Review: SUNSET BOULEVARD, Savoy Theatre, Starring Rachel Tucker

Jamie Lloyd is not a director who uses celebrity names to simply pull in audiences; he will only cast someone for what they can bring to the production and what he can do with them to create maximum creative, theatrical impact.

Nicole Scherzinger has received almost universal acclaim in her portrayal of faded film star Norma Desmond in Lloyd’s new adaptation of Sunset Boulevard. This is celebrity casting for sure, but Scherzinger works harder than anyone to help create a fresh and dazzling production and has certainly proved her critics wrong.

Guest starring as Norma Desmond on Mondays is West End and Broadway performer Rachel Tucker. However, if you think that means seeing the show on a Monday is in any way a compromise, you could not be more wrong.

A ruthless dissection of the film world, where anonymity is death, Norma Desmond is a desperately lonely ex-star with delusions of grandeur and clinging to what remains of her own influence. There’s huge interpretative scope for such a character, but it is quite remarkable how diverse Scherzinger and Tucker are in their portrayals of the faded idol.

Generally, Scherzinger turns up the diva element to eleven, giving more glaring glimpses of a teetering into mental illness. Softly spoken, with frequent playing up to the camera, she is also very funny. Scherzinger also gives a hugely physical performance; it is raw, visceral and more animalistic than Tucker.

Tucker plays Norma more as a ‘tough old broad’; deadpan and knowing, with sudden flashes of righteous anger and flickers of vulnerability at her situation. At first, she appears to be relatively grounded, with the exposure of her mental vulnerability coming more as a shock at the end of Act one.

Her version of “With One Look” begins quietly, with a more understated, thoughtful tone, but builds to a breathtaking crescendo. Scherzinger is slightly more aloof, self-confident from the start with an equally powerful finish.

Scherzinger’s rendition of “As If We Never Said Goodbye” is ecstatic, but also hints at mental disintegration. Tucker brings more bittersweet nostalgia to her tone, capturing Norma’s yearning for her glory days. Both produce veritable goosebumps with their vocal power, but only Tucker has tears in her eyes.

There is an honesty and rawness to both interpretations; Lloyd asks each performer to totally expose themselves, losing any vestige of vanity and bare their souls. They submit; completely different, but equally entralling.

Physically Tucker is much smaller than Scherzinger; this doesn’t impact her stage presence in any way, but it does create the alternative view that she is more physically dominated by Tom Francis’ Joe, as he towers over her. This also means that David Thaxton's Max comes across as more of a father figure than with Scherzinger.

The projections on the big screen that cross fade between Norma and her younger self, played hauntingly by Hannah Yun Chamberlain, lose a little power, as part of their impact is the striking visual similarity between Chamberlain and Scherzinger.

Audiences who have seen her on stage before know what Tucker can do, but she is truly outstanding here. Scherzinger has challenged many expectations with her skill and ease on stage. Jamie Lloyd- you are really spoiling us!

Rachel Tucker guest stars as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, playing Monday performances until January 6, 2024.

Read our review of Sunset Boulevard starring Nicole Scherzinger here.

Photo Credits: Marc Brenner