Sunset Boulevard:
An Ode To Understudies

At 5am, a homicide is reported in one of the lavish mansions on Sunset Boulevard. A man has been shot three times, and the perpetrator just happens to be the greatest old-time movie star in history. 

Sunset Boulevard is a classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, but with the extensive body of work this man has it’s hard to know if this piece will be more Phantom of the Opera or more Starlight Express. Regardless, our team decided to check it out, and found a rousing piece of theatre worth every cent. 

Through a twist of fate, down on his luck screenwriter Joe Gillis (Tim Draxl) finds himself at the steps of silent film star Norma Desmond’s (Silvie Paladino) lavish mansion. Believing she’s still adored and that her public misses her, she asks him to stay with her and write her comeback picture. What initially begins as two people innocently using one another for success soon becomes a sinister and twisted relationship filled with deception and obsession, all within the glitz and glamour of 1950 Hollywood.

Revisiting the age-old discussion of keeping our talent local or outsourcing our theatre stars, Sarah Brightman takes to the stage in this production as Norma Desmond. Brightman is most renowned for her origination of the role Christine Daee in The Phantom of the Opera in 1986, with the character written for her exceptional soprano voice. Since then– which Sunset Boulevard’s team have made very well known– Brightman has taken a three decade long hiatus from musical theatre, only to make her return in Australia. Our theatre industry managing to lure a global superstar with such acclaim demonstrates the high esteem that Australian theatre is held on the world stage, and our ability to produce shows to the highest calibre. However, our main question is why? With so much talent in Australia it raises the question, why bring in more? 

Cutting through this noise, stepping up in elegant black lace, Silvie Paladino makes an eloquent argument for keeping our stars home-grown and on home soil. It’s impossible to understate her mesmeric performance, wrapping the audience up in Norma’s distorted reality and entwining them in her deep emotional turmoil. Paladino is sheer star quality, delivering a masterclass performance in a production where she bafflingly plays second string. At her bow, Paladino had audiences leap to their feet (many with tears in their eyes), and we’ll all be singing her praises about her work in this role for years to come.

As Norma’s butler, Robert Grubb dons the pristine white gloves and shiny black shoes of Max Von Mayerling. With a wonderful and classic singing voice, it’s a real shame that his biggest number “The Greatest Star Of All” is a bit of a snoozer. Nevertheless, Grubb’s take on Max’s impassioned venture to keep Norma in her fantasy of fame is heartbreaking and sweet.

Bubbly and youthful, Ashleigh Rubenach stuns as Betty Schaefer, Joe’s romantic interest and co-writer at Paramount. Spending most of the show blissfully wide-eyed and enamoured with the world, her shattering final scene opens audiences to Rubenach’s range as an actress, and sheer talent in a leading role.

As the smarmy and naive Joe Gillis, Tim Draxl smoothly carries the story on his shoulders as narrator, strolling seamlessly through Joe’s apprehensive wrangling into Norma’s life. Matching Paladino’s expertise, he remains in stride with her professionalism throughout the show and the two are a match made in heaven in their scenes together. Draxl also boasts a stellar voice, seizing audiences with his rendition of “Sunset Boulevard” and “The Final Scene”, where he reprises the song somehow more cynical and melancholy than the first.

The ensemble are stunning in this production, and are most fun to watch when they get to lean into the comedy. The ladies eat up the lunacy of old Hollywood beauty treatments in “Eternal Youth Is Worth A Little Suffering”, and the gents equally camp it up in “The Lady’s Paying”, punctuating the show with some laughs across a predominantly solemn plot.

Where this show hits a bump on its road to becoming a classic is its pacing. Across Act One, we watch as Joe takes a sluggish amount of time to realise the severity of Norma’s mind and his involvement in her life, akin to watching someone walk into the basement– step by agonising step– at the climax of a horror movie. We’re all screaming at them not to, but they do it anyway. As a result the plot mostly picks up in Act Two, but it throws caution to the wind and goes for a sprint, leaving the audience breathless at the show’s conclusion. 

Another newly arisen issue with the production is that performances have begun to be cancelled as a result of poor ticket sales, beginning with Tuesday nights which were previously dedicated to Paladino’s portrayal of Desmond (in addition to Wednesday matinees). While we anxiously wait to see if she’ll be moved to another evening, there’s been no news on this as yet. And believe us, you’ll want to seek her out if you can.

If you love your dialogue sung, your sets lavish, your orchestrations sweeping and cinematic, then Sunset Boulevard is the ultimate production to seek out. A genuine staple of musical theatre that promises to move and entrance, it’s here in Melbourne for those of us who are dying to experience a classic. 

Sunset Boulevard is currently running at The Princess Theatre, Melbourne.

Find out more at their website: Sunset Boulevard The Musical Australia

This review is based upon the performance of Sunset Boulevard on the 12th of June, 2024.

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