Filipino American's Broadway debut receives raves from critics

Nicole Scherzinger shines on Broadway in the remake of the "Sunset Blvd." musical.

Nicole Scherzinger received a 6-minute standing ovation for her performance in the Broadway premier of Sunset Blvd. 

The talk about town is that the Filipino/Hawaiian/Russian American performer is the frontrunner for a Tony for her outstanding performance as the aging actress Norma Desmond in the musical Sunset Blvd. opened on Broadway Sunday, Oct. 20.

"Not only is Scherzinger's powerful voice in top form, but she's given layers to the character audiences have never seen before (and that's not counting the trendy dance moves choreographer Fabian Aloise has arranged). Scherzinger's Desmond is charismatic, funny, sensual, intelligent, dramatic, conniving and monstrous — all at the same time. She flirts her way into the hearts of everyone around her in a way that has you rooting for her, even when her behavior becomes ugly and outrageous," raved People magazine.

"Scherzinger’s roof-raising vocal power, especially on the musical’s signature songs, 'With One Look' and 'As If We Never Said Goodbye,' is astonishing, literally stopping the show with her soaring money notes and dramatic key changes. She’s the rare Norma who has the supple dance moves, too. Her command is never in doubt, and Lloyd provides unimpeded access to her every emotion by frequently giving Norma what she craves most — a camera and a closeup," writes the Hollywood Reporter.

FYI: A season of AANHPIs on Broadway

"Nicole Scherzinger’s radiance as Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. is difficult to overstate. She sings 'As If We Never Said Goodbye,' an aching one-sided duet with fame, with such delicacy and gut-slugging power that even Barbra Streisand, who covered it the same year the musical came to Broadway in 1994, might consider retiring the song from her repertoire,"gishes  the Washington Post.

The New York Post writes: "And adrenaline pumps through our bloodstream anytime the extraordinary Nicole Scherzinger, making her wondrous Broadway debut, wails a note. She’s otherworldly as that reclusive has-been Norma. A revelation. And when the former Pussycat Doll belts Lloyd Webber’s stirring ballads, 'With One Look' and 'As If We Never Said Goodbye,' as haze dreamily swirls behind her, the audience all but levitates."

USA Today was effusive in praising Scherzinger: "Scherzinger brings an almost alien quality to Norma, whose strange poise and aloofness masks much deeper, repressed trauma. She can be vampy and volatile, but also quietly devastating. The singer earned midshow standing ovations for both of Norma’s signature ballads: 'With One Look' and 'As If We Never Said Goodbye,' both of which Scherzinger delivered with breathtaking power and bravura. But perhaps her finest moment was the more subdued 'New Ways to Dream,' as Norma is tearfully confronted by her younger self (Hannah Yun Chamberlain) in a tight close-up, which is filmed live and projected onto a giant backdrop. It’s a striking juxtaposition, and Scherzinger hauntingly conveys Norma’s fear, fragility and longing as she stares down the barrel of her life."

Scherzinger recognizes that the Sunset Blvd. musical is the moment she's been waiting for all her life. On Instagram, she posted:

Scherzinger, 46, already has an Olivier under her arm and a Tony could very well be her's to claim next Spring. Indeed, it's a long way from her days with the Pussycat Dolls and fans of The Masked Singer lament Scherzinger's absense, but the Hawaii-born singer/actress has found a new home in the bright lights of Broadway.

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