Sunset Boulevard
by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black and Christopher Hampton
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! [1] 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.” [2] 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.[3]
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.[4] 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.[4]
At that point Lloyd Webber “felt it was the subject [he] had to compose next”[4], though by February 1990 he had announced plans to turn Really Useful Group private so he could “make movies rather than musicals.”[5]
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.[6] Don Black was later brought in to work with Powers; the two wrote the version that was performed that same year at Lloyd Webber’s Sydmonton Festival. This original version starred Ria Jones as Norma. It was not a success, though a revised version, written by Black and Christopher Hampton “met with great success” at the 1992 Sydmonton Festival.[6] 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.[7]
Productions
Original London Production
Sunset Boulevard’s original West End production, directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Bob Avian, opened on July 12, 1993 at the Adelphi Theatre with Patti LuPone as Norma Desmond, Kevin Anderson as Joe Gillis, Meredith Braun as Betty Schaefer, and Daniel Benzali as Norma’s ex-husband, Max. [8] 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.”[9]
Reviews were mixed: Many critics[who?] felt that the score was repetitive and that more time had been spent constructing the mammoth set than working on the book. Still, it was an instant sell-out success and ran for 1,529 performances. Anderson left the London company in January 1994 to be replaced by Gerard Casey.
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”.[10] 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[11] and ran for 977 performances. Billy Wilder was in attendance on opening night and was coaxed onstage by Close for the curtain call.[9] 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.
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.[12] She also sued Lloyd Webber. Frank Rich, in his book The Hot Seat[13], 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”.[12] 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).”[12] 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.
1994 London Revamp
The London show was revamped to follow the lead of the New York production and starred Broadway and TV veteran 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.) Buckley and the production garnered rave reviews. Buckley then followed Glenn Close as Norma Desmond in the second year of the New York production. Elaine Paige, who had filled in when Buckley was ill in 1994, took over as Norma Desmond in London in 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 the following January 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
International Productions
The Toronto 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.
A German production of the revamped musical opened December 7, 1995 at the newly-built Rhein-Main Theater in Niedernhausen, 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.
In 1996, Debra Byrne as Norma and Hugh Jackman as Joe starred in the first Australian production of Sunset Boulevard. The production opened the newly restored Regent Theatre, but closed down even sooner than the Canadian production due to Debra Byrne’s poor health.
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.
US Tours
The first national US tour in 1996 starring Linda Balgord[14] ended in early 1997 after only a handful of venues due to exorbitant costs involved in transporting the set.[15] 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. [16]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.[17]
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.[18] The production received rave reviews and extended its run to September 2009. However, the production closed just after initially planned on 30 May 2009.[19] 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[20]
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.[21]
2010 Arlington, Virginia
The Signature Theatre (Arlington, Virginia) production will run from December 7, 2010 to February 13, 2011 and stars Florence Lacey as Norma Desmond, with direction by Eric Schaeffer.[22]
2015 – 16 London – Broadway
Glenn Close reprises her performance as Norma Desmond in a revival on Broadway. Featuring a 40-piece orchestra, the production began performances at the Palace Theatre on February 2, 2017 before opening officially on February 9 for a limited run, with tickets selling through June 25, 2017. The cast features Michael Xavier as Joe Gillis, Siobhan Dillon as Betty Schaefer, and Fred Johanson as Max von Mayerling, all reprising their roles from the 2016 London ENO production. The 2017 Broadway revival is directed by Lonny Price
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
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† This is not included on the Original London Production or in the World Premiere recording.
∞ Originally a reprise of “Let’s Have Lunch”
Take Norma home Now Buy the CDS at the Best Price
Sunset Boulevard (1993 Original London Cast)
1. Sunset Boulevard (1993 Original London Cast) [Cast Recording]
Andrew Lloyd Webber (Performer), Michael Bauer (Performer), Daniel Benzali (Performer), Meredith Braun (Performer), Gerard Casey (Performer), Nicolas Colicos (Performer), Anita Louise Combe (Performer), Don Black (Performer), Christopher Hampton (Performer), Patti LuPone (Performer), Kevin Anderson (Performer)
Sunset Boulevard (1994 Los Angeles Cast)
2. Sunset Boulevard (1994 Los Angeles Cast) [Cast Recording] Alan Campbell, Christopher Hampton, George Hearn, Don Black, Sunset Boulevard (Related Recordings), Andrew Lloyd Webber, Glenn Close, Judy Kuhn
Video
Plot
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!”
Awards and Nominations
Original London Production
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best New Musical | Nominated | |
| Best Actress in a Musical | Patti LuPone | Nominated | ||
| 1995 | Betty Buckley | Nominated | ||
Original Broadway Production
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Tony Award | Best Musical | Won | |
| Best Original Score | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black and Christopher Hampton | Won | ||
| Best Book of a Musical | Don Black and Christopher Hampton | Won | ||
| Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical | Alan Campbell | Nominated | ||
| Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | Glenn Close | Won | ||
| Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical | George Hearn | Won | ||
| Best Direction of a Musical | Trevor Nunn | Nominated | ||
| Best Choreography | Bob Avian | Nominated | ||
| Best Scenic Design | John Napier | Won | ||
| Best Costume Design | Anthony Powell | Nominated | ||
| Best Lighting Design | Andrew Bridge | Won | ||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Glenn Close | Won | |
2008 London Revival
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actress in a Musical | Kathryn Evans | Nominated |
| Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical | Dave Willetts | Nominated |
2015 – 2016
Cast
Glenn Close – Norma Desmond
Siobhan Dillon – Broadway debut – Betty Schaeffer
Fred Johanson – Broadway debut – Max von Mayerling
Michael Xavier -Broadway debut – Joe Gillis
Nancy Anderson – Ensemble
Mackenzie Bell – Ensemble
Preston Truman Boyd – Artie Green / Ensemble
Barry Busby – Ensemble
Britney Coleman – Broadway debut -Ensemble
Julian R. Decker – Ensemble
Anissa Felix – Ensemble
Drew Foster – Ensemble
David Hess – Ensemble
Brittney Johnson – Ensemble
Katie Ladner – Broadway debut – Ensemble
Stephanie Martignetti – Ensemble
Lauralyn McClelland – Ensemble
T. Oliver Reid – Ensemble
Lance Roberts – Ensemble
Stephanie Rothenberg – Ensemble
Graham Rowat – Ensemble
Paul Schoeffler – Cecil B. DeMille / Ensemble
Andy Taylor – Sheldrake / Ensemble
Sean Thompson – Broadway debut / Ensemble
Matt Wall – Ensemble
Jim Walton – Manfred / Ensemble
Swings: Mackenzie Bell and Barry Busby
Understudies: Nancy Anderson (Norma Desmond), Barry Busby (Artie Green), Britney Coleman (Betty Schaeffer), David Hess (Cecil B. DeMille), T. Oliver Reid (Manfred, Sheldrake), Paul Schoeffler (Max von Mayerling) and Sean Thompson (Joe Gillis)
Abandoned and Possible Film Project
Paramount Pictures 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. In December 2011, Andrew Lloyd Webber told The Daily Mail that he was considering filming a stage production of the show for cinema and DVD release featuring Glenn Close as Norma Desmond, but noted that the inherent costs in forming the production might hinder the project’s viability
References
1.Based on liner notes to Boulevard! CD release by Richard Stapley, Tim J. Hutton, and Steven M. Warner
2. The Bad and the Beautiful: Hollywood in the Fifties by Sam Kashner and Jennifer MacNair, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2002, ISBN 0-393-04321-5, pg. 346
3. On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder by Ed Sikov, Hyperion, New York, New York, 1998, pp. 467-468, ISBN 0-7868-6194-0
4. !…Inspired by Sunset Boulevard’ from Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group website
5. Lloyd Webber in Accord For Buyback of Company, a February 1990 article from The New York Times
6. A Journey Down $un$set Blvd.”. Goodspeed Musicals’s Show Music magazine. squareone.org. Fall 1993. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
7. Sir Tim Rice – Cricket
8. Rich, Frank.”Upstaging a New Lloyd Webber Musical”New York Times, July 14, 1993
9. On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder, pg. 589
10. Weinraub, Bernard.”Hollywood Braces For Look Into Mirror Of ‘Sunset Boulevard’”New York Times, December 9, 1993
11. Sunset Boulevard History Inspiration
12. “Following ‘Sunset,’ Shadows Over Lloyd Webber’s Empire”, The New York Times, March 1997
13. Hot Seat: Theater Criticism for The New York Times, 1980-1993 (Random House, 1998. ISBN 0-679-45300-8) from the author’s website
14. Campbell, Jackie.”Linda Balgord Cast As Norma For ‘Sunset Boulevard’ National Tour” Rocky Mountain News, abstract from encyclopedia.com, January 28, 1996, accessed August 3, 2010
15. Newmark, Judith.HIATUS’LOOMS FOR `BOULEVARD‘”St. Louis Post-Dispatch, abstract from nl.newsbank.com, March 23, 1997, accessed August 3, 2010
16. Strom, Harper.Regional review, Atlanta talkinbroadway.com, accessed August 3, 2010
17. Information about the Australian production from hjackman.com
18. Shenton, Mark. “Sunset Boulevard Will Return to the West End in December”, playbill.com, November 17, 2008
19. playbill.com London Revival of Sunset Boulevard to Close May 30
20. Watermills SUNSET BOULEVARD to Close in West End May 30, 2009
21. Gans, Andrew.””With One Look”: Stefanie Powers Is Norma Desmond in Ogunquit Playhouse’s ‘Sunset Boulevard’” playbill.com, July 28, 2010
22. Jones, Kenneth.”Florence Lacey Will Star in Signature’s Sunset Boulevard; Season Announced”playbill.com, February 24, 2010
23. The Telegraph announcement of 2006 musical film. July 10, 2005. Retrieved July 27, 2005.
24. Meryl Streep competes for Sunset Boulevard from Telegraph.co.uk
25. “Why Whisper About It? ‘The Life’ Is a Joy”, The New York Times, October 1997
More Reading
1. 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
2.Plot and prosuction listing from guidetomusicaltheatre.com
3. Profile of the musical from the Broadway Musical Home website
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