A modern Norma Desmond steps onto the stage—drenched in sequins, siren energy, and red-hot intent.
Nicole Scherzinger, the Sunset Blvd. star and first-time Tony nominee made her entrance at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in a look that was less “Old Hollywood glamour” and more cinematic fever dream. Dressed in custom Rodarte, Scherzinger didn’t just nod to her character, the tormented and dazzling Norma Desmond—she became her.
Her gown: a molten, strapless column of sequins in a deep, visceral red—the kind of red that whispers obsession, power, and just a hint of delusion. This wasn’t simply scarlet; it was cinematic blood. The classic silhouette, evoking the silver screen legends Desmond once ruled alongside, was slashed to the thigh with a daring slit that modernized the drama, showing off matching crimson stilettos with a femme fatale finish.
The gown shimmered with the weight of theatre history—glamorous and ghostly all at once. Rodarte’s signature romanticism collided here with the haunted aura of Norma’s unraveling dreams, and the result was a look dripping with narrative tension and high fashion lust.
Scherzinger completed the look with icy precision: diamond studs, a single dramatic teardrop pendant, and a crimson lip sharp enough to slice through spotlight. Her eye makeup—a smolder of gold and red—suggested dusk over a dying movie set, or a final bow under unforgiving footlights.
It’s not lost on us that this moment marks Nicole’s full transformation—from pop provocateur to Broadway’s tragic starlet. Her performance in Jamie Lloyd’s feverish, stripped-down revival of Sunset Blvd. has been lauded as a revelation, with The Washington Post declaring her “an astonishing force of nature.” Tonight, she’s not merely nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical—she’s haunting the awards themselves, just as Norma haunted that decaying Hollywood mansion.
Sharing the category with theatrical titans like Audra McDonald (Gypsy) and Jennifer Simard (Death Becomes Her), Scherzinger stands out not only for her vocal prowess but for the raw, fashionable magnetism she brings to the stage—and now, to the carpet.
As the house lights rise on Broadway’s biggest night, one thing is certain: Nicole Scherzinger didn’t just show up to the Tonys. She stormed in, draped in sequins and storytelling, ready for her close-up.
