Nicole Scherzinger is gunning for Broadway gold. The former girl group member, 46, is currently starring as the iconic Norma Desmond in the Jamie Lloyd-directed revival of Sunset Boulevard, which requires Scherzinger to belt her heart out and display intense emotions of the disillusioned silent film star eight times a week.

Without putting a single cellphone onstage, or altering the original libretto, Mr. Lloyd has transformed this period Hollywood satire, based on the Billy Wilder movie, into a pointed critique of contemporary culture,