REVIEW: 1st National Tour: Linda Balgord     PAST PROBLEMS DON'T HAUNT TOURING VERSION OF `SUNSET BOULEVARD' By Richard Christiansen, Chicago Tribune Chief Critic. The strong, solid touring production of "Sunset Boulevard" that has now settled in for a 10-week run in the Civic Opera House makes us aware that, while this Andrew Lloyd Webber musical may not be an unalloyed success, it is by no means a bad show. Mounted with the extravagant production values that have become a hallmark of Webber musicals, and graced with the composer's usual insidiously haunting repeated melodies, "Sunset" would appear to be a natural success, along the lines of "The Phantom of the Opera." But from its beginnings, and for many reasons that had little to do with the show's basic material, this has been a beleaguered production. In quick order, the musical piled up a series of unfortunate incidents: The initial nasty dispute with Patti Lupone, who appeared in the 1993 London premiere and was dumped in favor of Glenn Close as star of the 1994 Broadway opening; the second nasty dispute with Faye Dunaway, who was awkwardly dismissed as she was about to begin rehearsals to succeed Close in the Los Angeles presentation; the abrupt shutdown of the Los Angeles edition; the inability of subsequent actresses to sustain the star power Close had built on Broadway; and the concurrent, surprising cancellation of plans to bring "Whistle Down the Wind," the latest, heavily criticized Webber musical, to Broadway. This long string of misfortunes, plus the news that, despite a long New York engagement, "Sunset" had not made back its $13 million investment when it closed March 22, combined to create an impression that the show is a failure. Certainly the show has problems. Perhaps its story, in which the leading man is shot to death and the leading lady goes crazy, is too dark and grim for some audiences. Perhaps the script (by Don Black and Christopher Hampton) is too closely anchored to every detail of the 1950 Hollywood movie on which it is based, including the device of having a dead man narrate the story in flashback. Perhaps there is too wildly variable a tone between the show's conventional musical comedy numbers and the grand operatic and dramatic heights toward which it aspires. But, with all these reservations granted, "Sunset" is far from a dud. There are many indications in director Trevor Nunn's staging that he intended to use the theater's unique quality of illusion and reality to stress the dramatic difference between the illusory world of the faded silent screen star Norma Desmond and the real world that had passed her by. This is particularly evident in the famous scene in which Desmond prowls her silent, shadowy mansion while it slowly lifts up to reveal a bright, noisy, crowded party of young people going on underneath. And again, it's there in the duet between the musical's two young lovers, sung in a movie studio backlot, where what looks like a row of real buildings turns out to be only a series of facades. Even in the slightly reduced (in size) touring version, the money spent on this production is right up there to see on the stage: in the glitter of the golden gowns and gems designed by Anthony Powell for Desmond's costumes, and in the spectacular scenery designed by John Napier, which means not only the sensational baroque splendor of Desmond's Sunset Boulevard mansion, but also the sleek, seamless scene changes and the ingeniously executed film projections. Only one actress, Gloria Swanson in the original non-musical movie, has ever totally mastered the role of Norma Desmond; but Balgord, who is the first non-"name" actress to portray the part in the musical and who grew up as a musical theater performer in the Chicago area, is a worthy contender. Her voice, big and piercing, handles the diva arias--"With One Look," "As If We Never Said Goodbye"--with awesome ease; but her portrayal, though well calculated in its effects, is bug-eyed and dotty from the start, leaving the star no place to go when she suddenly takes her final, mad curtain call. Ron Bohmer, who also appeared with Balgord in Webber's "Aspects of Love" when it played the old Civic Theatre in 1992, is, like most of the actors who have preceded him in the role, a little too young and too blond for the role of Joe Gillis, the disenchanted screenwriter who stumbles into Desmond's isolated world; but he's smart, clear and clever in his acting, and he's in excellent voice. Ed Dixon, properly imposing as the stone-faced butler who looks after Desmond with obsessive passion, beautifully hits the high and low notes of his big song, "The Greatest Star of All"; and Lauren Kennedy makes the relatively thankless role of Betty Schaefer, Gillis' true love, truly appealing. "Sunset," by the way, is doing good business in Chicago. It came in with a $7.5 million advance, enough to ensure a profitable run here. However, once this production ends its engagement here June 7, it's over for "Sunset." With the possible exception of a current German presentation, this will be the very last "Sunset" on view. At least on this grand a scale. Does this signify the end of the lavishly staged super musicals Webber helped bring into popularity? Not at all. It does mean that, for whatever reasons, "Sunset Boulevard" did not meet the expectations set out for it. But, in the meantime, it has its moments; it has its style.