I met my daughter outside the theater, and we were, finally, ready to see the show.

Did I enjoy it? Well, first a little history. I saw the movie many years ago (and loved it). When the show first came out in 1993 it opened first in London. Since I was in New York I wasn’t able to see the show, so I bought the original cast recording instead. I loved that too. Eventually I saw the show in London. I’ve seen a lot of shows in New York and for some of them I didn’t care for the production. But I’ve never seen a poor performance. The depth of talent in New York City is incredible. When I saw the show in London the production was good, but the performances (particularly of the female lead) were less so. I was a bit disappointed, but I hoped to see it again sometime.

Fast forward to the present day. The performances were wonderful, especially those of the male and female leads. Nicole Scherzinger was particularly impressive despite the fact that she was rather too young, and perhaps too attractive to play the part. But what a fantastic voice.

Unfortunately, I have mixed feelings about the production. There were no sets. The earlier production I saw had realistic period (1940s) sets and costumes. This one had neither: just a pretty much empty stage and uniform black/grey costumes. It was a bit dreary, and at times could potentially cause problems. Near the end some asks something like “Who’s Norma Desmond?”. In the earlier production the walls were covered with pictures of her (showing how narcissistic she was). The male lead answers by pointing at pictures in turn and saying “That’s Norma Desmond! That’s Norma Desmond! That’s Norma Desmond!”. Of course, in this production there are no pictures to point at. Seemed a little strange. I could give other examples. I also thought the giant screen, although effective at times, was used too much. Finally, I find Norma to be a very sad person. Although the original production had a certain amount of humor, I felt this one poked too much fun at Norma’s expense. It was a bit like kicking a homeless man.

Still, I shouldn’t be so critical. You can’t always repeat the same production over and over again. It was a valiant attempt, which I felt didn’t quite work. Just the same I enjoyed it immensely!

Taken with a Sony RX100 MVII

This picturesque doorway is in the Paramount Building:

1501 Broadway, also known as the Paramount Building, is a 33-story office building on Times Square between West 43rd and 44th Streets in the Theater District neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Rapp and Rapp, it was erected from 1925 to 1927 as the headquarters of Paramount Pictures. The building is designed in the Art Deco and Beaux-Arts styles. The office wing on Times Square contains numerous setbacks as mandated by the 1916 Zoning Resolution, while the rear wing housed the Paramount Theatre from 1926 to 1967. Newmark & Company owns 1501 Broadway.

The facade is mostly designed with brick walls, though the first five stories are ornamented with limestone piers. The main entrance is on 43rd Street. There is also a five-story arch on Broadway, facing Times Square, which leads to a Hard Rock Cafe; it is an imitation of the former Paramount Theatre entrance. Atop the building is a four-faced clock, with two large faces and two small faces, as well as an illuminated globe that could display the time. The ground floor historically had an ornate lobby leading to the theater, which had 3,664 seats over four levels. The modern building contains office space in both the original office wing and the theater wing.

Paramount predecessor Famous Players–Lasky proposed the theater in 1922, but Rapp and Rapp had revised the plans to include an office tower by 1924. The theater opened on November 19, 1926, though the offices did not open until the following year. The clock and globe on the roof were blacked out during World War II. A group led by David Rosenthal converted the theater to offices in 1967 and removed the theater’s original arch. The Paramount Building’s facade became a New York City designated landmark in 1988. The arch, clock, and globe were restored starting in the late 1990s, and the main entrance was relocated in another renovation in the 2010s.

The building has a much more spectacular entrance, which now serves as the entrance to the Hard Rock Cafe. I didn’t take a picture of it because I already have pictures from an earlier visit.

For more information, and some lovely historical photographs) of the Paramount Building see here.

Taken with a Sony RX100 MVII