The last three Oscar ceremonies have had very intense and competitive Best Actress races. Truth to be told, it’s the category that always excites and scares me, because of how much I invest in it. I can’t help it. Actually, I don’t want to help it. Yes, I was devastated when Michelle Yeoh rode the Everything Everywhere All At Once wave and bested Cate Blanchett in Tár. Not because I don’t love Yeoh (I do) but because Blanchett gave one of the greatest screen performances of all time. Okay, says who? Well, sez me! The last two years’s have made up for that Academy blunder since both Emma Stone and Mickey Madison were the right choices. Again, says who? Me, duh!
The subjectivity of awards is part of the game. The Academy’s best (Brendan Fraser in The Whale) may be another person’s “What in the actual fukkk?”
The best (that word, again) thing about award shows is the dialogue they spark about films, TV shows, songs, and productions—and the artists that help create them. There’s no such thing as “best.” There are, however, those who truly inspire.
The Tony Awards are dear to my heart. That’s not just because I’ve been attending theater since I was a wee lad (thanks ma and pa) and not solely because I am also a playwright and director. It is because there is nothing like the thrill I’ve felt when a play or musical transports me—envelops me completely—or the seriously orgasmic feeling a performance can leave me with.
After the Tony’s last night, a few friends and I began discussing performances that have really mattered to us in the last few decades. In thinking about my list, I realized, unsurprisingly, it was the females that moved me most: Jodie Comer in Prima Facie, Glenda Jackson in Three Tall Women, Cate Blanchett in A Streetcar Named Desire, Katrina Lenk in The Band’s Visit and Indecent, Jessica Lange in Long Days Journey into Night, Kelli O’Hara in The Bridges of Madison County, Patina Miller in Pippin, Catherine Zeta-Jones in A Little Night Music, Jane Fonda in 33 Variations, Marcia Gay Harden in God of Carnage, Patti LuPone in Gypsy—the list is endless.
But not since Peter O’Toole spit on me a lot as a youngin in the first row of Pygmalion (I kid you not) have I been so mesmerized and captivated by a performance as I was and am with Nicole Scherzinger as Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd.
My history with Norma on stage is fairly extensive. While I did not see LuPone in London, I did witness Glenn Close, Betty Buckley, Elaine Paige and Petula Clark all don Norma’s frocks. Buckley was my fave since she could both act the part and vocally take it to new heights.
Close won the Tony in 1995 but her only competition was Rebecca Luker in Show Boat.
And, of course, the Billy Wilder film is a masterpiece and Gloria Swanson’s performance is brilliant. The Academy had an impossible decision in 1950. Bette Davis in All About Eve vs. Swanson. They opted to award a comedic performance instead—rare for AMPAS—and gave it to the magnificent Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday. No one could argue she wasn’t worthy. But to this day it feels like a cop-out.
Scherzinger seemed an odd choice for Norma at the start. She was mostly known for being a former Pussycat Doll. I had no frame of reference there. I actually kept getting her confused with one of the Spice Girls. Or a few of them? And wasn’t she too young for Norma?
Then the word started to spread from London about Jamie Lloyd’s radical re-invention of the show and Scherzinger’s amazing performance. Then she, Tom Francis and the show won Oliviers. The Broadway engagement was announced.
In November of 2024 I saw the show. And screamed my head off at curtain call—something I don’t do. Ever. And I returned two weeks later. In my review, I wrote:
“…this incarnation gifts New York audiences one of the greatest stage performances of our time, probably of all-time.”
Hyperbole? No, it’s how I felt and still feel.
I titled the review, “The Most Galvanizing, Exhilarating, Invigorating, Triumphant Theatre Of the Season.” I stand by that. It was an extraordinary season. A return to the Golden Age of Broadway. But Sunset Blvd., along with Oh, Mary! are the shows that defined the season.
I also wrote:
“The genius of Scherzinger’s Norma is that she channels each important era — the silents, the late 40s/early 50s when the piece is actually set, the ’60s when “aging” stars like Bette Davis and Joan Crawford found vehicles where they could chew scenery and bring in a crowd, the ‘70s/early ‘80s when female driven roles were numerous and celebrated — and today, a time in flux for cinema, but a time when, thanks to TikTok, an entire new generation can discover who these mavericks of yore were, if only via small clips.
This new Norma has the weight of an entire industry/art form on her incredibly fit shoulders, and she brilliantly manages to convey all of it in a perfectly towering manner, belting out the songs in a way that has never been heard before but always capturing the pathos, joy, longing and even the sense of humor inherent in Norma.“
There was no one who could take that well-deserved Tony from her, right? I had some colleagues who disagreed but most felt the same way.
Then, post-election, the unrelenting social media attacks began because of a comment she made (and then removed) from a post on Russell Brand’s Instagram account. Immediate headlines read: “Scherzinger Slammed for Liking Trump Hat.” And many respected journos and bloggers were penning pieces and posts stating that the Best Actress in a Musical Tony race was now less one candidate. Cancel culture was in full swing.
But did anyone bother to notice that the hat was not actually MAGA but read, “Make Jesus First Again?” Most people assumed it said Make America Great Again and pounced. Scherzinger, a very devoutly religious woman, was forced to apologize and state that she did not realize her commenting on the post could be politically interpreted. Due diligence was not done by most and that’s the world we currently live in!
Truth to be told, even if her comment was politically motivated (and I do NOT believe it was) should that really matter? Does that lessen her astounding work on stage? Do we live in a world now where someone commenting on a post makes such a difference in how we perceive their work, their art?
As the theater community got to know her the following months, they realized that she was. indeed, “coming from a place of love.” Still, she had her stalwart detractors and once Audra McDonald opened in Gypsy, it was a 2-woman race for the Tonys.
The day of the nominations, I held my breath, worried that she may not make the final five. It was a highly competitive season. The nominees were announced, and she received the nomination!
Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Blvd.
Jennifer Simard, Death Becomes Her
Megan Hilty, Death Becomes Her
Jasmine Amy Rogers, Boop! The Musical
Audra McDonald, Gypsy
A number of good performances were overlooked, but this was the strongest Best Actress in a Musical race in decades. And all five of these remarkable women did strong work and deserved their mentions.
The pre-curser award bodies (mostly critics) seemed to go out of their way to snub Scherzinger. Outer Critics chose Rogers. Drama Desk ended in a tie between McDonald and Rogers. My own critics group (GALECA’s Dorian Awards) selected McDonald.
And, then, LuPone-Diss-Gate happened where the grand dame shaded McDonald in a New Yorker piece by a journo seemingly in search of click-bait and continuously egging LuPone on. He brought up McDonald in the most baiting manner. But the social media watchdogs were all over it—demanding accountability (but never from the journo). Many of them didn’t bother to read the New Yorker piece at all (I am making that assumption on self-admitted comments I read) but they were quick to denounce LuPone and come to McDonald’s rescue. McDonald herself gracefully refused to engage beyond stating to CBS Mornings, “I mean, if there’s a rift between us, I don’t know what it is. That’s something you’d have to ask Patti about.”
The now notorious industry letter, signed by over 600 Broadway performers, urged the Tonys to bar LuPone. The diva then did something she never does, apologized.
Voting ended Friday and sympathy seemed to follow McDonald. Many journos who spoke to Tony voters were predicting she would land her 7th Tony.
But Scherzinger triumphed.
And I actually screamed and fell to my knees. Then, listening to her acceptance speech, I did something I rarely ever do anymore, I cried.
“So, if there’s anyone out there who feels like they don’t belong or your time hasn’t come, don’t give up. Just keep on giving and giving because the world needs your love and your light now more than ever…”
Why did this win matter so much to me?
Because she gives and gives on that stage like no other performer in recent memory. Yet she still manages to smile and greet her fans post-show and delight in posting pix of her many backstage visitors. Because she’s the closest thing to having a real-life superhero along the Great White Way.
Because her performance dug into my soul.
Even today, after her win, she’s being labeled MAGA Nicole by online trolls, and by some continuously misguided industry-ites. Cole Escola deemed it necessary to diss her backstage when they heard about her win. Maybe they just wanted to be funny. It pissed me off. But I won’t be boycotting Escola shows. Because we can have differing views and still appreciate one another’s work. Right?
Nicole Scherzinger has a Tony Award. Her peers made this perspicacious decision, whether you like it or not. And it’s one for the books.
