I Am Big — It’s the Pictures That Got Small

Sunset Boulevard is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and lyrics and libretto by Don Black and Christopher Hampton, based on the 1950 film. The plot follows Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent-screen era, living in her decaying mansion on Sunset Boulevard in 1949 Los Angeles. When young screenwriter Joe Gillis accidentally crosses her path, she sees an opportunity to make her return to the big screen, with romance and tragedy to follow.

Opening first in London in 1993, the musical has had several long runs internationally and enjoyed extensive tours. However, it has been the subject of several legal battles and ultimately lost money due to its extraordinary running costs. The 1994 Broadway production was nominated for 11 Tony Awards, winning 7, including Best Musical. The 2023 West End revival was nominated for 11 Olivier Awards, winning 7, including Best Musical Revival. The 2024 Broadway revival was nominated for 7 Tony Awards and won 3, including Best Revival of a Musical.

A Long Road to the Stage

Gloria Swanson’s Attempt (1952-1956)

From approximately 1952 to 1956, Gloria Swanson worked with actor Richard Stapley and cabaret singer Dickson Hughes on a musical adaptation originally entitled Starring Norma Desmond, then Boulevard!. It ended on a happier note than the film, with Norma Desmond allowing Joe Gillis to leave and pursue a happy ending with Betty Schaefer.

Rights holder Paramount Pictures originally gave Swanson verbal permission to proceed, but there had been no formal legal arrangement. On February 20, 1957, Paramount executive Russell Holman wrote to Swanson asking her to cease work 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. A recording of the entire score was released on CD in 2008.

Stephen Sondheim’s Abandoned Project (Early 1960s)

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 comedian rather than a silent film star, Sondheim declined, citing his conversation with Wilder.

Andrew Lloyd Webber Takes the Reins (1970s-1990s)

When Andrew 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 until after 1989’s Aspects of Love. At that point, he “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.”

Plot Synopsis

Prologue: A Body in the Pool

The place: A mansion on Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, 5 a.m. A homicide has been reported. Joe Gillis sets the scene (“Prologue”), noting that “an old-time movie star is involved / Maybe the biggest star of all,” and that, if you want to know the “real facts”, “you’ve come to the right party.”

Act One: Hollywood, 1949

Flashback to Hollywood, 1949 – where a down-on-his-luck screenwriter, Joe Gillis, is trying to hustle up some work at Paramount Studios (“Let’s Have Lunch”). His appointment with a producer goes poorly when the executive rejects both Joe’s proposed script and a loan to bring his car payments up to date. Joe does, however, meet Betty Schaefer, a pretty, young script editor who suggests they collaborate (“Every Movie’s a Circus”). As they chat, car repossession agents spot Joe, who quickly escapes.

During the ensuing chase, Joe evades his pursuers by pulling in to the garage of a palatial but dilapidated mansion on Sunset Boulevard. Beckoned inside the house, Joe encounters Norma Desmond (“Surrender”), a star actress of the silent-film era. Taken aback, Joe comments, “You used to be in pictures; you used to be big,” to which Norma retorts, “I am big – it’s the pictures that got small!” (“With One Look”)

The gloomy estate is inhabited only by Norma and Max von Mayerling, her loyal butler and chauffeur. Although decades past her prime and mostly forgotten by the public, Norma is convinced she is as beautiful and popular as ever. Max perpetuates this illusion by shielding her from the realities of life out of the limelight and by writing her letters purportedly from still-devoted fans.

Norma informs Joe that she plans to make her comeback with Salome, a script she has written for Cecil B. DeMille to direct with her in the starring role as the teenage biblical temptress (“Salome”). Dubious but sensing opportunity, Joe accepts her offer to work on editing the script. Norma insists that Joe stay in her home while they collaborate (“The Greatest Star of All”).

Joe immediately realizes the script is incoherent, but because Norma won’t allow a major rewrite, the revision drags on for months. During this time Joe is virtually imprisoned within the house, but he does break away to fulfill his commitment to Betty. Their working relationship blossoms into a romance that has her reconsidering her engagement to Joe’s best friend, Artie Green (“Girl Meets Boy”).

Blind to Joe’s opportunism, Norma lavishes him with gifts that include a wardrobe makeover and he becomes her kept man (“The Lady’s Paying”). She declares her love for him and turns quite possessive (“The Perfect Year”); when he leaves her to attend Artie’s New Year’s Eve party (“This Time Next Year”), she is distraught and attempts suicide. As a conciliatory gesture, Joe reluctantly returns to work on Salome.

Act Two: The Delusion Deepens

Joe is now living in luxury at Norma Desmond’s mansion, for reasons he bluntly states are mercenary (“Sunset Boulevard”). A cryptic message from Paramount has Norma certain that DeMille is eager to discuss her script (“There’s Been A Call”). She drops in on the set of his current film and is greeted warmly by former colleagues and the famed director himself, but he is non-committal about Salome (“As If We Never Said Goodbye”).

Meanwhile, Max discovers the studio had called to ask about Norma’s Isotta Fraschini, not her screenplay. However, a delusional Norma leaves the lot convinced she’ll soon be back in front of the cameras and begins to prepare for the role (“Eternal Youth Is Worth a Little Suffering”).

Increasingly paranoid, Norma deduces that Joe and Betty are more than just friends (“Too Much in Love to Care”). Max tells Joe of the depth of his commitment to protecting Norma from discovering the truth, revealing that he was Norma’s first husband and has stayed with her all these years (“New Ways to Dream” (reprise)).

She calls Betty to reveal Joe’s secret life at the mansion, but he overhears and grabs the phone to tell Betty to come see for herself. Realizing their affair is doomed, Joe brusquely tells Betty he enjoys being Norma’s pet and that she should go back to Artie. Betty departs, confused and heartbroken, and Joe tells Norma he is leaving her and returning to his hometown of Dayton, Ohio. He also bluntly informs her that Salome is an unfilmable script and her fans have long abandoned her.

Furious and grief-stricken, Norma fatally shoots Joe three times as he storms out of the house. Now completely insane, Norma mistakes the swarms of police and reporters who arrive for studio personnel. Imagining herself on the set of Salome, she slowly descends her grand staircase and utters, “And now, Mr. DeMille, I am ready for my close-up.” (“The Final Scene”)

Principal Characters

Musical Numbers

West End Premiere (1993)

The original West End production, directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Bob Avian, with costumes by Anthony Powell, 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 Max.

Billy Wilder and his wife Audrey Young were joined by Nancy Olson, who had played Betty in the original film, at the opening night performance. Wilder said, “The best thing they did was leave the script alone”, and praised LuPone.

Frank Rich wrote in The New York Times that Lloyd Webber got into the Wilder swing “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.”

Second Opening with Betty Buckley (1994)

The show closed for three weeks, re-opening on April 19, 1994, revamped to follow the Los Angeles production, with a second official “opening”. It had a new song, “Every Movie’s a Circus”, a new set, and new stars, Betty Buckley and John Barrowman. Anita Louise Combe took the role of Betty. Buckley and the production garnered improved reviews.

Elaine Paige, who had filled in when Buckley was ill in 1994, took over the part in May 1995. Petula Clark replaced Paige in September/October 1995 and again from January 1996. The last new actress to play Norma in London was Rita Moreno. The show closed on April 5, 1997 after 1,530 performances.

Los Angeles & Broadway (1993-1997)

Los Angeles: Glenn Close Triumphs

The first American production opened at the Shubert Theatre in Century City, Los Angeles 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 than the premiere, and was an instant success, running for 369 performances. The production also recorded a new cast album that is well regarded. It is the only first cast recording of the show, since the original London recording was trimmed by over thirty minutes.

Broadway Opening (1994)

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 Alan Oppenheimer as Cecil B. DeMille and Vincent Tumeo as Artie Green.

The production opened with the highest ticket sale advance in Broadway history to that time. Billy Wilder, in attendance on opening night, was coaxed onstage by Close for the curtain call.

In a season with only one other original musical nominated, the production won several Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Score and Book; 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.

During the run, Buckley replaced Close as Norma, followed by Paige. It closed on March 22, 1997, after playing 977 performances.

The Patti LuPone Lawsuit & Financial Disaster

LuPone, who initially had been promised the Broadway run, sued Lloyd Webber and received a settlement reported to be $1 million.

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 endeavour 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% of the initial $13 million”.

The paper reported that 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.

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 revised production went on the road for almost two years, though it avoided the cities covered by the previous tour.

International Productions

Australia: Hugh Jackman’s Joe Gillis (1996-1997)

In October 1996, the original Australian production opened at Melbourne’s newly restored Regent Theatre. The cast included Debra Byrne as Norma, Hugh Jackman as Joe, and Catherine Porter as Betty. Maria Mercedes was the alternate Norma, performing two of the eight shows each week. Amanda Harrison took over the role of Betty for the final months. The production ran until June 14, 1997.

Canada: Diahann Carroll Triumphs (1995-1997)

The original Canadian production opened in Toronto on October 15, 1995, with Diahann Carroll in the lead role. Her performance was praised by critics. It also starred Rex Smith as Joe, Walter Charles as Max and Anita Louise Combe as Betty. Toronto performances ended in August 1996, with the production later moving to Vancouver where it ran from November 1996 to March 1997.

Germany (1995-1998)

A German production opened December 7, 1995 at the newly built Rhein-Main Theater in Niedernhausen near Wiesbaden, starring Helen Schneider and Sue Mathys (matinees) as Norma and Uwe Kröger as Joe. A cast recording (with Schneider and Kröger) was released in 1996. The production closed in May 1998.

Other Notable Productions

• Netherlands (2008-2009): Year-long Dutch tour with Simone Kleinsma and Pia Douwes alternating as Norma. Kleinsma won Best Actress at the 2009 Dutch Musical Awards
• Sweden (2009-2010): Maria Lundqvist at Värmlandsoperan, followed by Gunilla Backman at Gothenburg opera house
• South Africa (2013-2014): Angela Kilian and Jonathan Roxmouth at Johannesburg and Cape Town
• Czech Republic (2015-2017): National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava
• Spain (2017): Paloma San Basilio at Auditorio de Tenerife
• Denmark (2022): Den Jyske Opera with Tammi Øst

Modern Revivals

Glenn Close Returns (2016-2017)

Opening on April 4, 2016, English National Opera (ENO) presented a five-week ‘semi-staged’ production at the London Coliseum. Close reprised her role as Norma, making her London theatre debut, along with Michael Xavier as Joe, Siobhan Dillon as Betty and Fred Johanson as Max.

A revival began performances at the Palace Theatre on Broadway on February 2, 2017 before opening officially on February 9 for a limited run through June 25, 2017. The production featured a 40-piece onstage orchestra and a relatively minimalist set. Xavier, Dillon, and Johanson reprised their roles from the London ENO production.

Nicole Scherzinger’s Triumph (2023-2025)

A revival opened at the Savoy Theatre in September 2023 for a 16-week limited run. Starring Nicole Scherzinger as Norma, the piece was reimagined in a modern and minimalist staging directed by Jamie Lloyd and produced by Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals.

Others in the cast were Tom Francis, David Thaxton, and Grace Hodgett Young (making her professional debut) as Joe, Max, and Betty. Rachel Tucker guest starred as Norma on select Monday evenings. Changes to the score included cutting two songs and substantial lyric rewrites.

The revival received eleven nominations at the 2024 Laurence Olivier Awards and won seven, the most for any production of the season, including Best Musical Revival, Best Actress and Actor in a Musical for Scherzinger and Francis, and Best Director for Lloyd.

Broadway Transfer (2024-2025)

The 2023 West End revival transferred to Broadway at the St. James Theatre, with previews from September 28, 2024 and an opening night on October 20. It closed on July 20, 2025. Scherzinger reprised her role with West End co-stars Francis, Thaxton, and Young.

In a spectacular six-minute sequence at the start of the second act, Joe walked through the backstage area of the theater, exited onto West 44th Street, and began to sing “Sunset Boulevard”. As he sang, he strode down the street and through Shubert Alley, joined by the company before reentering the theater. A 25-foot LCD screen inside the theater followed the sequence live.

Mandy Gonzalez played Norma Desmond at select performances once a week beginning October 22, 2024. The revival was nominated for seven Tony Awards, winning three for Best Revival of a Musical, Best Actress in a Musical for Scherzinger and Best Lighting Design.

Awards & Recognition

1994 Tony Awards

The original Broadway production won 7 Tony Awards out of 11 nominations:

• Best Musical
• Best Original Score (Andrew Lloyd Webber)
• Best Book of a Musical (Don Black & Christopher Hampton)
• Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Glenn Close)
• Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (George Hearn as Max)
• Best Scenic Design
• Best Lighting Design

2024 Olivier Awards

The Nicole Scherzinger revival won 7 Olivier Awards out of 11 nominations:

• Best Musical Revival
• Best Actress in a Musical (Nicole Scherzinger)
• Best Actor in a Musical (Tom Francis)
• Best Director (Jamie Lloyd)
• Best Sound Design
• Best Costume Design
• Best Lighting Design

Legacy & Cultural Impact

The “Flop-Hit” Phenomenon

Sunset Boulevard represents one of the most fascinating contradictions in Broadway history: a critical and artistic success that was also a massive financial disaster. Despite winning Best Musical at both the Tonys and Oliviers, running for years in multiple countries, and selling over a million tickets on Broadway alone, the show lost approximately $20 million due to its extraordinary running costs and legal battles.

The production’s lavish sets (which cost exorbitant amounts to transport for tours), astronomical weekly operating costs (over $730,000 at one point), and the settlements from the LuPone and Dunaway lawsuits created a perfect storm of financial loss. Frank Rich’s term “flop-hit” perfectly captured this paradox.

Billy Wilder Was Right

When Billy Wilder told Stephen Sondheim that Sunset Boulevard “has to be an opera” because “it’s about a dethroned queen,” he identified something essential about the material. Lloyd Webber’s operatic approach, with its soaring melodies, recitative-style dialogue, and grand emotions, proved Wilder correct.

The music’s dark, jazz-accented qualities and the surprisingly cynical lyrics created what Frank Rich called “the most interesting” music he’d yet encountered from Lloyd Webber. Songs like “With One Look” and “As If We Never Said Goodbye” have become standards, showcasing Lloyd Webber at his most dramatically effective.

The Battle of the Normas

Few roles in musical theater have attracted such a parade of legendary performers. Patti LuPone, Betty Buckley, Glenn Close, Elaine Paige, Petula Clark, Rita Moreno, Diahann Carroll, and Nicole Scherzinger have all left their mark on Norma Desmond.

The role’s demands—vocal stamina, dramatic intensity, vulnerability mixed with grandeur—make it one of the great diva parts. Glenn Close’s three separate productions (Los Angeles 1993, Broadway 1994, and the 2016-2017 revivals) established her as the definitive Norma for many audiences, though LuPone’s lawsuit ensured she would never be forgotten.

Jamie Lloyd’s Minimalist Revolution

The 2023 West End revival directed by Jamie Lloyd stripped away the original production’s lavish sets and focused intensely on the emotional core of the story. This minimalist approach, combined with Nicole Scherzinger’s revelatory performance, proved that the musical didn’t need spectacle to work—the tragedy of Norma Desmond was powerful enough on its own.

The production’s use of live video, the spectacular outdoor sequence in the Broadway transfer, and the modern staging techniques brought Sunset Boulevard into the 21st century while honoring its gothic heart. The revival’s seven Olivier Awards and three Tony Awards vindicated this radical reimagining.

A Dark Masterpiece

Despite its financial troubles, Sunset Boulevard stands as one of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most complete and dramatically satisfying works. Its exploration of Hollywood’s cruelty, the tragedy of faded fame, and the destructive power of delusion resonates across decades.

The musical’s continued revivals, international productions, and the devoted following it has maintained prove that while it may have been a financial disaster, artistically it remains one of the most ambitious and successful adaptations of a film classic to the musical stage.

The Elusive Film Adaptation

Paramount Pictures and the Relevant Picture Company began developing a film adaptation of the musical by 2005. Actresses reportedly considered for the role of Norma Desmond included Close, Paige, Meryl Streep, Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand and Madonna.

In 2013 Lloyd Webber said: “Talks with [Paramount] have never led to anything. … I think in many ways Sunset is … the most complete musical I have written.”

By 2019 Rob Ashford had agreed to direct the film, with Close as Norma Desmond, Tom MacRae penning the script, and production hoped to begin later that year. Further delays followed, including from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, Lloyd Webber stated: “Paramount has not wanted to go ahead with it. … Glenn Close has been absolutely doggedly trying to get it made.” In 2024, Close stated that the film is still moving forward, but Ashford is no longer directing.

In 2025, Nicole Scherzinger said: “There has been some talk” that she might play Norma in the film.