ADVERTISEMENT

    Theatre Review: Short North Stage’s Sunset Boulevard an Ambitious Start to Season

    A villain, murder, sweet love story, deception, lies…Sunset Boulevard packs a lot into the nearly three hour production. The musical opened Short North Stage’s 2014-2015 season last night at the Garden Theater. It’s nice to see the company supported to take on works that would require a more elaborate set. The set for Sunset Boulevard fills the stage, and hides a live orchestra.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    The musical opens with Joe Gillis (Chris Shea), a Hollywood writer down on his luck and trying to hustle up work at Paramount. No one feels inclined to give him work, or a loan, except his friend Artie Green (Edward Carignan) who offers Joe a $20 bill. While talking to a producer, Joe meets Betty Schaefer (Cassie Rae), a young and pretty screen writer who disses a screenplay and then realizes it was written by Joe. She proposes they work together to rewrite one of his earlier ideas, but he needs to skedaddle as a couple of men are after him to possess his car.

    A car chase ensues. There’s a nice use of video on the dual screens to the side of the stage. The videos are done in an older style, but they are fun and add to the musical. Joe drives into a run-down mansion on Sunset Blvd to escape the goons and that’s where he meets the famed Norma Desmond (Gina Handy), who has been fading away in her large home, although she is still quite convinced of her popularity and beauty, which we find out is due to her butler Max (Christopher Moore Griffin). She is in the process of laying her pet chimp to rest. You get the feeling her life is very very empty.

    Up until this point, the orchestra had been overpowering the actors, (which was corrected in the second Act) but Handy was able to take command of the stage. She’s a crazy, manic person, who is very manipulative, always with the upper-hand. She sees Joe as her chance for a return to the big screen and asks him (more like demands) that he will help her by going through a screenplay she has written.

    Love scenes between Shea and Handy feel a bit forced. The characters are both using each other to advance themselves, and when Norma declares her love for Joe, it feels odd, and more out of desperation and loneliness. As if, ‘well, he’s all I have here except Max, so better make the best of it’.

    The scenes are much more fun when Handy is among the raucous young people. This Time Next Year is an especially lively and fun number. It’s also where the early sparks of attraction begin between Joe and Betty, which gets complicated as she is engaged to Artie, Joe’s best friend.

    Cassie Rae is so sweet on stage and her singing is bright and clear. It’s obvious she loves the theatre. She was lovely in A Grand Night for Singing, and just as lovely in this. Watching the relationship develop between Joe and Betty while they toil away on the screenplay is fun.

    Handy gives Norma such a crazed and delusional vibe and you really feel awful for her. Even though she has surrounded herself with nice things as a result of money, the old saying is true that money can’t buy happiness. In A Little Suffering Norma spends large sums of money for “mud packs and blood sacks” to get her body looking younger and prettier for what she thinks will be her return to the stage. It’s one of the highlights of the production, and Vera Ryan Cremeans shines as the masseuse.

    The ensemble as a whole performed well together and the larger song numbers were quite enjoyable. Costumes by Joshua Burns were mostly on point – Rae’s colorful skirt ensembles being the best. At times, Handy’s robes skewed more Cruella de Vil.

    Norma’s delusion continues through to the tragic ending, and it’s the final scene where Handy really shines. More lighting tricks could have given this musical more of a horror-movie feel- as presented, I left the show feeling sad for this faded movie star, when in truth, she was a really wretched person.

    Short North Stage’s production of Sunset Boulevard continues through Sunday, October 19th at the Garden Theater. Tickets ($25-$40) and showtimes available at ShortNorthStage.org

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Subscribe

    More to Explore:

    First Look: Alex Vinash NY Opens in Short North

    After three plus years of sitting empty, the storefront...

    Former Home of Tasi Becomes Private Event Space

    Tasi Cafe closed its doors last August after a...

    6 New & Recent Restaurant Openings in Central Ohio

    Breakfasts from classic to biscuit focused, desserts to satisfy...

    Restaurant Review: Treasures of Eclectic Influence at Hiraeth

    Hiraeth, a Short North project from the owners of...
    Anne Evans
    Anne Evanshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-evans/
    Anne Evans is the Co-Founder and Director of Operations for The Metropreneur and Columbus Underground. She regularly contributes feature stories on both sites, as well as Mega Weekend each week. She has started and grown businesses, created experiences, forged community partnerships, and worked to create opportunities for others. She loves meeting new neighbors and those making an impact in our community. Want to connect?
    ADVERTISEMENT