Sunset Boulevard (musical)

Name	Sunset Boulevard
Caption	Original West End Logo
Music	Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics	Don BlackChristopher Hampton
Book	Don BlackChristopher Hampton
Basis	1950 film Sunset Blvd.
Productions	1991, 1992 Sydmonton Festival 1993 West End1993 Los Angeles1994 Broadway1995 Canada1995 Germany1996 Australia1996, 1998 US tour 2001 UK tour2008 West End revival2008 The Netherlands2009 Sweden
Awards	Tony Award for Best Musical Tony Award for Best Score Tony Award for Best Book

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 it lost money because of its extraordinary running costs. A star vehicle, many well-known actresses have played the leading character, Norma Desmond, and the show has seen its share of legal battles.

Background

From approximately 1952 to 1956, Gloria Swanson 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.

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".

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 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!"

Major characters

Norma Desmond — a faded, eccentric, former silent screen star

Joe Gillis — a struggling young screenwriter

Max von Mayerling — Norma's ex-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.

Productions

;Original London production The original West End 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 Mis 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."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). 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." 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 1996when 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.

;Los Angeles production The American premiere was at the Shubert Theatre in Century City, Los Angeles, California, on December 9, 1993, with Glenn 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.

;Original Broadway production The musical opened on Broadway 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 Allen 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.

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., 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)." Maria Mercedes starred as the alternate Norma, performing two of the eight shows each week. 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.

A low budget 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 Holland on October 10, 2008, with Simone Kleinsma and Pia Douwes alternating as Norma. Kleinsma went on to win the Best Actress Award for the role in the 2009 Dutch Musical Awards.

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 Swedish production opened in October 2010, at the Gothenburg Opera House. This time around, Norma Desmond was played by Gunilla Backman.

;US Tours The first national US tour in 1996 starring Linda Balgord 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.

;2001-2 UK 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.

;Concert Productions In 2004, Petula Clark reprised her role as Norma opposite Michael Ball at 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.

;2008 Newbury and London Revival An eight week engagement of a minimalist production, in which the actors used musical instruments, enjoyed a good run at the Watermill Theatre 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

;Regional Venues In 2004, the first regional production of Sunset Boulevard was staged in the round at the Mariott 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, including Ogunquit, Denver, Portland, Oregon and Arlington.

;2010 Ogunquit Playhouse The Ogunquit Playhouse all-new production, running from July 28 through August 14, 2010, stars 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.

;2010 Arvada Center The Arvada Center production ran from September to October in Denver, Colorado. The show starred Ann Crumb as Norma Desmond and Kevin Earley as Joe Gillis. The production was directed by Rod A. Landsberry.

;2010 Arlington, Virginia The Signature Theatre (Arlington, Virginia) production runs from December 7, 2010 to February 13, 2011 and stars Florence Lacey as Norma Desmond, with direction by Eric 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 has a 20-piece orchestra, which is the largest the theatre has ever used.

Planned film adaptation

Paramount Pictures and the Relevant Picture Company announced in 2005 that they are developing a new film adaptation of the musical. The release was originally planned for 2006. This was postponed to 2008, but production has now been delayed to at least 2010, because of the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike. On August 5, 2007, The Telegraph reported that several actresses are being considered for the role of Norma Desmond, among them Glenn Close, who played the role in Los Angeles and on Broadway, Elaine Paige, who played the role in London and later on Broadway, Meryl Streep, Liza Minnelli, and Barbra Streisand. However, in an interview in June 2008, Andrew Lloyd Webber said that there are no plans for a film adaptation to be made in the near future but remains hopeful one will be made at some point.

Awards and nominations

;Tony Awards

Awards

*Best Musical

*Best Score of a Musical

*Best Book of a Musical

*Best Scenic Design

*Best Lighting Design

*Best Featured Actor in a Musical - George Hearn

*Best Actress in a Musical - Glenn Close

Nominations

*Best Actor in a Musical - Alan Campbell

*Best Costume Design

*Best Choreography - Bob Avian

*Best Direction of a Musical - Trevor Nunn

;Outer Critics Circle Awards

Outstanding Broadway Musical (winner)

Outstanding Actress in a Musical - Glenn Close (winner)

;Drama Desk Award

Outstanding Actress in a Musical - Glenn Close (winner)

;Drama Logue Awards (Los Angeles production)

Outstanding Production

Outstanding Original Music

Outstanding Direction

Outstanding Writing

Outstanding Scenic Design

Outstanding Costume Design

Outstanding Lighting Design

Outstanding Performance - Glenn Close

Outstanding Performance - Alan Campbell

;L.A. Drama Critics Circle Awards

Outstanding Scenic Design

Outstanding Lighting Design

Outstanding Costume Design

Outstanding Sound Design

Outstanding Lead Performance - Glenn Close

;Ovation Awards

Best Musical

Best Scenic Design

Best Costume Design

Best Lighting Design

Notes

References

Ganzl, Kurt. ''Ganzl's book of the Broadway musical: 75 shows, from H.M.S. Pinafore to Sunset Boulevard. New York: Schirmer Books, 1995. ISBN 0-02-870832-6

Plot and prosuction listing from guidetomusicaltheatre.com

Profile of the musical from the Broadway Musical Home website

External links

Review from The New York Times

Profile of the musical at the Imagi-nation website

2008 London Revival

2008 Holland Tour

Category:Compositions by Andrew Lloyd Webber Category:Musicals based on films Category:1993 musicals Category:Broadway musicals Category:West End musicals Category:Tony Award winning musicals