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Sunset Boulevard (musical)
Encyclopedia
Sunset Boulevard is a musical with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton
and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
. Based on the 1950 film of the same title
, the plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the fabled Los Angeles
street. When young screenwriter
Joe Gillis accidentally crosses her path, she sees in him an opportunity to make her comeback to the big screen. Romance and tragedy follow.
Opening first in London in 1993, the musical has had several long runs internationally and also enjoyed extensive tours, although the show, which has been the subject of several legal battles, lost money because of its extraordinary running costs.
worked with actor Richard Stapley
(aka Richard Wyler) and cabaret singer/pianist Dickson Hughes on a musical adaptation originally entitled Starring Norma Desmond, then Boulevard! It ended on a happier note than the film, with Norma allowing Joe to leave and pursue a happy ending with Betty. Paramount originally had given Swanson verbal permission to proceed with the musical, but there had been no formal legal arrangement. On February 20, 1957, Paramount executive Russell Holman wrote Swanson a letter in which he asked her to cease work on the project because "it would be damaging for the property to be offered to the entertainment public in another form as a stage musical." In 1994, Hughes incorporated material from the production into Swanson on Sunset, based on his and Stapley's experiences in writing Boulevard!. A recording of the entire score, which had been housed in the Gloria Swanson archives at the University of Texas, was released on CD in 2008.
In the early 1960s, Stephen Sondheim
outlined a musical stage adaptation and went so far as to compose the first scene with librettist Burt Shevelove
. A chance encounter with Billy Wilder
at a cocktail party gave Sondheim the opportunity to introduce himself and ask the original film's co-screenwriter and director his opinion of the project (which was to star Jeanette MacDonald
). "You can't write a musical about Sunset Boulevard," Wilder responded, "it has to be an opera. After all, it's about a dethroned queen." Sondheim immediately aborted his plans. A few years later, when he was invited by Hal Prince to write the score for a film remake
starring Angela Lansbury
as a fading musical comedienne rather than a silent film star, Sondheim declined, citing his conversation with Wilder.
When Lloyd Webber saw the film in the early 1970s, he was inspired to write what he pictured as the title song for a theatrical adaptation, fragments of which he instead incorporated into Gumshoe
. In 1976, after a conversation with Hal Prince
, who had the theatrical rights to Sunset, Lloyd Webber wrote "an idea for the moment when Norma Desmond returns to Paramount Studios"; Lloyd Webber did no further work on the play until after 1989's Aspects of Love
.
At that point, Lloyd Webber "felt it was the subject [he] had to compose next", though by February 1990 he had announced plans to turn Really Useful Group
private so he could "make movies rather than musicals."
In 1991, Lloyd Webber asked Amy Powers, a lawyer from New York with no professional lyric-writing experience, to write the lyrics for Sunset Boulevard. Don Black was later brought in to work with Powers; the two wrote the version that was performed in 1991 at Lloyd Webber's Sydmonton Festival
. This original version starred Ria Jones as Norma. but it was not a success. A revised version, written by Black and Christopher Hampton
had a complete performance at the 1992 Sydmonton Festival, now with Patti LuPone playing Norma, and "met with great success". Lloyd Webber borrowed several of the tunes from his 1986 mini-musical Cricket
, written with Tim Rice
, which had had an acclaimed run at Windsor Castle
and later at the Sydmonton Festival.
During the car chase that ensues down Sunset Boulevard, Joe evades his pursuers by pulling into the garage of a dilapidated mansion. Beckoned inside the house, Joe encounters Norma Desmond, the "greatest star of all" from the silent film era who never made the transition to sound movies. Taken aback, Joe comments, "You used to be in pictures — you used to be big," to which she retorts, "I am big ... it's the pictures that got small!"
The huge, gloomy estate is inhabited only by Norma and Max, her loyal butler and chauffeur. Although several decades past her prime and mostly forgotten by once-adoring fans, Norma is convinced she is as beautiful and popular as ever. She informs Joe of her intention to return to the screen with a script she's written for Cecil B. DeMille
to direct called Salome
, with her in the starring role as a 16-year-old seductress. Sensing an opportunity, Joe persuades Norma to let him revise the story in exchange for room and board.
Joe quickly realizes the script is an incoherent jumble that no amount of editing could fix, but he keeps this fact to himself and the revision continues for several months. During this time he strikes up a working relationship with Betty, which blossoms into a romance that has her reconsidering her recent engagement to Artie, Joe's best friend.
Blind to Joe's opportunism, Norma lavishes him with gifts that include a complete wardrobe makeover. She professes her love to Joe and becomes quite possessive; when he leaves the house to attend a friend's New Year's Eve party, she attempts suicide. To placate her, Joe reluctantly returns to finish his work on Salome. Their relationship turns sexual, and Joe ends up becoming her kept man
.
Someone from Paramount phones the mansion with a cryptic request. Certain DeMille is eager to shoot her script, Norma drops in on the set of his current film. She is greeted warmly by former colleagues and the director himself, but DeMille remains noncommittal about Salome. Meanwhile, Max discovers it's Norma's exotic car the studio wants for an upcoming movie, not her. However, the delusional Norma leaves the lot convinced she'll be back in front of the cameras in short order.
Norma eventually deduces that Joe and Betty are lovers. She calls the younger woman to confront her, but Joe grabs the phone and tells Betty to come see for herself how he lives. Realizing their affair is doomed, Joe roughly tells Betty he likes being Norma's pet and that she should go back to Artie. After Betty departs, brokenhearted, Joe tells Norma he's leaving her and returning to his hometown in Ohio. He also bluntly informs her that Salome will never be filmed and her fans have abandoned her. Furious and grief-stricken, Norma fatally shoots Joe.
Completely fallen into insanity, Norma mistakes the police who soon arrive for studio personnel and her beloved fans. Thinking she is on the set of Salome, Norma slowly descends her grand staircase and speaks the immortal phrase, "And now, Mr. DeMille, I am ready for my close-up."
"This time I'm staying, I'm staying for good; I'll be back where I was born to be. With one look, I'll be me!"
Act II
†Not included on the World Premiere recording.
production, directed by Trevor Nunn
and choreographed by Bob Avian
, opened on July 12, 1993 at the Adelphi Theatre
. The cast featured Patti LuPone
as Norma Desmond, Kevin Anderson as Joe Gillis, Meredith Braun as Betty Schaefer, and Daniel Benzali
as Norma's ex-husband, Max.
Billy Wilder and his wife Audrey were joined by Nancy Olson, who had played Betty Schaefer in the original film, at the opening night performance. Of it, Wilder observed, "The best thing they did was leave the script alone," and of Patti LuPone he exclaimed, "She's a star from the moment she walks on stage."
Reviews were mixed, according to the Associated Press
(AP) review summary. That summary quoted, for example, the review by Michael Kuchwara for the AP: "Some reviewers felt Lloyd Webber took the sting out of a cynical tale. 'Wilder's bitter brew has been diluted,' wrote AP Drama Critic Michael Kuchwara. He added: 'When LuPone is off stage, the show sags.'" Frank Rich
wrote "Much of the film's plot, dialogue and horror-movie mood are preserved, not to mention clips used to illustrate those sequences in which the faded silent-film star, Norma Desmond ...and her kept young screenwriter, Joe Gillis ..., travel by car. The lyricist, Don Black ..., and the playwright, Christopher Hampton ..., smartly tailor their jokes to the original screenplay's style. At times even Lloyd Webber gets into the Wilder swing. Both acts open with joltingly angry diatribes about Hollywood, part exposition-packed recitative and part song, in which the surprisingly dark, jazz-accented music, the most interesting I've yet encountered from this composer, meshes perfectly with the cynical lyrics. Anderson makes the sardonic Wilder voice an almost physical presence in Sunset Boulevard. But that voice is too often drowned out by both LuPone's Broadway belt and by the mechanical efforts of Lloyd Webber and his director, Trevor Nunn, to stamp the proven formulas of Phantom and Les Miz on even an intimate tale. At odd moments the mammoth set advances like a glacier toward the audience or retreats or, most dramatically, rises partly up into the flies, actors in tow."
The show closed for three weeks, re-opening on April 19, 1994, revamped to follow the Los Angeles production, with a second official "opening". The revamped musical had a new song, "Every Movie's A Circus", a new set, and new stars, Betty Buckley
and John Barrowman
.Michael Bauer, who had played DeMille in the original production replaced Benzali as Max, a role he played until the end of the London run (and subsequently on the UK tour and the BBC concert) and Anita Louise Combe
(also from the original cast, understudying the role of Betty Shaeffer for the first nine months - and subsequently went on to play Betty Schaeffer in the Canadian Premiere with Diahann Carroll). Buckley and the production garnered rave reviews. David Lister of The Independent, for example wrote: "The show looked an improvement on the one that got decidedly mixed reviews last summer."
Buckley then followed Glenn Close
as Norma Desmond in the second year of the Broadway production. Elaine Paige
, who had filled in when Buckley was ill in 1994, took over as Norma Desmond in the West End in May 1995 before joining the Broadway production for the end of its run between 1996 and 1997. Petula Clark
filled in for Paige during her holiday in September/October 1995, before taking over the role in January 1996 when Paige departed for the United States. The last "star" to take on the role of Norma Desmond in London was Rita Moreno
, who filled in for a vacationing Clark in September and October 1996. John Barrowman played Joe until 1995, when he was replaced by Alexander Hanson
. Graham Bickley
played the role for the final year of the London run.
The show closed on April 5, 1997, running for 1,530 performances.
premiere was at the Shubert Theatre in Century City, Los Angeles, California
, on December 9, 1993, with Close as Norma and Alan Campbell as Joe. Featured were George Hearn
as Max and Judy Kuhn
as Betty. Lloyd Webber had reworked both the book and score, tightening the production, better organizing the orchestrations, and adding the song "Every Movie's A Circus". This new production was better received by the critics and was an instant success, running for 369 performances. The Los Angeles production also recorded a new cast album that is well regarded. It is also the only unabridged cast recording of the show, since the original London recording was trimmed by over thirty minutes.
A huge controversy arose with this production after Faye Dunaway
was hired to replace Glenn Close
. Dunaway went into rehearsals with Rex Smith
as Joe and Jon Cypher
as Max. Tickets went on sale for Dunaway's engagement but shortly after rehearsals started the producers announced that Dunaway was unable to sing the role to their standards and the production would shut down when Close left. Dunaway filed a lawsuit claiming her reputation had been damaged by the producer's claims. Speculation was the real reason for the closing was that ticket sales for Dunaway's engagement were not what had been hoped for and the producers feared the bad press from a financial and perhaps artisticlly struggling LA engagement would hurt the buzz for the upcoming Broadway opening. Dunaway's lawsuit was settled and the producers paid her a settlement but no other terms of the agreement have ever been discussed.
at the Minskoff Theatre
on November 17, 1994 with Close, Campbell, and Hearn recreating their roles from the Los Angeles production and Alice Ripley joining the cast as Betty. Also in the cast were Alan Oppenheimer as Cecil B. DeMille
and Vincent Tumeo making his Broadway debut as Artie Green. The production opened with the highest advance in the history of Broadway ticket sales at that time and ran for 977 performances. Billy Wilder was in attendance on opening night and was coaxed onstage by Close for the curtain call. In a season with only one other musical nominated for Best Musical, the production won several Tony Awards; Glenn Close
, with only one other nominee as Best Actress in a musical, won the Tony for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.
New York Times theatre critic Vincent Canby
commented about the Tony Awards for this year: "Awards don't really tell you much when the competition is feeble or simply nonexistent, as was the case the year that Sunset Boulevard won its Tony. Such prizes are for use in advertising and promotion and to impress the folks back home."
Patti LuPone, who initially had been promised the Broadway run, sued Lloyd Webber and received a settlement reported to be $1 million; Faye Dunaway
, set to replace Close in L.A., was let go because Lloyd Webber felt her singing voice was not up to the role. She also sued Lloyd Webber. Frank Rich
, in his book The Hot Seat, noted that these lawsuits contributed to Sunset Boulevard setting the record for the most money lost by a theatrical endeavor in the history of the United States. According to The New York Times
, operating costs soared far beyond the budget, and the "Broadway production has earned back, at best, 80 percent of the initial $13 million". For example, during the week of July 2, 1995, "it cost $731,304 to run Sunset Boulevard, including... advertising fees of $138,352 (which had been budgeted at $40,000 a week)." The road companies also generated large financial losses. Rich puts the final figure near or above US$20 million lost, making the show what he termed a "flop-hit
," as it ran more than two years. The musical sold over a million tickets on Broadway.
ended in early 1997 after only a handful of venues due to exorbitant costs involved in transporting the set. Lloyd Webber called in director Susan H. Schulman
to design a scaled-down production, with Petula Clark once again in the lead opposite Lewis Cleale
as Joe. This production featured Anthony Powell's Tony Award nominated costumes, a slightly modified libretto by Schulman and Don Black and a new, more tour-friendly set by Derek McLane. The revised production, opening in Pittsburgh about a year after the closing of the original tour in Chicago
, went on the road for almost two years, though it avoided the cities covered by the previous tour.
In August 2001, a UK tour commenced in Plymouth
starring Faith Brown
as Norma, opposite Earl Carpenter as Joe. The production had a completely new set, much simpler than the original London set, but without compromising the quality of the show and the overall production remaining more faithful to the original staging than the previous US tour with Petula Clark. Carpenter left midway through the tour and was replaced by Jeremy Finch, who had previously understudied the role. The tour finished in late 2002 in Manchester
and met with both excellent reviews and respectable ticket sales.
production opened in 1995 with Diahann Carroll in the lead role. Her performance was also praised by critics, although the production closed sooner than expected. It also starred Rex Smith
as Joe, Walter Charles
as Max and Anita Louise Combe
as Betty. The production later moved to Vancouver
for the final few months of its run. A highlights cast recording of this production was issued on CD in 1995.
. The cast included Debra Byrne
as Norma, Hugh Jackman
as Joe, and Catherine Porter
as Betty. Maria Mercedes
starred as the alternate Norma, performing two of the eight shows each week. Future Wicked
star Amanda Harrison
took over the role of Betty for the final months of the show's run. The production ran until June 14, 1997.
, starring Helen Schneider
and Uwe Kröger
in the lead roles. The role of Norma Desmond was later played by Daniela Ziegler
and Christina Grimandi, before Schneider once more played the lead. The show ran with moderate success until it closed in May 1998. During the last few months, Schneider was replaced by Sue Mathys as Norma Desmond. A cast recording (with Schneider and Kröger) was released in 1996.
A low budget unauthorized production played for a time in Spain in 2000, with heavy alterations to the book and using a combination of the original score and the subsequent revision that appeared in the Los Angeles production.
A year-long Dutch tour commenced in the Netherlands
on October 10, 2008, with Simone Kleinsma
and Pia Douwes
alternating as Norma and Antonie Kamerling
as Joe. Kleinsma went on to win the Best Actress Award for the role in the 2009 Dutch Musical Awards and also Best Actress for the Flemish Musical Prizes. An official cast album was released, with Kleinsma appearing on the main album and with a four track bonus CD of Pia Douwes singing Norma's main arias.
The Swedish premiere took place at the Värmlandsoperan in September 2009, to mostly positive reviews. The role of Norma Desmond was played by Swedish actress Maria Lundqvist
. A second much more elaborate production opened in October 2010, at the Gothenburg Opera House, with Gunilla Backman (who previously understudied the role of Betty Schaefer in the original German production) starring as Norma.
in a concert production of the show that ran for two nights at the Cork Opera House in Ireland, which was later broadcast on BBC
Radio. To date, with more than 2500 performances to her credit, she has played the role more often than any other actress.
Another two day concert engagement took place in 2004 in Sydney
by the Production Company; Judi Connelli
starred as Norma, Michael Cormick played Joe and Anthony Warlow
was Max. The Production Company staged a slightly more elaborate version of the concert for a week in Melbourne during 2005. Connelli again starred as Norma, and David Campbell took the role of Joe. The State Theatre was sold out for every performance.
in Newbury
over the summer of 2008. Directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood
, the cast featured Kathryn Evans
as Norma and Ben Goddard
as Joe. A West End transfer of the Watermill production began on 4 December 2008 prior to an official opening 15 December at the Comedy Theatre, with Evans and Goddard reprising their roles. The production received rave reviews and extended its run to September 2009. However, the production closed just after initially planned on 30 May 2009. It had originally been booking until 19 September 2009. There are plans for a UK Tour and also talks of bringing the production to Broadway
at the Marriott Theatre
in Chicago
for a limited period and was the first and only regional production to be licensed by RUG for the next six years. However, in the spring of 2010, the leasing rights were finally released to regional companies and numerous productions are now being planned across the United States.
The Ogunquit Playhouse production ran from July 28 through August 14, 2010, and starred Stefanie Powers
as Norma Desmond and Todd Gearhart as Joe Gillis. This was the first fully staged production in the U.S. in nearly a decade. The Ogunquit production was directed by Shaun Kerrison, with choreography by Tom Kosis and featured costumes by Anthony Powell and an all new set designed exclusively for the Ogunquit stage by Todd Ivins.
The Arvada Center
production ran from September 14 to October 10, 2010, in Denver, Colorado
, ironically the same city that launched the ill-fated first US tour back in 1996. The show starred Ann Crumb
as Norma Desmond and Kevin Earley as Joe Gillis. The production was directed by Rod A. Landsberry.
The Signature Theatre (Arlington, Virginia) production ran from December 7, 2010 to February 13, 2011 and starred Florence Lacey as Norma Desmond, with direction by Eric D. Schaeffer
. Schaeffer said that the theatre was turned "into the back lot of Paramount Studios, so you feel like you're sitting in the back lot and there's sandbags and catwalks overhead, and then that actually transforms into the mansion." The production featured a 20-piece orchestra, which is the largest the theatre has ever used.
Pioneer Theatre Company
in Salt Lake City, Utah staged their production April 29, 2011 to May 14, 2011. Lynne Wintersteller
starred as Norma Desmond, Benjamin Eakeley as Joe Gillis and Martin Vidnovic
as Max von Mayerling. The show was directed by John Going. The production team included choreographer Jayne Luke, music director Michael Rice, set designer George Maxwell, costume designer Carol Wells-Day, lighting designer Dennis Parichy and sound designer Matthew Tibbs.
The Music Theatre of Wichita
staged a production from July 6 to 10, 2011, using a 27 piece orchestra. The show was directed by Mark Madama and starred Ann Morrison
as Norma Desmond, Chris Peluso as Joe Gillis, Nicolas F. Saverine as Max Mayerling and Kaleigh Cronin as Betty Schaefer.
The Barn Theatre
in Augusta Michigan staged a production starring four time Emmy winning Soap star Kim Zimmer
from August 23 to September 4, 2011. The show was directed by Hans Friedrichs, with music direction by John Jay Espino.
and the Relevant Picture Company announced in 2005 that they were developing a film adaptation of the musical. In 2007, The Telegraph reported that actresses being considered for the role of Norma Desmond included Close, Paige, Meryl Streep
, Liza Minnelli
and Barbra Streisand
. In an interview in 2008, Andrew Lloyd Webber said that there are no plans for a film adaptation to be made in the near future, but he remains hopeful one will be made at some point. In 2011, Lloyd Webber indicated he would like Madonna
to star in the film, though she wasn't taking his calls.
Christopher Hampton
Christopher James Hampton CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, screen writer and film director. He is best known for his play based on the novel Les Liaisons dangereuses and the film version Dangerous Liaisons and also more recently for writing the nominated screenplay for the film adaptation of...
and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
. Based on the 1950 film of the same title
Sunset Boulevard (film)
Sunset Boulevard is a 1950 American film noir directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, and produced and co-written by Charles Brackett...
, the plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the fabled Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
street. When young screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
Joe Gillis accidentally crosses her path, she sees in him an opportunity to make her comeback to the big screen. Romance and tragedy follow.
Opening first in London in 1993, the musical has had several long runs internationally and also enjoyed extensive tours, although the show, which has been the subject of several legal battles, lost money because of its extraordinary running costs.
Background
From approximately 1952 to 1956, Gloria SwansonGloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
worked with actor Richard Stapley
Richard Stapley
Richard Stapley, also known by the stage name Richard Wyler, was a British-born American actor and writer.-Early life:...
(aka Richard Wyler) and cabaret singer/pianist Dickson Hughes on a musical adaptation originally entitled Starring Norma Desmond, then Boulevard! It ended on a happier note than the film, with Norma allowing Joe to leave and pursue a happy ending with Betty. Paramount originally had given Swanson verbal permission to proceed with the musical, but there had been no formal legal arrangement. On February 20, 1957, Paramount executive Russell Holman wrote Swanson a letter in which he asked her to cease work on the project because "it would be damaging for the property to be offered to the entertainment public in another form as a stage musical." In 1994, Hughes incorporated material from the production into Swanson on Sunset, based on his and Stapley's experiences in writing Boulevard!. A recording of the entire score, which had been housed in the Gloria Swanson archives at the University of Texas, was released on CD in 2008.
In the early 1960s, Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
outlined a musical stage adaptation and went so far as to compose the first scene with librettist Burt Shevelove
Burt Shevelove
Burt Shevelove was an American musical theater playwright, lyricist, librettist, and director. Born in Newark, New Jersey, he graduated from Brown University and Yale . At Brown in 1935, he acted in the first ever Brownbrokers musical titled Something Bruin...
. A chance encounter with Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
at a cocktail party gave Sondheim the opportunity to introduce himself and ask the original film's co-screenwriter and director his opinion of the project (which was to star Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette MacDonald was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier and Nelson Eddy...
). "You can't write a musical about Sunset Boulevard," Wilder responded, "it has to be an opera. After all, it's about a dethroned queen." Sondheim immediately aborted his plans. A few years later, when he was invited by Hal Prince to write the score for a film remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
starring Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
as a fading musical comedienne rather than a silent film star, Sondheim declined, citing his conversation with Wilder.
When Lloyd Webber saw the film in the early 1970s, he was inspired to write what he pictured as the title song for a theatrical adaptation, fragments of which he instead incorporated into Gumshoe
Gumshoe (film)
Gumshoe is a 1971 film, and was the directorial debut of British director Stephen Frears.Written by local author Neville Smith, the film is set in Liverpool with Albert Finney playing the role of Eddie Ginley. Ginley is a bingo-caller and occasional club comedian who dreams of being a private eye...
. In 1976, after a conversation with Hal Prince
Hal Prince
Harold Smith Prince is an American theatrical producer and director associated with many of the best-known Broadway musical productions of the past half-century...
, who had the theatrical rights to Sunset, Lloyd Webber wrote "an idea for the moment when Norma Desmond returns to Paramount Studios"; Lloyd Webber did no further work on the play until after 1989's Aspects of Love
Aspects of Love
Aspects of Love is a musical/chamber opera with a book and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart. It is famous for the song "Love Changes Everything."...
.
At that point, Lloyd Webber "felt it was the subject [he] had to compose next", though by February 1990 he had announced plans to turn Really Useful Group
Really Useful Group
The Really Useful Group Ltd. is an international company set up in 1977 by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is involved in theatre, film, television, video and concert productions, merchandising, magazine publishing, records and music publishing...
private so he could "make movies rather than musicals."
In 1991, Lloyd Webber asked Amy Powers, a lawyer from New York with no professional lyric-writing experience, to write the lyrics for Sunset Boulevard. Don Black was later brought in to work with Powers; the two wrote the version that was performed in 1991 at Lloyd Webber's Sydmonton Festival
Sydmonton Festival
The Sydmonton Festival is a summer arts festival presented in a deconsecrated 16th century chapel on the grounds of Sydmonton Court, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Hampshire estate...
. This original version starred Ria Jones as Norma. but it was not a success. A revised version, written by Black and Christopher Hampton
Christopher Hampton
Christopher James Hampton CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, screen writer and film director. He is best known for his play based on the novel Les Liaisons dangereuses and the film version Dangerous Liaisons and also more recently for writing the nominated screenplay for the film adaptation of...
had a complete performance at the 1992 Sydmonton Festival, now with Patti LuPone playing Norma, and "met with great success". Lloyd Webber borrowed several of the tunes from his 1986 mini-musical Cricket
Cricket (musical)
Cricket, also called Cricket , is a short musical written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. It was commissioned for Queen Elizabeth's 60th birthday celebration, and was first performed at Windsor Castle on 18 June 1986....
, written with Tim Rice
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
, which had had an acclaimed run at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
and later at the Sydmonton Festival.
Synopsis
In 1949 Hollywood, down-on-his-luck screenwriter Joe Gillis tries to hustle up some work at Paramount Studios. He meets with a producer who shoots down his proposed script as well as a request for a loan to bring his car payments up to date. He does, however, meet Betty Schaefer, a pretty, young script editor who proposes they work together to develop one of his earlier projects. As they chat, Joe is spotted by car repossession agents and makes a quick escape.During the car chase that ensues down Sunset Boulevard, Joe evades his pursuers by pulling into the garage of a dilapidated mansion. Beckoned inside the house, Joe encounters Norma Desmond, the "greatest star of all" from the silent film era who never made the transition to sound movies. Taken aback, Joe comments, "You used to be in pictures — you used to be big," to which she retorts, "I am big ... it's the pictures that got small!"
The huge, gloomy estate is inhabited only by Norma and Max, her loyal butler and chauffeur. Although several decades past her prime and mostly forgotten by once-adoring fans, Norma is convinced she is as beautiful and popular as ever. She informs Joe of her intention to return to the screen with a script she's written for Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
to direct called Salome
Salome
Salome , the Daughter of Herodias , is known from the New Testament...
, with her in the starring role as a 16-year-old seductress. Sensing an opportunity, Joe persuades Norma to let him revise the story in exchange for room and board.
Joe quickly realizes the script is an incoherent jumble that no amount of editing could fix, but he keeps this fact to himself and the revision continues for several months. During this time he strikes up a working relationship with Betty, which blossoms into a romance that has her reconsidering her recent engagement to Artie, Joe's best friend.
Blind to Joe's opportunism, Norma lavishes him with gifts that include a complete wardrobe makeover. She professes her love to Joe and becomes quite possessive; when he leaves the house to attend a friend's New Year's Eve party, she attempts suicide. To placate her, Joe reluctantly returns to finish his work on Salome. Their relationship turns sexual, and Joe ends up becoming her kept man
Male prostitution
Male prostitution is the practice of engaging in sexual acts for money. Compared to female sex workers, male sex workers have been far less studied by researchers, and while studies suggest that there are differences between the ways these two groups look at their work, more research is needed.Male...
.
Someone from Paramount phones the mansion with a cryptic request. Certain DeMille is eager to shoot her script, Norma drops in on the set of his current film. She is greeted warmly by former colleagues and the director himself, but DeMille remains noncommittal about Salome. Meanwhile, Max discovers it's Norma's exotic car the studio wants for an upcoming movie, not her. However, the delusional Norma leaves the lot convinced she'll be back in front of the cameras in short order.
Norma eventually deduces that Joe and Betty are lovers. She calls the younger woman to confront her, but Joe grabs the phone and tells Betty to come see for herself how he lives. Realizing their affair is doomed, Joe roughly tells Betty he likes being Norma's pet and that she should go back to Artie. After Betty departs, brokenhearted, Joe tells Norma he's leaving her and returning to his hometown in Ohio. He also bluntly informs her that Salome will never be filmed and her fans have abandoned her. Furious and grief-stricken, Norma fatally shoots Joe.
Completely fallen into insanity, Norma mistakes the police who soon arrive for studio personnel and her beloved fans. Thinking she is on the set of Salome, Norma slowly descends her grand staircase and speaks the immortal phrase, "And now, Mr. DeMille, I am ready for my close-up."
"This time I'm staying, I'm staying for good; I'll be back where I was born to be. With one look, I'll be me!"
Major characters
- Norma Desmond — a faded, eccentric, former silent screen star
- Joe Gillis — a struggling young screenwriter
- Max von Mayerling — Norma's first husband and butler
- Betty Schaefer — A budding writer and Joe's love interest
- Cecil B. DeMille — the famous director
- Artie Green — Betty's fiancé
- Sheldrake — a movie producer on the lot
- Manfred — an expensive tailor
Musical numbers
Act I- Overture / I Guess It Was 5AM - Joe
- Let's Have Lunch - Joe, Actors, actress, scriptwriters, Artie, Sheldrake, Betty
- Every Movie's A Circus† - Betty, Joe
- Car Chase - orchestra
- At the House on Sunset - Joe
- Surrender - Norma
- With One Look - Norma
- Salome - Norma, Joe
- Greatest Star of All - Max
- Every Movie's a Circus (Reprise)† [Originally a reprise of "Let's Have Lunch"] - Actors, Actress, Waiters, Artie, Joe, Betty, Barman
- Girl Meets Boy - Joe, Betty
- Back at the House on Sunset - Joe, Max
- New Ways to Dream - Norma, Joe
- Completion of the Script - Norma, Joe
- The Lady's Paying - Norma, Manfred, Joe, Ensemble
- New Year's Eve - Joe, Max
- The Perfect Year - Norma, Joe
- This Time Next Year - Ensemble, Artie, Betty, Joe, Cecil B. DeMile
- New Year's Eve (Back at the House on Sunset)- Joe, Norma
Act II
- Entr'acte - orchestra
- Sunset Boulevard - Joe
- There's Been a Call (Perfect year [Reprise]) - Norma
- Journey to Paramount - Joe, Norma
- As If We Never Said Goodbye - Norma
- Paramount Conversations - Betty, Joe, Norma, Cecil B. DeMile, Sheldrake, Max
- Surrender (Reprise) - Cecil B. DeMile
- Girl Meets Boy (Reprise)- Joe, Betty
- Eternal Youth Is Worth a Little Suffering - Norma, Astrologer, Beauticians
- Who's Betty Schaefer? - Joe
- Betty's Office at Paramount - Joe, Betty
- Too Much in Love to Care - Betty, Joe
- New Ways to Dream (Reprise)- Max
- The Phone Call - Norma
- The Final Scene - Joe, Betty, Norma, Max
†Not included on the World Premiere recording.
Original London production
The original West EndWest End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production, directed by Trevor Nunn
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn, CBE is an English theatre, film and television director. Nunn has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed musicals and dramas for the stage, as well as opera...
and choreographed by Bob Avian
Bob Avian
Bob Avian is an American choreographer and a theatre producer and director.Born in New York City, Avian's spent his early career dividing his time between dancing in such Broadway shows as West Side Story, Funny Girl, and Henry, Sweet Henry and working as a production assistant on projects like I...
, opened on July 12, 1993 at the Adelphi Theatre
Adelphi Theatre
The Adelphi Theatre is a 1500-seat West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiving house for a variety of productions, including many musicals...
. The cast featured Patti LuPone
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...
as Norma Desmond, Kevin Anderson as Joe Gillis, Meredith Braun as Betty Schaefer, and Daniel Benzali
Daniel Benzali
Daniel Benzali is a Brazilian-American stage, television and film actor.-Biography:Benzali was born in Rio de Janeiro to Brazilian Jewish parents...
as Norma's ex-husband, Max.
Billy Wilder and his wife Audrey were joined by Nancy Olson, who had played Betty Schaefer in the original film, at the opening night performance. Of it, Wilder observed, "The best thing they did was leave the script alone," and of Patti LuPone he exclaimed, "She's a star from the moment she walks on stage."
Reviews were mixed, according to the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
(AP) review summary. That summary quoted, for example, the review by Michael Kuchwara for the AP: "Some reviewers felt Lloyd Webber took the sting out of a cynical tale. 'Wilder's bitter brew has been diluted,' wrote AP Drama Critic Michael Kuchwara. He added: 'When LuPone is off stage, the show sags.'" Frank Rich
Frank Rich
Frank Rich is an American essayist and op-ed columnist who wrote for The New York Times from 1980, when he was appointed its chief theatre critic, until 2011...
wrote "Much of the film's plot, dialogue and horror-movie mood are preserved, not to mention clips used to illustrate those sequences in which the faded silent-film star, Norma Desmond ...and her kept young screenwriter, Joe Gillis ..., travel by car. The lyricist, Don Black ..., and the playwright, Christopher Hampton ..., smartly tailor their jokes to the original screenplay's style. At times even Lloyd Webber gets into the Wilder swing. Both acts open with joltingly angry diatribes about Hollywood, part exposition-packed recitative and part song, in which the surprisingly dark, jazz-accented music, the most interesting I've yet encountered from this composer, meshes perfectly with the cynical lyrics. Anderson makes the sardonic Wilder voice an almost physical presence in Sunset Boulevard. But that voice is too often drowned out by both LuPone's Broadway belt and by the mechanical efforts of Lloyd Webber and his director, Trevor Nunn, to stamp the proven formulas of Phantom and Les Miz on even an intimate tale. At odd moments the mammoth set advances like a glacier toward the audience or retreats or, most dramatically, rises partly up into the flies, actors in tow."
The show closed for three weeks, re-opening on April 19, 1994, revamped to follow the Los Angeles production, with a second official "opening". The revamped musical had a new song, "Every Movie's A Circus", a new set, and new stars, Betty Buckley
Betty Buckley
Betty Lynn Buckley is an American theater, film and television actress and singer. She is a Tony Award winner and Grammy Award nominee.-Early life:...
and John Barrowman
John Barrowman
John Scot Barrowman is a Scottish-American singer, actor, dancer, musical theatre performer and media personality. Born in Glasgow yet growing up in Illinois after his family emigrated to the United States when he was eight years old, Barrowman was encouraged to further his love for music and...
.Michael Bauer, who had played DeMille in the original production replaced Benzali as Max, a role he played until the end of the London run (and subsequently on the UK tour and the BBC concert) and Anita Louise Combe
Anita Louise Combe
Anita Louise Combe is an Australian actress, singer, dancer who has worked extensively in the entertainment industry all around the world. Combe attended the Gwen Mackay School of Dancing and trained in the Cechetti method of ballet with Jennifer Pollard in Adelaide, South Australia before making...
(also from the original cast, understudying the role of Betty Shaeffer for the first nine months - and subsequently went on to play Betty Schaeffer in the Canadian Premiere with Diahann Carroll). Buckley and the production garnered rave reviews. David Lister of The Independent, for example wrote: "The show looked an improvement on the one that got decidedly mixed reviews last summer."
Buckley then followed Glenn Close
Glenn Close
Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
as Norma Desmond in the second year of the Broadway production. Elaine Paige
Elaine Paige
Elaine Paige OBE is an English singer and actress best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, North London, Paige attended the Aida Foster stage school, making her first professional appearance on stage in 1964, at the age of 16...
, who had filled in when Buckley was ill in 1994, took over as Norma Desmond in the West End in May 1995 before joining the Broadway production for the end of its run between 1996 and 1997. Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
filled in for Paige during her holiday in September/October 1995, before taking over the role in January 1996 when Paige departed for the United States. The last "star" to take on the role of Norma Desmond in London was Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno is a Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress. She is the only Hispanic and one of the few performers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, and was the second Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award....
, who filled in for a vacationing Clark in September and October 1996. John Barrowman played Joe until 1995, when he was replaced by Alexander Hanson
Alexander Hanson (actor)
Alexander Hanson is a British stage actor who has appeared in numerous plays and musicals in the West End, and recently on Broadway.-Personal life:Hanson is an alumnus of Guildhall School of Music and Drama...
. Graham Bickley
Graham Bickley
Graham John Bickley is an English actor. He is probably best known for playing Joey Boswell in Bread from 1989, until 1991 taking over from Peter Howitt, who played him from 1986, until 1989.Career=...
played the role for the final year of the London run.
The show closed on April 5, 1997, running for 1,530 performances.
Los Angeles production
The AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
premiere was at the Shubert Theatre in Century City, Los Angeles, California
Century City, Los Angeles, California
Century City is a 176-acre commercial and residential district on the Westside of the city of Los Angeles. It is bounded by Westwood on the west, Rancho Park on the southwest, Cheviot Hills and Beverlywood on the southeast, and the city of Beverly Hills on the northeast...
, on December 9, 1993, with Close as Norma and Alan Campbell as Joe. Featured were George Hearn
George Hearn
George Hearn is an American actor and singer, primarily in Broadway musical theatre.-Early years:Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Hearn studied philosophy at Southwestern at Memphis, now Rhodes College before he embarked on a career in the theater, training for the stage with actress turned acting...
as Max and Judy Kuhn
Judy Kuhn
-Life and career:Kuhn was born in New York City and grew up in Bethesda, Maryland. She attended Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C.She entered Oberlin College in 1976. Although she was very interested in singing and theater, she began Oberlin in the College, not the Conservatory. After taking...
as Betty. Lloyd Webber had reworked both the book and score, tightening the production, better organizing the orchestrations, and adding the song "Every Movie's A Circus". This new production was better received by the critics and was an instant success, running for 369 performances. The Los Angeles production also recorded a new cast album that is well regarded. It is also the only unabridged cast recording of the show, since the original London recording was trimmed by over thirty minutes.
A huge controversy arose with this production after Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway is an American actress.Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde and Chinatown...
was hired to replace Glenn Close
Glenn Close
Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
. Dunaway went into rehearsals with Rex Smith
Rex Smith
Rex Smith is an American actor and singer. Smith debuted in the Broadway play Grease in 1978. He is noted for his role as Jesse Mach in the 1985 television series Street Hawk, as well as being a singer and stage actor. During the late 1970s, Smith was popular as a teen idol...
as Joe and Jon Cypher
Jon Cypher
-Biography:Born in New York City, Cypher graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in 1949 and Brooklyn College in 1953. He made his television debut as the Prince in the original 1957 production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella opposite Julie Andrews in the title role...
as Max. Tickets went on sale for Dunaway's engagement but shortly after rehearsals started the producers announced that Dunaway was unable to sing the role to their standards and the production would shut down when Close left. Dunaway filed a lawsuit claiming her reputation had been damaged by the producer's claims. Speculation was the real reason for the closing was that ticket sales for Dunaway's engagement were not what had been hoped for and the producers feared the bad press from a financial and perhaps artisticlly struggling LA engagement would hurt the buzz for the upcoming Broadway opening. Dunaway's lawsuit was settled and the producers paid her a settlement but no other terms of the agreement have ever been discussed.
Original Broadway production
The musical opened on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
at the Minskoff Theatre
Minskoff Theatre
The Minskoff Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre, located at 1515 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan. It is now showing the musical The Lion King, based on the Disney animated film of the same name....
on November 17, 1994 with Close, Campbell, and Hearn recreating their roles from the Los Angeles production and Alice Ripley joining the cast as Betty. Also in the cast were Alan Oppenheimer as Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
and Vincent Tumeo making his Broadway debut as Artie Green. The production opened with the highest advance in the history of Broadway ticket sales at that time and ran for 977 performances. Billy Wilder was in attendance on opening night and was coaxed onstage by Close for the curtain call. In a season with only one other musical nominated for Best Musical, the production won several Tony Awards; Glenn Close
Glenn Close
Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
, with only one other nominee as Best Actress in a musical, won the Tony for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.
New York Times theatre critic Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
commented about the Tony Awards for this year: "Awards don't really tell you much when the competition is feeble or simply nonexistent, as was the case the year that Sunset Boulevard won its Tony. Such prizes are for use in advertising and promotion and to impress the folks back home."
Patti LuPone, who initially had been promised the Broadway run, sued Lloyd Webber and received a settlement reported to be $1 million; Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway is an American actress.Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde and Chinatown...
, set to replace Close in L.A., was let go because Lloyd Webber felt her singing voice was not up to the role. She also sued Lloyd Webber. Frank Rich
Frank Rich
Frank Rich is an American essayist and op-ed columnist who wrote for The New York Times from 1980, when he was appointed its chief theatre critic, until 2011...
, in his book The Hot Seat, noted that these lawsuits contributed to Sunset Boulevard setting the record for the most money lost by a theatrical endeavor in the history of the United States. According to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, operating costs soared far beyond the budget, and the "Broadway production has earned back, at best, 80 percent of the initial $13 million". For example, during the week of July 2, 1995, "it cost $731,304 to run Sunset Boulevard, including... advertising fees of $138,352 (which had been budgeted at $40,000 a week)." The road companies also generated large financial losses. Rich puts the final figure near or above US$20 million lost, making the show what he termed a "flop-hit
Flop-hit
Flop-hit, a term coined by American critic Frank Rich in his book The Hot Seat, refers to a theatrical production that appears to be a hit but turns out to lose money ....
," as it ran more than two years. The musical sold over a million tickets on Broadway.
Touring productions
The first national US tour in 1996 starring Linda BalgordLinda Balgord
Linda Balgord is an American Broadway actress and singer, most notable for playing Norma Desmond in the 1996 US tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit musical Sunset Boulevard, being the last actress to portray Grizabella in the original Broadway run of Cats and originating the role of Queen Elizabeth I...
ended in early 1997 after only a handful of venues due to exorbitant costs involved in transporting the set. Lloyd Webber called in director Susan H. Schulman
Susan H. Schulman
Susan H. Schulman is an American theater director.Intent on a career as an actress, Schulman studied drama at Hofstra University in Hempstead, Long Island, New York in the 1960s. She attended Yale University on a playwrighting fellowship, graduating with a Master's Degree...
to design a scaled-down production, with Petula Clark once again in the lead opposite Lewis Cleale
Lewis Cleale
Lewis Cleale is an American theatre actor and singer. He is originally from Houlton, Maine.A graduate of the University of Miami's Frost School of Music and of the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre, Cleale's big break came when he was cast in a European tour of Oklahoma!, in which he was noticed by...
as Joe. This production featured Anthony Powell's Tony Award nominated costumes, a slightly modified libretto by Schulman and Don Black and a new, more tour-friendly set by Derek McLane. The revised production, opening in Pittsburgh about a year after the closing of the original tour in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, went on the road for almost two years, though it avoided the cities covered by the previous tour.
In August 2001, a UK tour commenced in Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
starring Faith Brown
Faith Brown
Faith Brown is an English actress, singer, comedienne and impressionist.-Background and Early Career:Born as Eunice Irene Carroll, Faith Brown began her career as a singer at the age of fifteen, backed by a local group. She later became the resident cabaret singer in Liverpool's Rialto Ballroom...
as Norma, opposite Earl Carpenter as Joe. The production had a completely new set, much simpler than the original London set, but without compromising the quality of the show and the overall production remaining more faithful to the original staging than the previous US tour with Petula Clark. Carpenter left midway through the tour and was replaced by Jeremy Finch, who had previously understudied the role. The tour finished in late 2002 in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and met with both excellent reviews and respectable ticket sales.
Original Canadian production
The TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
production opened in 1995 with Diahann Carroll in the lead role. Her performance was also praised by critics, although the production closed sooner than expected. It also starred Rex Smith
Rex Smith
Rex Smith is an American actor and singer. Smith debuted in the Broadway play Grease in 1978. He is noted for his role as Jesse Mach in the 1985 television series Street Hawk, as well as being a singer and stage actor. During the late 1970s, Smith was popular as a teen idol...
as Joe, Walter Charles
Walter Charles
Walter Charles is an American actor and singer.Charles made his Broadway debut in Grease in 1972...
as Max and Anita Louise Combe
Anita Louise Combe
Anita Louise Combe is an Australian actress, singer, dancer who has worked extensively in the entertainment industry all around the world. Combe attended the Gwen Mackay School of Dancing and trained in the Cechetti method of ballet with Jennifer Pollard in Adelaide, South Australia before making...
as Betty. The production later moved to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
for the final few months of its run. A highlights cast recording of this production was issued on CD in 1995.
Original Australian production
In October 1996, the original Australian production of the musical opened at Melbourne's newly restored Regent TheatreRegent Theatre, Melbourne
The Regent Theatre is a 2162 seat theatre in Melbourne, Australia. It is listed by the National Trust of Australia and is on the Victorian Heritage Register.-History:...
. The cast included Debra Byrne
Debra Byrne
-Career:Byrne made her television debut on Brian and the Juniors, an early predecessor of Young Talent Time, which was hosted by a young Brian Naylor. She stayed with the show for 12 months. In 1971 she was cast as one of the original six Young Talent Time cast members...
as Norma, Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
as Joe, and Catherine Porter
Catherine Porter
Catherine Porter is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She is a former member of The Brian May Band and has appeared in several musicals and films...
as Betty. Maria Mercedes
Maria Mercedes (actor)
Maria Mercedes is an Australian actress who has many credits in television, movies, and theatre.Mercedes has had starring roles in the television comedy/variety series Greeks on the Roof as Poppy, the mother of Effie, and in the comedy series Kick as Dora Mavros...
starred as the alternate Norma, performing two of the eight shows each week. Future Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
star Amanda Harrison
Amanda Harrison
Amanda Harrison is an Australian musical theatre performer who will be originating the role of Paula in the World Premiere of An Officer and a Gentleman in Sydney 2012.-Early years:...
took over the role of Betty for the final months of the show's run. The production ran until June 14, 1997.
International productions
A German production of the revamped musical opened December 7, 1995 at the newly-built Rhein-Main Theater in NiedernhausenNiedernhausen
Niedernhausen im Taunus is a municipality in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany, with almost 15,000 inhabitants.-Location:...
, starring Helen Schneider
Helen Schneider
Helen Schneider is an American singer and actress working mainly in Germany.Born the daughter of Dvora and Abraham Schneider , she studied piano before starting to perform as a singer in venues in New England and New York.Between 1978 and 1984, she achieved success as a rock singer in Germany;...
and Uwe Kröger
Uwe Kröger
Uwe Kröger is a famous musical star in the German-speaking countries of the world. Besides starring on stage, Kröger has taken part in numerous galas and concerts, as well as making a few television and film appearances...
in the lead roles. The role of Norma Desmond was later played by Daniela Ziegler
Daniela Ziegler
Daniela Ziegler is a German actress and singer.-Biography:After studying acting at the Drama School in Bochum, she had engagements in Trier, at the Deutsches Theater in Göttingen, at the State Theatre in Hanover, and at the Hamburg Theatre...
and Christina Grimandi, before Schneider once more played the lead. The show ran with moderate success until it closed in May 1998. During the last few months, Schneider was replaced by Sue Mathys as Norma Desmond. A cast recording (with Schneider and Kröger) was released in 1996.
A low budget unauthorized production played for a time in Spain in 2000, with heavy alterations to the book and using a combination of the original score and the subsequent revision that appeared in the Los Angeles production.
A year-long Dutch tour commenced in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
on October 10, 2008, with Simone Kleinsma
Simone Kleinsma
Simone Kleinsma is an award winning musical theatre actress in the Netherlands.-Personal life:On June 5, 1990, Simone married Guus Verstraete, a Dutch television director...
and Pia Douwes
Pia Douwes
Pia Douwes is a Dutch musical theatre actress who is extremly successful in Europe.- Biography :Douwes was born in Amsterdam, North Holland as Petronella Irene Allegonda Douwes, to an arts dealer and a social worker and the grandniece of Doris Day...
alternating as Norma and Antonie Kamerling
Antonie Kamerling
Antonie Kamerling was a Dutch television and film actor and musician.-Biography:Antonie Kamerling was still a law student when in 1990 he was cast in the then new Dutch soap opera Good Times, Bad Times. His character, Peter Kelder, quickly became one of the most popular on the program...
as Joe. Kleinsma went on to win the Best Actress Award for the role in the 2009 Dutch Musical Awards and also Best Actress for the Flemish Musical Prizes. An official cast album was released, with Kleinsma appearing on the main album and with a four track bonus CD of Pia Douwes singing Norma's main arias.
The Swedish premiere took place at the Värmlandsoperan in September 2009, to mostly positive reviews. The role of Norma Desmond was played by Swedish actress Maria Lundqvist
Maria Lundqvist
Maria Lundqvist is a Swedish actress.-Films and TV-series:*Svensson Svensson - The movie*Sally*Sjön*Före stormen*Familjehemligheter*Deadline*Paradiset*Kvinnor emellan...
. A second much more elaborate production opened in October 2010, at the Gothenburg Opera House, with Gunilla Backman (who previously understudied the role of Betty Schaefer in the original German production) starring as Norma.
Concert productions
In 2004, Petula Clark reprised her role as Norma opposite Michael BallMichael Ball (singer)
Michael Ashley Ball, born 27 June 1962) is a British actor, singer, and radio and TV presenter who is best known for the song "Love Changes Everything" and musical theatre roles such as Marius in Les Misérables, Alex in Aspects of Love, Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Edna Turnblad...
in a concert production of the show that ran for two nights at the Cork Opera House in Ireland, which was later broadcast on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Radio. To date, with more than 2500 performances to her credit, she has played the role more often than any other actress.
Another two day concert engagement took place in 2004 in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
by the Production Company; Judi Connelli
Judi Connelli
Judi Connelli AM is an award-winning singer and actress.She is best known for her career in opera and stage musicals...
starred as Norma, Michael Cormick played Joe and Anthony Warlow
Anthony Warlow
Anthony Warlow is an Australian opera and musical theatre performer, noted for his character acting and considerable vocal range ....
was Max. The Production Company staged a slightly more elaborate version of the concert for a week in Melbourne during 2005. Connelli again starred as Norma, and David Campbell took the role of Joe. The State Theatre was sold out for every performance.
2008 London revival
An eight week engagement of a minimalist production, in which the actors used musical instruments, enjoyed a good run at the Watermill TheatreWatermill Theatre
The Watermill Theatre is an award -winning, professional repertory theatre with charitable status. It is a converted watermill with gardens beside the River Lambourn, in Bagnor, near Newbury, Berkshire, England...
in Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
over the summer of 2008. Directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood
Craig Revel Horwood
Craig Revel Horwood is an Australian-British dancer, choreographer, and theatre director in the United Kingdom.-Biography:...
, the cast featured Kathryn Evans
Kathryn Evans
Kathryn Evans is a British stage actress. She trained at the Royal Ballet School and Arts Educational.She is best known for taking over the lead role of Eva in Evita. She later appeared in many West End Theatre shows including Anything Goes, Aspects of Love, Mack & Mabel and The Fix.Most recently...
as Norma and Ben Goddard
Ben Goddard
Ben Goddard is a founding partner of the public affairs firm Goddard Claussen. He is widely regarded as the godfather of issue advocacy advertising and is credited with creating the genre of national issue advocacy advertising with the Harry & Louise campaign in the early 1990s.-Career and...
as Joe. A West End transfer of the Watermill production began on 4 December 2008 prior to an official opening 15 December at the Comedy Theatre, with Evans and Goddard reprising their roles. The production received rave reviews and extended its run to September 2009. However, the production closed just after initially planned on 30 May 2009. It had originally been booking until 19 September 2009. There are plans for a UK Tour and also talks of bringing the production to Broadway
Other productions
In 2004, the first regional production of Sunset Boulevard was staged in the roundTheatre in the round
Theatre-in-the-round or arena theatre is any theatre space in which the audience surrounds the stage area...
at the Marriott Theatre
Marriott Theatre
The Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois, USA is a respected Chicago area regional theatre. Attached to the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort, the theatre produces an average of five musicals each year, presented in the round, as well as productions aimed at younger audiences...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
for a limited period and was the first and only regional production to be licensed by RUG for the next six years. However, in the spring of 2010, the leasing rights were finally released to regional companies and numerous productions are now being planned across the United States.
The Ogunquit Playhouse production ran from July 28 through August 14, 2010, and starred Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers is an American actress best known for her role as Jennifer Hart in the 1980s television series Hart to Hart.-Early life:...
as Norma Desmond and Todd Gearhart as Joe Gillis. This was the first fully staged production in the U.S. in nearly a decade. The Ogunquit production was directed by Shaun Kerrison, with choreography by Tom Kosis and featured costumes by Anthony Powell and an all new set designed exclusively for the Ogunquit stage by Todd Ivins.
The Arvada Center
Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities is a multi-use cultural facility operated by the City of Arvada, Colorado, United States, which opened in 1976. The Arvada Center is located 7.8 miles northwest of Denver. The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities is the eighth largest cultural...
production ran from September 14 to October 10, 2010, in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, ironically the same city that launched the ill-fated first US tour back in 1996. The show starred Ann Crumb
Ann Crumb
Ann Crumb is an American actress and singer.The daughter of composer George Crumb and sister of composer David Crumb, she made her Broadway debut in 1987 as a member of the original cast of Les Misérables...
as Norma Desmond and Kevin Earley as Joe Gillis. The production was directed by Rod A. Landsberry.
The Signature Theatre (Arlington, Virginia) production ran from December 7, 2010 to February 13, 2011 and starred Florence Lacey as Norma Desmond, with direction by Eric D. Schaeffer
Eric D. Schaeffer
Eric D. Schaeffer is a theater director and producer based in Arlington, Virginia.He is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Signature Theatre., and is well known nationally for his re-invention of large American musicals for small black box venues...
. Schaeffer said that the theatre was turned "into the back lot of Paramount Studios, so you feel like you're sitting in the back lot and there's sandbags and catwalks overhead, and then that actually transforms into the mansion." The production featured a 20-piece orchestra, which is the largest the theatre has ever used.
Pioneer Theatre Company
Pioneer Theatre Company
The Pioneer Theatre Company is one of four fully professional theatre companies in Utah, formed in 1962 and performing at the Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City. The non-profit company produces seven plays each season, running from September to May,...
in Salt Lake City, Utah staged their production April 29, 2011 to May 14, 2011. Lynne Wintersteller
Lynne Wintersteller
Lynne Wintersteller is an American actress best known for her work in the theatre. A gifted soprano, she has appeared in several musicals including starring in the original production of Maltby and Shire's hit Off-Broadway musical Closer Than Ever in 1989 at the Cherry Lane Theatre...
starred as Norma Desmond, Benjamin Eakeley as Joe Gillis and Martin Vidnovic
Martin Vidnovic
Martin Vidnovic is an American actor and singer.Born in Falls Church, Virginia, Vidnovic made his Broadway debut in the ill-fated Home Sweet Homer which, following a one-year tour, closed on opening night...
as Max von Mayerling. The show was directed by John Going. The production team included choreographer Jayne Luke, music director Michael Rice, set designer George Maxwell, costume designer Carol Wells-Day, lighting designer Dennis Parichy and sound designer Matthew Tibbs.
The Music Theatre of Wichita
Music Theatre of Wichita
Music Theatre of Wichita is the major performing arts company in the city of Wichita. Music Theatre of Wichita has been around since the early seventies and has premiered many shows in the state of Kansas. Many famous stars, including Tad Hilgenbrink and Kristin Chenoweth have performed onstage...
staged a production from July 6 to 10, 2011, using a 27 piece orchestra. The show was directed by Mark Madama and starred Ann Morrison
Ann Morrison
Ann Morrison is an American actress, best known for her Broadway debut as Mary Flynn in the Stephen Sondheim/George Furth musical, Merrily We Roll Along directed by Harold Prince for which she won the 1982 Theatre World Award...
as Norma Desmond, Chris Peluso as Joe Gillis, Nicolas F. Saverine as Max Mayerling and Kaleigh Cronin as Betty Schaefer.
The Barn Theatre
Barn Theatre
The Barn Theatre is the home of the Ross Valley Players, the oldest continually-operating community theater group on the West Coast. Located in Ross, California, the Barn Theatre was converted from a barn in the 1930s to a theatre....
in Augusta Michigan staged a production starring four time Emmy winning Soap star Kim Zimmer
Kim Zimmer
Kim Zimmer is an American actress. She is known for her role as Echo DiSavoy on One Life to Live and best known for her role as Reva Shayne on Guiding Light.-Career:...
from August 23 to September 4, 2011. The show was directed by Hans Friedrichs, with music direction by John Jay Espino.
Abandoned film project
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and the Relevant Picture Company announced in 2005 that they were developing a film adaptation of the musical. In 2007, The Telegraph reported that actresses being considered for the role of Norma Desmond included Close, Paige, Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
, Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
and Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
. In an interview in 2008, Andrew Lloyd Webber said that there are no plans for a film adaptation to be made in the near future, but he remains hopeful one will be made at some point. In 2011, Lloyd Webber indicated he would like Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
to star in the film, though she wasn't taking his calls.
Original West End production
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best New Musical | ||
| Best Actress in a Musical | Patti LuPone Patti LuPone Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les... |
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Original Broadway production
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Drama Desk Award Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category... |
Outstanding Actress in a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since... |
Glenn Close Glenn Close Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and... |
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| Outer Critics Circle Award Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets... |
Outstanding Broadway Musical | |||
| Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Glenn Close Glenn Close Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and... |
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| Tony Award Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway... |
Best Musical Tony Award for Best Musical This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Musical, first awarded in 1949. This award is presented to the producers of the musical.-1940s:* 1949: Kiss Me, Kate – Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Samuel and Bella Spewack... |
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| Best Original Score Tony Award for Best Original Score The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical in that year. The score consists of music and lyrics... |
Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of... , Don Black and Christopher Hampton Christopher Hampton Christopher James Hampton CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, screen writer and film director. He is best known for his play based on the novel Les Liaisons dangereuses and the film version Dangerous Liaisons and also more recently for writing the nominated screenplay for the film adaptation of... |
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| Best Book of a Musical Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to librettists of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligible... |
Don Black and Christopher Hampton Christopher Hampton Christopher James Hampton CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, screen writer and film director. He is best known for his play based on the novel Les Liaisons dangereuses and the film version Dangerous Liaisons and also more recently for writing the nominated screenplay for the film adaptation of... |
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| Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival... |
Alan Campbell Alan Campbell Alan or Allan Campbell may refer to:*Alan Campbell , former Republic of Ireland international footballer*Alan Campbell *Alan Campbell... |
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| Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | Glenn Close Glenn Close Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and... |
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| Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. The award has been presented since 1947... |
George Hearn George Hearn George Hearn is an American actor and singer, primarily in Broadway musical theatre.-Early years:Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Hearn studied philosophy at Southwestern at Memphis, now Rhodes College before he embarked on a career in the theater, training for the stage with actress turned acting... |
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| Best Direction of a Musical Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. Prior to 1960, category for direction included plays and musicals.-1950s:Note: this category was for both dramatic and musical productions... |
Trevor Nunn Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn, CBE is an English theatre, film and television director. Nunn has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed musicals and dramas for the stage, as well as opera... |
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| Best Choreography Tony Award for Best Choreography -1940s:* 1947: Agnes de Mille – Brigadoon / Michael Kidd – Finian's Rainbow* 1948: Jerome Robbins – High Button Shoes* 1949: Gower Champion – Lend An Ear-1950s:* 1950: Helen Tamiris – Touch and Go* 1951: Michael Kidd – Guys and Dolls... |
Bob Avian Bob Avian Bob Avian is an American choreographer and a theatre producer and director.Born in New York City, Avian's spent his early career dividing his time between dancing in such Broadway shows as West Side Story, Funny Girl, and Henry, Sweet Henry and working as a production assistant on projects like I... |
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| Best Scenic Design | John Napier | |||
| Best Costume Design Tony Award for Best Costume Design These are the winners and nominees for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design. The award was first presented in 1947 and included both plays and musicals... |
Anthony Powell | |||
| Best Lighting Design Tony Award for Best Lighting Design This is a list of the winners of the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in a play or musical, first presented in 1970. In 2005 the category was divided with each genre represented separately.-1970s:* 1970: Jo Mielziner – Child's Play... |
Andrew Bridge | |||
1995 Canadian Premiere
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Dora Mavor Moore Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role | Anita Louise Combe Anita Louise Combe Anita Louise Combe is an Australian actress, singer, dancer who has worked extensively in the entertainment industry all around the world. Combe attended the Gwen Mackay School of Dancing and trained in the Cechetti method of ballet with Jennifer Pollard in Adelaide, South Australia before making... |
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| Outstanding Set Design | John Napier John Napier John Napier of Merchiston – also signed as Neper, Nepair – named Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish mathematician, physicist, astronomer & astrologer, and also the 8th Laird of Merchistoun. He was the son of Sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston. John Napier is most renowned as the discoverer... |
1996 Vancouver Premiere
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Jessie Richardson Theatre Award | Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role | Anita Louise Combe Anita Louise Combe Anita Louise Combe is an Australian actress, singer, dancer who has worked extensively in the entertainment industry all around the world. Combe attended the Gwen Mackay School of Dancing and trained in the Cechetti method of ballet with Jennifer Pollard in Adelaide, South Australia before making... |
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| Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role | Walter Charles Walter Charles Walter Charles is an American actor and singer.Charles made his Broadway debut in Grease in 1972... |
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| Jessie Richardson Theatre Award | Outstanding Set Design of a Play or Musical | John Napier John Napier John Napier of Merchiston – also signed as Neper, Nepair – named Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish mathematician, physicist, astronomer & astrologer, and also the 8th Laird of Merchistoun. He was the son of Sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston. John Napier is most renowned as the discoverer... |
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| Jessie Richardson Theatre Award | Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play or Musical | Andrew Bridge Andrew Bridge Andrew Bridge is a Broadway and West End lighting designer, who has worked on many Broadway productions, including The Phantom of the Opera. He has won the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design three times: in 1988 for The Phantom of the Opera, 1995 for Sunset Boulevard, and in 1999 for Fosse.In... |
2008 West End revival
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actress in a Musical | Kathryn Evans Kathryn Evans Kathryn Evans is a British stage actress. She trained at the Royal Ballet School and Arts Educational.She is best known for taking over the lead role of Eva in Evita. She later appeared in many West End Theatre shows including Anything Goes, Aspects of Love, Mack & Mabel and The Fix.Most recently... |
|
| Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical | Dave Willetts Dave Willetts Dave Willetts is an English singer and actor known for having leading roles in West End musicals.Willetts is something of an enigma in that he has had no formal singing, dancing, or acting lessons. Before he was 20 he rarely visited the theatre... |
External links
- Review from The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- Profile of the musical at the Imagi-nation website
- 2008 London Revival
- 2008 Holland Tour