Even though the theme of Sunset Blvd. is “Don’t believe your own press”, Nicole Scherzinger—who’s currently starring in a Broadway revisal of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical—should probably take hers seriously. She won the prestigious Laurence Olivier award for her performance in London last year and now is set to take Broadway on a wave of hyper-expectations.
Scherzinger, of course, plays faded diva Norma Desmond—originally Gloria Swanson in the 1950 movie and Glenn Close in the musical’s first Broadway incarnation in 1994.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Norma is a flamboyant, former silent screen star whose longtime career remission has led her to become bitter, unrealistic and ultimately demented. But director Jamie Lloyd has reimagined the whole thing, adding contemporary touches and other bold strokes. The New York Times called Scherzinger’s performance “career-defining,” as well as “both captivating and chilling.”
Honolulu born and Louisville, Kentucky raised, Scherzinger was the lead singer of the smoldering dance/R&B group the Pussycat Dolls (2003-‘10), a sort of tougher Spice Girls, and scored a string of hits like “Don’t Cha,” “Buttons” and “When I Grow Up,” among others.
She went on to a solo career, including being a judge on shows like The X Factor and The Masked Singer.
At a Civilian Hotel meet and greet for Sunset Blvd.—which opens October 20th—she looked flawless in a white minidress with billowing shoulders, plus cascading hair and fire engine red lips.
She was ready for her closeup!
Hello, Nicole. Were you always interested in doing musical theater?
Yes! I loved musical theater at an early age. But my original plan was that I fell in love with Whitney Houston at the tender age of six. After that, I also loved Paula Abdul. And I came to love jazz, rock—all kinds of music. Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday. When I went to Youth Performing Arts School [in Kentucky], I fell in love with musical theater and performed in many shows.
The part of Norma Desmond must be so exhausting. At the end of a performance, are you adrenalized or do you need to be carried out on a stretcher?
I am an adrenaline junkie! Norma is dazzlingly complex and the show takes me to emotional extremes. It’s extremely exhausting and challenging every night, but at the same time, very rewarding.
I feel that the moment Norma becomes humanized is when she returns to the movie studio and catches up with some of her old cohorts. You suddenly feel for her a bit and realize she might not be a complete monster.
You haven’t seen our production. From the start, she is humanized.
Ah! Can’t wait. Andrew Lloyd Webber loved your version of “Memory”. Would you like to ever play Grizabella in Cats?
I did play Grizabella and was nominated for the Laurence Olivier award [in 2015].
Yikes. Take away my gay card!
Cats came at the right moment in my life. I felt like it was written for me, just like I feel like Sunset Boulevard was written for me.
Glenn Close would like a word, lol. Do you have a lot of queer friends?
Oh, yes!
And a big queer following too.
Yes. From the Pussycat Dolls. When I went on RuPaul’s Drag Race [All Stars, as a judge in 2016], I thought, “I think I’m a drag queen!” When I heard the stories of these queens, they really spoke to me.
Well, you’re doing beautiful drag right now. Congrats on the show.
Her art will go on
If that’s not gaytastic enough for you, maybe you need to see The Big Gay Jamboree, which opens September 30th at off-Broadway’s Orpheum Theatre. The show is cowritten by and stars Marla Mindelle, who was also a creator and star (as Celine Dion) of the still running off-Broadway hit Titanique, a hilarious spoof of Titanic, which never hits a creative iceberg.
In The Big Gay Jamboree, Mindelle is a woman who gets drunk, blacks out, and wakes up in a 1940s musical she’s desperate to get out of. Can you imagine anything more horrifying? I just spoke to Marla about the experience.
Hi, Marla. So tell me about The Big Gay Jamboree. How gay is it?
In the 1940s, “gay” meant happy. Of course, it’ll take on different connotations within 90 minutes. But basically, she has no idea how the f*** she got there. She’s a failed actress like yours truly.
Oh, please! You’ve won awards!
Sure [laughs], but for a long time I was a failed actress, which is where I took inspiration. Her next greatest thing is becoming a Real Housewife.
She’ll pick any franchise except Dubai. She hates Dubai.
So you’re spoofing the conventions of musical theater?
Correct. We’re taking the tropes of classical musical theater-–female empowerment or queer identity—and commenting on that. My character is opening up the townspeople–telling them, “Hey, you have main character energy.”
They say, “What’s that? I’ve never heard of that before.” She’s using modern day lingo to transform their lives in a misogynistic and racist town and wanting to take them into the future, where it’s not much better, but a little bit.
You were great in Titanique. What was the key to learning how to sing like Celine?
I do it the way she would do it. You put a little smirk on your face—a side smile and always so grateful. “Thank you so much. Merci beaucoup.” Everyone is your best friend, including a doorknob. Then you conduct the orchestra with your fingers, take a breath and wail your tits off.
Do you extra admire Celine, after all the health challenges been through?
Oh, my God, I watched her documentary and cried. I cried during the Olympics. She’s still my touchstone. She went through all of that and came out on top, with some of the most glorious performances in recent memory. I still take her with me.
Offstage, you are “non-sexual life partners” with Constantine Rousouli, the cocreator/costar of Titanique, right?
Yes. It’s so nonsexual. I can’t do anything without him.
Does this preclude other relationships from happening?
I think so. Our parents would love to see us married. We live and work together, and we like each other.
How do you identify?
We’re both queer.
Can you date on the side?
Yes. We’re each other’s beards.
[Laughs] What if you met a woman you fell for?
They’d have to accept being in a throuple with me and Constantine.
A throuple! Like your ex-Titanique costar Frankie Grande had.
We are Frankie Grande! He’d love that.
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