The psychotic silent screen star Norma Desmond is the kind of role every actress craves. Theatrical headliner Florence Lacey, who played the title role in “Evita” on Broadway and throughout the world for 12 years, deftly conveys Desmond’s erratic emotions in Signature Theatre’s distinctive new production of Tony Award-winning “Sunset Boulevard.” Add the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber to Eric Schaeffer’s artistic direction and imaginative staging and the result is guaranteed to captivate Washington. “Every aspect of the mansion seeps into the set,” Lacey said. “Signature has taken a huge musical to a small space without losing anything from the original. Eric’s concept of the set is astounding. When you enter the theater, the lighting is very dark, and you are looking at Stage 18 of Paramount Studio as it is transformed before your eyes into the eerie mansion.
| IF YOU GO |
| ‘Sunset Boulevard’ |
| » Where: Signature MAX Theatre, Arlington |
| » When: Through Feb. 13; Tues. & Wed. at 7:30 p.m., Thu. & Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2 p.m. & 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. & 7 p.m. |
| » Info: Tickets $59-$85 at (703) 573-SEAT or signature-theatre.org. Special New Year’s Eve Extravaganza performance at 8 p.m. followed by a party with dancing and midnight champagne toast. Tickets: $76-$81 plus $100 per person for the party. |
“True to the story, he has incorporated Norma’s limousine on stage and infused the original film at the beginning with the clip of Joe’s body floating in the pool. The most challenging scenes for me are Norma’s mental breakdown and her leaps from euphoria to despair. The music is thrilling with big ranges that utilize every one of my low and high notes. My favorite number is ‘As If We Never Said Goodbye’ when Norma is walking into the studio believing that her dream is coming true.”
Lacey was drawn to the stage while attending an all-girls Catholic high school in McKeesport, Pa., near Pittsburgh. When she and her friends learned that the nearby Catholic boys’ high school was putting on “Little Mary Sunshine” and needed girls for some parts, they auditioned with the objective of meeting guys. She won the title role and never looked back.
In college, she majored in acting, keeping her singing voice a secret. The moment she launched her career, however, the secret was out. Her Broadway debut as Irene Malloy in “Hello Dolly!” brought a Theatre World Award. Other awards are one from the Hollywood Drama Logue for “Evita,” the Pittsburgh Drama League Award for “Gypsy” and the Connecticut Critics Outer Circle Award for “Wings,” which she regards as one of her favorite roles for the rare vocal challenge of interpreting a woman with a stroke fighting her way back.
Along with Broadway roles in “The Grand Tour,” “Les Miserables” and “An Evening with Jerry Herman,” she has appeared off Broadway in “Elizabeth and Essex,” “Styne After Styne” and “Under the Bridge.”
Her extensive repertoire includes “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “The Last Night of Ballyhoo,” “Carousel” and the national tour of “John Brown’s Body” starring Rock Hudson and directed by John Houseman. Lacey has been a soloist at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl and on television’s “Late Night with David Letterman” and the “Today Show.” She is heard on recordings of “Evita,” “The Grand Tour,” “Hello Dolly!” and “Under the Bridge.”
Of all her roles, she especially loves the fun and reward of interpreting Norma Desmond.
“The audience will never forget the amazing staging and the journey Norma takes from believing in her dreams to their bitter end,” she said. “They will be excited about sitting only a few feet away from high emotions, her mental delusion and the gun shot.”
