While Sunset Boulevard is trending, here’s Diahann Carroll in the final haunting scene. She’s notably the only Norma who made the choice to let the reality of it all come crashing down in the final moment… absolutely terrifying.

And THATS on black history month. My favorite Norma

Every freaking word has a beat.

SB really is my favorite ALW. Phantom is great! But SB is so odd and mysterious and the music is fractured and bizarre.

Odd and mysterious!! Fractured and bizarre omggg perfect descriptives.

Love this choice! Much less romantic 😱

Great way of putting it. So earthy and yet wildly distant.

When I want to listen to music from this score, I also go to the Canadian cast recording. Carroll is marvelous: beautiful tone, no holes in the voice, real emotion. As we can see here, serious and committed acting as well. A shame she never went on to Bway or London.

Wait so she’s the only one to ever complete the mental breakdown? Not let it live in a dream?

Open to interp of course! But she’s absolutely the only one who’s clearly showing she understands that it’s all crumbling. Instead of the others who stay in a daze before the blackout.

I saw her here in Toronto. Breath-takingly stunning performance!