys and blacks fairly early in the London run as that was the new look for LA and Broadway, which was a great loss.

[@dansbigadventures]

What a stunning set. I've heard about it but never seen it. Wow.

[@mollsnickel]

This is lovely, thank you for posting this! I wish Patti got to play Norma on Broadway, it’s such a shame. She really knew how to pack it with emotion!

[@douglasduff4466]

She was the best Norma.

[@msalicekeys]

@@douglasduff4466 Glenn.

[@mrjamiecrawford]

@@msalicekeysI like a singer in my musicals thanks 😂

[@thedogdogification]

I'd been hoping for a recording of this cast, especially with Kevin Anderson. Thanks for sharing this!

[@TX1961]

They did make a cast recording. Whether it's available is another question.

[@MAGICMONKEY52]

The percussion on here is actually better than on the commercial album. Shame this isn't in colour and the picture is overexposed. But this is really great. I'm loving listening to this. Thank you so much for posting.

[@biav]

I agree! you're more than welcome 💙

[@murvo]

It's not overexposed. It's the infrared video feed the stage director used to see the stage even in complete darkness.

[@kewlbean]

Wonderful find. Thanks for sharing.

[@kallen868]

Many productions cast Joe as some young stud. I love Kevin because he's real. Sexy but attainable. Like a real person. Monty Clift was first choice in the Sunset Film. Kevin is closer to him than Holden.

[@beignet2012]

I love this, although watching it in black and white is difficult. Very grainy quality as well.

[@kevhippo]

I saw this production. It saw superb. It’s rare now that a set gets a round of applause.

[@kathyhinkley4716]

Thanks for posting this. Love Sunset but never got to see it. Patti and Kevin are the best!

[@jpierrejp3197]

Un petit coucou bia, J'espère que tu vas bien. Merci pour ta mise en ligne. Bon week end et like 1. Amitiés, JP

[@s.hopkins4490]

Saw this in London and loved it so much. ALW was not kind to Patti or Kevin. Still my favourite love song of his: Too Much in Love.

[@disneydanny2]

anyone else get the feeling this was filmed from either a monitor in the Stage Manager's office or on the Mezzanine since there is no color to the video?

[@akronkeith]

8:19 is one of my favorite parts!

[@kevinmcguire5696]

Looks like the IR camera from the Circle rail so SM/Crew can see what's happening during blackouts for safety?

[@TX1961]

This is a video of Patti performing "As If We Never Said Goodbye" at a charity benefit. It is in glorious color so you can actually see her. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4fCfmmPg5Vsa68si=fYaxv2p3hyvZ-MN0

[@user-ob2pe3ri1j]

so much prefer than the new too young and stripped version headed for Bdwy.

[@josephjackson-vl7mz]

I am uncertain that my comments about Faye Dunaway and Patti LuPone's performances as Norma Desmond show unless you click More in my comments below.

[@JG-uu1oj]

I thought the house came up from below.?? The is just revealled behaind a scrim...

[@andyg630]

It came down from above - the mansion set was stored up in the flies and was brought down behind the scrim for the opening reveal.

[@JC041174]

Saw the London production more times them I can remember. It is in my opinion ALW best show but not the recent version that was at The Savoy theatre as that was a nightmare of a show

[@12345678abracadabra]

If you need fancy effects and sets to make a musical good, maybe it wasn't good to begin with.

[@Lukerdog]

Thank you, bia! Isn't it fascinating to observe the drafts of theatre evolution? There are portions of this one which fully trounce upon the later creations. The core of entire Let's Do Lunch studio section is superior in its use of dialogue. By contrast the guitar strum accompanying "The Lady's Paying" is hideous. Editing & futzing occasionally becomes an impediment to original vein.

[@martynasmatutis8284]

You can really tell that this score was written with Patti's voice in mind. Unlike Evita (which was basically vocal torture), she's calmly sailing through every line; 'With One Look' is sung without that ghastly transposition down a 3rd at the end, and there isn't a single moment when it seems like she's struggling to do anything on stage. Heck, I even get the critiques - every scene in the 'studo' setting feels boring and staid, but the performances in terms of both vocals and acting are incredible. I genuinely hate how Lloyd Webber treats his casts; the arrogant prick seems to think that because he couldn't write a cohesive version of his own play that the cast should be fired. I don't care that it's his music, f*ck that guy; composers need to get over themselves and be reminded that their music is little else but a dust collector until there's someone there to perform it.

[@Hylas19]

Oh yikes. The staging problems!

[@brucemiller5356]

ah, yes, the all but forgotten attempt to do ibsen's 'ghosts' with 'sunset boulevard'

[@josephjackson-vl7mz]

Sunset Boulevard was the first musical that I saw on Broadway. It starred Glenn Close, whom I felt was miscast. Glenn Close has great acting ability, but she did not have the vocal range needed for the role of Norma Desmond as it was written. Still, Glenn Close won the Tony. Her only competition that year was Rebecca Lukar in Show Boat. I wish that Patti LuPone had performed the role on Broadway instead. I think that Patti LuPone and Andrew Lloyd Webber had a big disagreement that prevented her from getting the role when it came to Broadway. I remember reading that Faye Dunaway played Norma Desmond on the West Coast before Sunset Boulevard came to Broadway. Faye Dunaway was very disappointed that she did not get the role when it moved to Broadway. If Sunset Boulevard was revived for Broadway today, I think that Patti LuPone could still give a great performance if Andrew Lloyd Webber would permit that. I wonder what others think?

[@LazyHubbStudios]

George Hearn was the best Max.

[@robertjackson5645]

Insipid, even the orchestions have no fire. But NO, LUPONE was to blame. Riiight.

[@foreignparticle1320]

Lupone didn't get rave reviews from the American critics. Glenn did. Hence they went with Glenn. There was literally millions of bucks at stake, insipid show or not.

[@sheismymom]

1:21:00

[@pauledwards4333]

The recent revival definitely not my taste. This original is the only one I will pay to see. Many friends were also dissapointed with the revival. Nicole is good but the original staging very much missed.

[@butterbook]

I can listen to Patti countless times in this role. A pleasure to listen to. But sorry...CAN NOT listen to Glenn Close.

[@raulromero3316]

Glenn Close también estuvo maravillosa.

[@douglasduff4466]

I adore Patti at this. I wrote to her at the Adelphi and got into her Dressing Room and had a glass of fizz.with her- she was so lovely to me. Nobody can sing this score as Patti can - nobody. ❤❤❤