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Shayna McPherson's face is currently all over TikTok. She is one of the camera operators in the Broadway revival of Sunset Blvd. And, notably, she is the camera operator who accompanies Tony-nominated actor Tom Francis when he sings the show's title song while walking on the streets of New York. She films him singing, while the live camera footage is being watched in real-time by audiences inside the St. James Theatre. 

And she's kind of internet famous. A dancer by trade, McPherson has now gone viral multiple times, as her work in that sequence (colloquially called "The Walk") has been documented by numerous theatre fans on TikTok. 

As McPherson puts it: "When we did it in London, no one knew what it was gonna be, not a lot of people saw it...We go to New York and, literally, we'd open the door, and everyone would line up like this." She mimics fans recording with their phones. "I was on TikTok just minding my business and I'd be like, 'Wait, that's me!'" 

But how does she pull it off every night? And, most crucially, how does she walk backwards while filming? McPherson took °ëµºÌåÓý onstage at the St. James Theatre, where she showed °ëµºÌåÓý videographer/video editor Ethan Treiman how to be a camera operator in Sunset Blvd. Did he pass the test? Is he ready to film Tom Francis in Shubert Alley? Watch the video above to find out. 

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Photos: Sunset Blvd.'s Shayna McPherson Teaches °ëµºÌåÓý The Art of the Close-Up

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Sunset Blvd. received seven Tony nominations May 1, making it the most nominated revival of the season: Best Revival of a Musical, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical (Nicole Scherzinger), Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Francis), Best Direction of a Musical (Jamie Lloyd), Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Jack Knowles), Best Sound Design of a Musical (Adam Fisher), and Best Orchestrations (Lloyd Webber and David Cullen).

Lloyd Webber said in an earlier statement: “I am absolutely thrilled that Jamie’s wonderful Sunset Blvd. has been so recognized at this year’s Tony Awards. This is one of the finest productions of one of my shows that I have ever seen. I am thrilled for Jamie, Nicole, Tom, and the entire team who made it possible.�

The Broadway staging has set and costume design by Soutra Gilmour, choreography by Fabian Aloise, music supervision and musical direction by Alan Williams, lighting design by Jack Knowles, sound design by Adam Fisher, video design and cinematography by Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom, hair and makeup design by Cheryl Thomas, intimacy coordination by Ann James, U.S. casting by Jim Carnahan and Jason Thinger and U.K. casting by Stuart Burt. Johnny Milani is the production stage manager, and 101 Productions, Ltd. serves as the general manager.

The musical is currently playing an extended limited engagement at the St. James through July 13.

Sunset Blvd. is produced by The Jamie Lloyd Company, ATG Productions, Michael Harrison for Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals, and Gavin Kalin Productions by arrangement with The Really Useful Group Ltd and based on the Paramount Pictures film directed by Billy Wilder.

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