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Nicole Scherzinger’s Norma Desmond is the force at the center of Jamie Lloyd’s Sunset Blvd., a Broadway revival that turns the act of watching into part of the drama. Her singing and command of the camera drew strong praise, but Lloyd’s stark, close-up-heavy staging divided critics. The production’s impact lies in that tension: it makes Norma’s hunger to be seen thrillingly immediate, even as its stylization can keep her at a distance.
The Broadway engagement at the St. James Theatre ran from October 20, 2024, to July 20, 2025, its final performance. It is closed and is not currently playing as this production. The Internet Broadway Database lists the engagement; the official production site also confirms its final date.
Is Nicole Scherzinger good as Norma Desmond?
Yes: Scherzinger’s vocal command and ability to hold the camera’s gaze were among the revival’s most compelling features. Norma, a former movie star who cannot let go of the possibility of a comeback, is a character built around performance and attention. The production’s cameras make that need literal, and Scherzinger meets them with a scale and focus that suit the role’s appetite for an audience.
Her achievement is not the same as an uncomplicated endorsement of every choice made for the character. Critics differed over whether the revival’s heightened treatment illuminated Norma’s pain or made her feel remote, and some questioned the way the production framed her. Scherzinger herself described approaching the character without judgment in an interview with Vogue: “I just felt Norma’s pain. I didn’t judge her. Who doesn’t want to be seen and accepted?” The interview was published August 22, 2024.
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What is different about Jamie Lloyd’s Sunset Blvd.?
A bare stage and a camera’s gaze
Rather than rely on a lavish period mansion, Lloyd’s production builds a spare, largely monochrome world. Modern streetwear and live cameras push the story away from a straightforward recreation of old Hollywood. Close-ups are projected large enough to become theatrical events in their own right: the audience watches the characters onstage and watches their images being made, magnified and consumed.
That design makes the show’s themes of fame, image-making and spectatorship part of its form. The camera can make a private expression feel exposed, but it also reminds the audience that what it sees is selected and framed. Time Out’s Adam Feldman called the approach “very meta and very smart,” and noted how Jack Knowles’s lighting and video design by Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom fill out the stripped setting. Read Feldman’s October 20, 2024 review.
Why the concept divides opinion
The live video can sharpen the story’s central contradiction: Norma needs to be seen, yet the act of looking can turn her into an image rather than a person. When the close-up intensifies a moment, the staging gives her need for recognition immediate force. When the visual idea dominates, that same mediation can make the character seem harder to reach. The revival’s extremity is therefore both its signature and the source of its critical divide.
Reception was mixed rather than unanimous. Time Out awarded the production four out of five stars and found the video concept often thrilling, while criticizing parts of the score as filler. A BroadwayWorld roundup records contrasting responses: the Washington Post praised Scherzinger’s radiance and vocal power; USA Today admired her presence but called Lloyd’s concept muddled and raised concerns about a condescending treatment of Norma; and New York Stage Review found the performance hypnotic but potentially exhausting.
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What is the story, and do you need to know the film?
The musical adapts the story associated with Billy Wilder’s 1950 film. Norma Desmond, a former silent-film star, believes she can return to the screen. Joe Gillis, a screenwriter unable to sell his scripts, becomes entangled in her plans, and their relationship grows dangerous. The official production description emphasizes the characters’ ambitions, frustrations and need for fame and adoration. See the production’s description of the show.
You do not need to watch the film first to follow the musical’s premise. Wilder’s film is the most direct companion if you want to see the source story and compare how the revival reimagines its world. Lloyd’s staging does not depend on reproducing the film’s visual style; it makes the audience’s act of looking central in its own way.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What awards did the revival win?
The production’s recognition spanned its London and Broadway history, with separate awards for each engagement.
| Engagement | Awards | Recognized wins |
|---|---|---|
| London, 2024 Olivier Awards | Seven wins | Best musical revival; best actress for Nicole Scherzinger; best actor for Tom Francis; direction for Jamie Lloyd, among the wins reported by the Associated Press. |
| Broadway, 2025 Tony Awards | Three wins from seven nominations | Best revival of a musical; leading actress in a musical for Nicole Scherzinger; lighting design for Jack Knowles. |
The American Theatre Wing’s 2025 Tony record lists the nominations and wins. The Olivier results were reported by the Associated Press, which described the production as one that “melds live video with the onstage action.”
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Was the Broadway revival worth seeing?
For a theatregoer interested in a bold, camera-forward reinterpretation, the revival offered a distinctive way to experience a familiar story—and a formidable central performance. For someone seeking a traditional period recreation, Lloyd’s spare aesthetic and relentless mediation may have been less satisfying. That is a judgment about the production’s artistic approach, not a claim of consensus: critics praised Scherzinger while disagreeing about whether the concept deepened or obstructed Norma’s story.
Because the Broadway run ended on July 20, 2025, this is a retrospective recommendation rather than current ticket advice. The official production site also identifies Sunset Blvd: The Album, recorded live at London’s Savoy Theatre, as a listening reference; it is not a recording of the Broadway performance.
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