{"id":8261,"date":"2023-12-07T20:15:20","date_gmt":"2023-12-07T18:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.danamladin.com\/?p=8261"},"modified":"2025-08-13T21:10:47","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T19:10:47","slug":"sunset-boulevard-si-vanatoarea-mea-de-pe-bulevard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danamladin.com\/en\/2023\/12\/sunset-boulevard-si-vanatoarea-mea-de-pe-bulevard\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunset Boulevard and my hunt on the boulevard :)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The celebrity is selling, that’s for sure! That’s how I ended up buying a ticket to the Sunset Boulevard musical in 2016. I saw Glenn Close<\/strong> on the poster, and I didn’t hesitate!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The story didn’t matter much, or the fact that I risked not understanding much. It was the fascination of seeing live, in London, an actress from Hollywood!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And I saw it. I thought she was fabulous!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SUNSET BOULEVARD WITH NICOLE SCHERZINGER<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As I was wasting time on the\ninternet in 2023, I received a newsletter from those who send me infos about\nLondon musicals. And what do I see? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Sunset Boulevard”\nreappears in the West End, this time with Nicole Scherzinger<\/strong>! Another\nstar, same temptation: to see her live, in the musical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Especially since I really liked\nher in the concert after the coronation of Prince Charles, where she sang so\nwell alongside the pianist Lang Lang that it gave me goosebumps! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I admit I wasn’t a big fan of the\nPussycat Dolls, of which Ms. Scherzinger was a part. So I hadn’t really\nfollowed her career. I only caught bits and pieces here and there… <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this time, I was curious\nto see her. Her \u2013 a 45-year-old woman playing the role I had seen Glenn Close,\na 69-year-old, play! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I hadn’t stood in line like that\nin a long time, it seemed never-ending!!! I thought the show couldn’t start on\ntime, as it usually does in London, because there were too many people outside.\nAnd indeed, it started 8 minutes late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My big surprise was the fact that\nthe two shows \u2013 the one with Glenn Close and this one with Nicole Scherzinger,\n7 years apart, are different, which I hadn’t seen in the case of other musicals\n(except for some natural upgrades). While keeping the story and music, the\napproach in 2023 is unexpected! On a screen as big as the stage, sometimes\nperformances of the artists filmed by their fellow actors are projected, with a\nRonin<\/strong> \u2013 a trendy toy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a leading character who is\nno longer an older lady past her prime, but a hottie dressed in a negligee,\nskillfully moving her legs on the stage and living the delirious moments in\nfront of the audience, or with her face in front of a camera lens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, I won’t analyze the show,\nas I’m not an expert, I just want to tell you how crazy I was, seeing a certain\nmoment in the musical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CHASING THE STAR<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sunset Boulevard in London in\n2023 and the beginning of 2024 is being performed at the Savoy, in a\n130-year-old theater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I read that it is the world’s\nfirst public building to be electrically lit! Cool, right? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Act 2 begins with the male lead\ncharacter singing as he takes a long journey through the theater’s backstage \u2013\ndressing rooms, hallways, behind the set, more dressing rooms, stairs, then he\ngoes out on the street and keeps singing while circling the theater until he\nre-enters from where we, the spectators, entered, and then he opens the door of\nthe auditorium and walks through the audience towards the stage. This moment is\nfollowed by us on the screen on stage. Like at cinema.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everything takes a few good\nminutes, and I thought that the moment was recorded some time before the\npremiere and broadcasted on the screen where we all gaze. And then, the actor\nwould appear like a flower in the theater and continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BUT… on his sequence outside, I\nsee a girl, tourist, with a phone in her hand. She’s filming. I see people in\njackets, I see the store I passed by earlier, I see the beggar I noticed near\nthe building, and I realize that everything is live!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It’s 1 degree Celsius outside,\nbut it feels like minus 1. Ah, clearly, the man isn’t singing \u2013 I tell myself.\nHe couldn’t possibly do this whole route night after night, go up, go down,\nenter doors, go out into the freezing cold, and sing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you know what I did??? The\nnext evening, I didn’t go to any musical, so I could come to the theater at the\ntime of Act 2, to see the reality!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I arrive determined at 8:45 PM,\nnot to miss the moment (I estimated around 9:10 PM). If it really is live.<\/strong>\nLet’s see how I catch them red-handed\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I identify the alley from which\nthe artist exited onto the main street, I am close to the store I saw on the\nscreen on stage, I glance at the corner of the theater and the entrance to the\nSavoy Hotel. Alright, I’ve identified them, now to stand guard!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goodness, it’s so cold! My head\nfreezes, then my hands freeze, because I don’t keep them in my pockets, what do\nyou know… I pretend to be an innocent tourist, taking pictures in the area.\nDarn, there’s not much to photograph: there’s a caf\u00e9 next to me, I’ve already\ntaken pictures of the bright street decorations several times, as well as the\nred buses. I cross the street back and forth, looking for a spot to film the\nmoment. If it really is live<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are no clues on the street\nto make me believe that the outdoor moment is truly live. There’s no bodyguard.\nNothing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, it can’t be live!\nFurthermore, it’s so cold that I think that guy, stripped down, coming from the\ntheater after a long route, would catch a cold instantly! Which is out of the\nquestion, being the only person in his role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oops. Hold on, I see some kind of\nguard appearing, chatting with a bodyguard from the neighboring pub. Some\nprivate stuff\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I check the time. It’s 9:06 PM.\nBy my calculations, the artist should appear in a few minutes, the moment\nshould happen. If it really is live.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the street, people pass by,\nsome Japanese tourists stop to decide on directions, and a few cheerful Brits\nemerge from the pub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suddenly, a young man in a suit,\nwith an earpiece, appears. Oh my, wait, it is live!!! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I start filming. Nothing much\nhappens, except for the shivering of that young man who has been out in the\ncold for a few minutes. The guard from earlier complains to him. I stop\nfilming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, finally, I see the camera\nused in the musical, and I quickly start filming again, pretending at first to\nbe filming the main street, so as not to attract attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And behold, the male lead\ncharacter appears, making the route I saw the previous evening on the stage\nscreen. Immediately, staff members appear: some to ensure the smooth progress\nof the route, others for the safety of the protagonist, and others from the\ntechnical team to ensure a good transmission (someone holds an antenna, someone\nelse has a backpack). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I film, super excited! No one\nstops me. (Well, I didn’t interfere with them, I filmed from a short distance, quietly.) They just make sure to have a safe zone, so\nthe actor could play his role and the one filming could have a clear path. They\ndidn’t drive away the beggar from the corner, nor the passersby who were\nalready on that piece of sidewalk, they didn’t clear the rubbish from their\npath. Just a few pedestrians were slightly held back, so as not to congest the acting\narea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that’s how I convinced myself\nthat this guy really sings live, with the orchestra in his ear! He sings in\nsuch freezing cold that your nose hairs freeze, let alone his vocal cords…\nAnd he does this night after night, and on some days, even twice, because they\nhave two performances! I find this really impressive!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have the video here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n