Sunset Boulevard

Hello,

Sunset Boulevard seems to the be the show everyone was talking about. So, when we saw TDF tickets for one of Mandy Gonzalez's performances, we took the chance and got them. We didn't know the plot super well before hand, but read the wikipedia summary, so we wouldn't be confused. It was New Years Day, and pretty warm out. We had rushed Gypsy for matinee tickets, and had evening tickets for Sunset Boulevard.

The story follows Joe, as he accidentally ends up as a houseguest to former movie star, Norma Desmond. Norma has been irrelevant for years, but still believes in her delusion she is famous. Her butler (and former husband) Max is feeding her delusion by writing fake fan mail. Joe ends up staying at Norma's mansion to help her with her terrible screenplay, for which she wants produced and wants to star as the 16 year old protagonist. A lot of truths come out as Norma slips further into her madness. The show ends with her shooting and killing Joe, but still believes she is on the set of a movie. There is also a side plot where Joe is leaving the mansion to work on one of his scripts with Betty, the fiancé of his friend Artie. 

Here is a picture of Mandy Gonzalez as Norma

I really wanted to love this show. I still enjoyed myself, and the performances were incredible and the staging was cool. However, I just didn't really get it. The whole point of this new revival is that it is fully stripped back. No set and very basic costumes. The focus point were cameras, that would get up close footage of the actors, which was being displayed on the back of the stage. It was overall pretty fascinating to watch. A big highlight was the act two opener

My major problem was that I didn't feel enough. I don't know if this was me, or the staging. I doubt it was the actors, because I have heard only praise for them all. But reading the wikipedia almost brought me to tears earlier in the day. Seeing the ending line " Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close up" was heartbreaking. At the end of the show, I was ready to feel completely devastated for Norma. The end came. Norma is standing alone on the stage, drenched in blood, delivering her monologue. She said the line, and there was a moment of silence before several people started to laugh. So that was my major question. Was I supposed to laugh? If so, maybe I misunderstood the show and the intentions. But I left feeling confused. 

Overall, I felt so cool at the end. I got the signature of Diego Andres Rodriguez (Who is playing Artie, Betty's boyfriend). I felt very artsy, and overall just fancy and cool. I reccomend if this is the feeling you are chasing, and it is a really interesting production. But, I probably won't see it again.

Thanks for reading

Makayla