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,

Wreathed in swirling stage smoke, edging towards the audience in a black slip, arms outstretched as if wanting, defying, daring, threatening and inviting us all at once, Nicole Scherzinger as Norma Desmond isn’t kidding.