Glenn Close played Norma Desmond on Broadway in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard in 1993 when she was 46 and won a Tony Award. 23 years on she returns to the role in a semi-staged production by Lonny Price and gets the sort of rapturous reception that most actors can only dream about.
The musical is based on the legendary 1950 Billy Wilder movie about a once great screen idol of the silent film era, now long forgotten, who lives all alone with her butler, and fantasises about making a comeback as Salome
The book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton stick pretty close to the original screenplay; but, inevitably, without that frisson, Sunset Boulevard (synonymous with Hollywood) is but a shadow of its former self.
Star quality is difficult to define but it’s always instantly recognisable. Glenn Close has star quality. The first night audience roared its approval when she sang ‘With One Look”. And they roared again when she sang ‘New Ways to Dream’.
The final scene, when Norma Desmond descends her staircase, quite mad, thinking the cameras are filming her Salome, really does need the wonderful gilded, sweeping staircase designer John Napier gave her in Trevor Nunn’s original production to have its full impact.
Michael Xavier is her young lover and Fred Johanson is a striking presence as the great film director turned butler. ENO’s orchestra is on stage, conducted by Michael Reed. Lloyd Webber’s lush romanticism has rarely sounded so good.