Patti LuPone Says Nicole Scherzinger 'Broke My Heart' with 'Unbelievable' Performance in Broadway'sSunset Blvd

Mar. 15, 2025

Patti LuPone and Nicole Scherzinger.Photo:Bryan Bedder/Variety via Getty; Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

Bryan Bedder/Variety via Getty; Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

Broadway newcomerNicole Scherzingerhas earned the praise of one of the stage’s greatest stars of all time:Patti LuPone.

The legendary actress saw Scherzinger’s run in director Jamie Lloyd’s acclaimed revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’sSunset Blvd.And in a voice message toNY1’s Frank DiLella sharedto his social media account on Thursday, Dec. 12, LuPone gave Scherzinger rave reviews.

“I thought Nicole was unbelievable. She broke my heart,” theAgatha All Alongactress said. “She is a force.”

“Nicole and Tom were stunning,” LuPone also said. “I thought the cast was fantastic.”

Nicole Scherzinger in ‘Sunset Blvd.’ on Broadway.Marc Brenner

Marc Brenner

The move was one of the biggest controversies in musical theater history and spurred a decades-long feud between LuPone and Lloyd Webber.

As LuPone wrote in her 2010 memoir, she was furious when she read the news in Liz Smith’s gossip column while backstage in London. “I took batting practice in my dressing room with a floor lamp,” LuPone recalled. “I swung at everything in sight — mirrors, wig stands, makeup, wardrobe, furniture, everything. Then I heaved the lamp out the second-floor window.”

Eventually, LuPone sued Lloyd Webber,receiving a reported $1 million settlementand using the money to build at her home what she dubbed “The Andrew Lloyd Webber Memorial Pool.”

Patti LuPone as Norma Desmond in ‘Sunset Boulevard’ in London, 1993.Alastair Muir/Shutterstock

With all that in mind, one might imagine that LuPone would have some strong feelings about seeing the show. But she insisted to DiLella that when she saw the musical on Wednesday, Dec. 11, her “trepidation” had to do with her “strong feelings about the show — not with what happened to me in the show, but theshow.”

“I love this production,” she said. “The lighting. The use of the filming was something that I questioned because I don’t know where I am — am I at a movie or am I at the theater? This worked brilliantly.”

“The whole thing, the whole thing,” LuPone said. “I was energized when I left the theater. I loved it.”

Nicole Scherzinger backstage during the opening night of ‘Sunset BLVD’ at St James Theater on Oct. 20 in New York City.Bruce Glikas/WireImage

Bruce Glikas/WireImage

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Sunset Blvd.also stars David Thaxton as ‘Max von Mayerling’ and Grace Hodgett Young as ‘Betty Schaefer.’

The full company includes Hannah Yun Chamberlain as ‘Young Norma,’ Olivia Lacie Andrews as ‘Nancy,’ Brandon Mel Borkowsky as ‘John,’ Shavey Brown as ‘DeMille/Stan/Finance Man,’ Cydney Clark as ‘Joanna/Guard,’ Raúl Contreras as ‘Finance Man/Frank,’ Tyler Davis as ‘Sheldrake,’ E.J. Hamilton as ‘Lisa,’ Sydney Jones as ‘Dorothy,’ Emma Lloyd as ‘Mary/Heather,’ Pierre Marais as ‘Sammy,’ Shayna McPherson as ‘Camera Operator,’ Jimin Moon as ‘Morino/Hog Eye,’ Justice Moore as ‘Jean,’ Drew Redington as ‘Myron/Jones/Camera Operator’ and Diego Andres Rodriguez as ‘Artie.’

Tickets forSunset Boulevardare now on sale.

source: people.com