Nicole Scherzinger arrives in the makeshift dressing room in a flurry of silk and nervous energy. She takes off her dark glasses: no makeup. "This is me in work mode," she says.
But her skin is flawless, her eyes clear and piercing, eyebrows arched over high cheekbones, a toned stomach glimpsed under her loose, gold-patterned shirt. It is midsummer and she is getting ready to perform at Britain's Henley Festival, an event that transforms a verdant bend in the river Thames into a hubbub of tents around a floating stage.
She's the star attraction but admits she's anxious. "I am always picky about sound," she says. But she's eager to discuss the subject at hand, which is her Broadway debut in an incendiary new version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard. "I am 46, and I've dreamed of going to Broadway my whole life," she says, smiling. We've moved to her trailer, sitting amid white leather cushions and sipping coconut water. "It has taken a long time, but it feels really special because I get to do it as Norma Desmond." Lloyd Webber's musical is based on the 1950 Billy Wilder film about the fading silent-film star hiding away in a decaying mansion but clinging to her dream of a comeback. It's been the vehicle for memorable performances by Patti LuPone and Glenn Close. But Scherzinger's interpretation, which she debuted at London's Savoy Theatre last year, offered something raw and revealing. A stripped-back monochrome production by British director Jamie Lloyd, full of smoke and shadows and incorporating cameras and screens to tell the story of Norma's doomed love affair with a young screenwriter, the show drives home the sense that stars flicker in and out, losing their place in the pantheon.
Denne historien er fra October 2024-utgaven av Vogue US.
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Denne historien er fra October 2024-utgaven av Vogue US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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WOMAN TO WOMAN
Chemena Kamali's debut for Chloé was notable most of all for the way it connected with so many. Chloe Schama meets the designer whose name is on everyone's lips.
In Wonderland
Coach creative director Stuart Vevers and husband Ben Seidler's country cottage on 40 rolling acres is filled with antiques, flea market finds and their gorgeous young twins.
SUPERNOVA
A searingly modern take on Sunset Boulevard, starring Nicole Scherzinger at the height of her powers, comes to the New York stage.
Mr. Happy
Kieran Culkin as electric an actor as he is a constitutionally ambivalent one-anchors the dark comic indie A Real Pain, and is leading Glengarry Glen Ross to Broadway. It's a lot to process.
SHAPE SHIFTER
Who is Lady Gaga now? A Hollywood superstar, a pop innovator, and a much happier, more grounded creature altogether. But as Jonathan Van Meter discovers, she's still an ever-evolving puzzle all her own. Photographed by Ethan James Green.
An Un-Still Life
The vibrant paintings of Hilary Pecis pulse with energy.
Giddyup Cup
The storied Austrian glassware maker Lobmeyr looks to the American West.
What's Going On With Pants?
The current (and oft-confusing) proliferation of them mirrors our lives today. By Maya Singer.
Full Flower
Erdem Moralioglu plants a new seed with his bloom-adorned bag.
Out of the Box
A biopic made from Legosfor Pharrell Williams.