Nicole Scherzinger Gets 6-Minute Standing Ovation for Triumphant Performance at Opening of Broadway'sSunset Blvd.

Mar. 15, 2025

Nicole Scherzinger in ‘Sunset Blvd.’ on Broadway.Photo:Marc Brenner

Marc Brenner

If you’re lucky enough to get a ticket to seeNicole Scherzingerin the Broadway revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’sSunset Boulevard, you might want to wear comfortable shoes.

The Grammy nominee gives a chilling, career-defining performance in the musical that’s so commanding, so seductive and so magnificent, she’s receiving multiple mid-show standing ovations — including one that lasted six minutes on Sunday, Oct. 20, when the show officially opened at the St. James Theatre in New York City.

It’s an incredible moment to witness, and one that fans of the former Pussycat Doll frontwoman feel is long-overdue. After years of cutting her teeth in the music industry and failing to connect as a solo artist in the states, Scherzinger is finally getting the flowers she deserves as she makes her Broadway debut.

Nicole Scherzinger in ‘Sunset Blvd.’ on Broadway.Marc Brenner

But Scherzinger will surely be getting way more than flowers for playing faded silent movie starNorma DesmondinSunset Boulevard– styled asSunset Blvd.this time around.

Already the recipient of the Olivier Award after the musical’s run in London’s West End, theX-FactorandMasked Singerjudge should be making space on her shelf for a Tony Award, with many considering her the frontrunner for the coveted prize.

Not only is Scherzinger’s powerful voice in top form, but she’s given layers to the character that audiences have never seen before (and that’s not counting the new trendy dance moves from choreographer Fabian Aloise). Scherzinger’s Desmond is charismatic, funny, sensual, intelligent, dramatic, conniving and monstrous — all at the same time. She flirts her way into the hearts of everyone around her and will leave you rooting for her, even when her behavior grows ugly and outrageous.

Let’s just say, she’d make a fantasticReal Housewife of Beverly Hills.

David Thaxton and Tom Francis in ‘Sunset Blvd.’ on Broadway.Marc Brenner

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The cast of ‘Sunset Blvd.’ on Broadway.Marc Brenner

Those who have seen previous versions ofSunset Boulevardmay think they’ve seen it before, but Lloyd’s bold vision makes this story feel completely fresh. Though the story may be set in 1940s Hollywood, he sees it told through the eyes of the 21st century, with a production that’s so technically marvelous, it’s impossible to look away.

Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom’s are responsible for the inventive video design and cinematography.

It’s a wildly effective technique, and one that allows new statements to be made about the show’s topics, like when the camera fades between close-ups of Scherzinger and Hannah Yun Chamberlain (who plays Young Norma) as Desmond contemplates her faded youth. There’s even an opening title sequence and closing credits, fitting for a story about the allure of the cinema.

The cameras also give the show a meta element. Act II opens with the lens following Francis, spectacular in his own right, as he meanders through the backstage halls of the theater where current-day references to the Pussycat Dolls and a cardboard cutout of Lloyd Webber are littered about. He then sings the musical’s title song while he walks down 44th Street, through Times Square’s famed Shubert Alley, and back onto the stage.

Francis doesn’t flinch once during the sequence, likely so used to it now given he did the same thing while playing the role in London. (He got a standing ovation, too, on Sunday night after the song wrapped — one of four total the show received). Still, that steadiness is characteristic of the guarded drive the actor gives Gillis, who narrates the action of the show after unzipping himself from a body bag center stage.

Tom Francias and Nicole Scherzinger in ‘Sunset Blvd.’ on Broadway.Marc Brenner

Sunset Blvd.also stars Olivia Lacie Andrews as ‘Nancy,’ Brandon Mel Borkowsky as ‘John,’ Shavey Brown as ‘DeMille/Stan/Finance Man,’ Cydney Clark as ‘Joanna/Guard,’ Raúl Contreras as ‘Finance Man/Frank,’ Tyler Davis as ‘Sheldrake,’ E.J. Hamilton as ‘Lisa,’ Sydney Jones as ‘Dorothy,’ Emma Lloyd as ‘Mary/Heather,’ Pierre Marais as ‘Sammy,’ Shayna McPherson as ‘Camera Operator,’ Jimin Moon as ‘Morino/Hog Eye,’ Justice Moore as ‘Jean,’ Drew Redington as ‘Myron/Jones/Camera Operator’ and Diego Andres Rodriguez as ‘Artie.’

Ahead of the opening, Lloyd Webber shared best wishes to Broadway team. “Hi everybody atSunset. You are the most wonderful cast, the most fantastic orchestra — everybody involved with the production has been absolutely great,” he said ina video on his instagram Stories. “I wish you every single bit of good luck for the opening.”

Tickets forSunset Boulevardare now on sale.

source: people.com