30 years ago Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “Sunset Boulevard” opened on Broadway, capping off a tumultuous journey from the West End which included the unceremonious replacement of its lead Patti LuPone with Glenn Close. The bumps along the way paid off, if not financially, then certainly in terms of awards, as it received an impressive 11 Tony Award nominations at the 1995 ceremony, winning seven. It didn’t hurt that there was only one other original musical, “Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” and two musical revivals in contention that year.

Now three decades later a radically new version of “Sunset Boulevard,” abbreviated to “Sunset Blvd,” has opened on Broadway starring Nicole Scherzinger as Norma Desmond, the silent film star yearning to make a comeback in the age of talkies. Gone is the impressive, massive set of Norma’s mansion at 10086 Sunset Boulevard, as well as her iconic turban and shimmering kaftan. Director Jamie Lloyd...