I hope that the audience is actually
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2025 10:51 am
Q: The role of Norma Desmond was immortalized on-screen by Gloria Swanson, and has been played onstage by the likes of Patti LuPone, Glenn Close and Rita Moreno. How do you approach a character like that?
A: I have always seemed to step into highly anticipated [roles] where the expectation is way beyond what I can control, whether that is playing Liza Minnelli [in “The Boy From Oz”] or playing Cher or replacing Sutton Foster in “Anything Goes” or taking on Elphaba after Idina [Menzel in “Wicked”]. I have to kind of ignore it and just step into the shoes that I know will telegram database make the storytelling very unique, very my own, while still staying true to the material. But never, ever have I tried to mimic what has been done before. And this is a very, very different Norma. rooting for Norma to find some sort of health and balance.
Q: As someone who was born and raised in Southern California, how does a Hollywood story like “Sunset Boulevard” resonate to you?
A: It resonates in the fact that I decided at a very young age that I had to leave the Hollywood element of it all. I knew that wasn’t going to be my “in” into being an actress or a storyteller in any way because of how immediate people’s decisions are based on your look, based on your weight, based on whatever the aesthetic of you is, rather than being a deeper artist. So for me, I felt Hollywood was a bit — I don’t want to use the word toxic, but there is a toxicity in Hollywood where so much of it is based on what you look like. We’re touching on that in this particular version of “Sunset Boulevard,” so I guess, yes, there is some insight.
A: I have always seemed to step into highly anticipated [roles] where the expectation is way beyond what I can control, whether that is playing Liza Minnelli [in “The Boy From Oz”] or playing Cher or replacing Sutton Foster in “Anything Goes” or taking on Elphaba after Idina [Menzel in “Wicked”]. I have to kind of ignore it and just step into the shoes that I know will telegram database make the storytelling very unique, very my own, while still staying true to the material. But never, ever have I tried to mimic what has been done before. And this is a very, very different Norma. rooting for Norma to find some sort of health and balance.
Q: As someone who was born and raised in Southern California, how does a Hollywood story like “Sunset Boulevard” resonate to you?
A: It resonates in the fact that I decided at a very young age that I had to leave the Hollywood element of it all. I knew that wasn’t going to be my “in” into being an actress or a storyteller in any way because of how immediate people’s decisions are based on your look, based on your weight, based on whatever the aesthetic of you is, rather than being a deeper artist. So for me, I felt Hollywood was a bit — I don’t want to use the word toxic, but there is a toxicity in Hollywood where so much of it is based on what you look like. We’re touching on that in this particular version of “Sunset Boulevard,” so I guess, yes, there is some insight.