Nicole Scherzinger made her Broadway debut on Saturday, starring in Jamie Lloyd’s Sunset Boulevard.
In the show, according to Broadway World, Scherzinger plays washed-up film actress Norma Desmond. Desmond lives in her decaying Los Angeles mansion, reminiscing about the past. One day, she meets young screenwriter Joe Gillis.
The musical was originally written by Andrew Lloyd Weber. Jamie Lloyd is directing the most recent version starring Scherzinger.
Scherzinger said she was surprised when Lloyd approached her about the role.
“I was like, ‘Are you crazy? Are you mad?’ I didn’t get it, because I only ever had Glenn Close in my mind — and Gloria Swanson in the old film,” she said in an interview with PEOPLE Magazine. “He was like, ‘Don’t watch the movie, don’t listen to anybody else, just read the lines and listen to the music.’ And when I did, I just fell in love with Norma. I didn’t realize that this is the role that I’ve been waiting to play all my life. We’re doing a completely different, new interpretation.”
The revival of Sunset Boulevard, with Scherzinger as its star, premiered in London at the West End in 2023. In 2024, she won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
And yesterday, on September 28, the show made its Broadway debut.
“Tonight I make my Broadway debut,” Scherzinger wrote on Instagram. “I can hardly believe it. Little Nicole has waited for this her whole life. And I get to do it with this beautiful cast…”
Saturday night’s performance was well-received. According to a tweet from Ashley Hufford, Scherzinger received multiple standing ovations.
Scherzinger is most known for her time with the Pussycat Dolls, an early 2000s pop group. But, she has dabbled in musical theater before, recording her own version of “Memory,” a song from Weber’s musical Cats. She also performed “Phantom of the Opera” during a 2011 Royal Variety Performance.
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