Underwater Narrator
As a devotee of film noir, I’ve long forgotten the first time I encountered Sunset Boulevard—or how many times I’ve seen it over the years. Count me as skeptical when a musical version debuted in London thirty-plus years ago. I couldn’t imagine the dark-lit world of the film translated into stage sets and songs. But then. Ten days ago, my best friend and I found ourselves in orchestra seats for the current revival running at the St. James Theater in Manhattan’s Broadway theater neighborhood.
Spoiler Alert: If you intend to see the current revival, I’m about to give away the show’s opening moment.
Billy Wilder’s film opens with police sirens racing to a palatial estate. Cut to the dim-lit swimming pool, where a man—William Holden—floats face down, shot dead but, through the magic of noir storytelling, able to narrate from beneath the waters of his death.
As curtain time approached for the revival, two questions pestered me. What kind of scene would open the play / would the revival attempt to suggest a swimming pool onstage? Would the dead man as depicted in the1950 movie serve as narrator?
The curtain opens to a dark stage. No setting. On the floor at center stage, an amorphous shape, also dark. Then: the distinct sound of a zipper. An arm reaches up from the dark shape, a man unzipping his own body bag. He extricates himself. Stands. Begins to sing his story.
Instantly, I suspended disbelief. And watched, enthralled, as the surprises continued: Klieg-light-equipped cameraman onstage filming perfect black-and-white images simultaneously projected, immersing the audience in the ambience of film noir. At one point, the lead male roamed backstage corridors and walked out into the street—followed by the cameraman. I have rarely seen such a creative translation from the world of filmdom to the landscape of musical theater.
The two leads carry this revival. Nicole Scherzinger as Norma Desmond, faded movie star descending into madness. Tom Francis as the doomed writer turned gigolo for Desmond. They’ve been nominated for Tonys—Best Leading Actress and Actor. I’m rooting for them.