LONDON’S “SHOW OF THE YEAR” COMES TO BROADWAY IN 2024
JAMIE LLOYD’S
NEW PRODUCTION OF
ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER’S
“SUNSET BOULEVARD”
TO OPEN ON BROADWAY THIS YEAR
STARRING
NICOLE SCHERZINGER
REPRISING HER AWARD-WINNING PERFORMANCE AS ‘NORMA DESMOND’
IN HER EAGERLY ANTICIPATED BROADWAY DEBUT
SCHERZINGER TO BE JOINED BY HER LONDON CO-STARS
TOM FRANCIS, GRACE HODGETT-YOUNG, AND DAVID THAXTON
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New York, NY (January 4, 2024) – Nicole Scherzinger will bring her “unmistakably triumphant” (Telegraph) performance as ‘Norma Desmond’ to Broadway this year in director Jamie Lloyd’s new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard. The production was hailed as London’s 2023 “best show of the year” (Time Out) and features book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton, based on the Billy Wilder film.
Joining Scherzinger on Broadway will be her acclaimed London co-stars: Tom Francis as ‘Joe Gillis’, Grace Hodgett-Young as ‘Betty Schaefer,’ and Olivier Award® winner David Thaxton as ‘Max Von Mayerling.’
Production dates, theater, and additional casting for Sunset Boulevard on Broadway will be announced shortly.
To sign up to receive the latest news about Sunset Boulevard on Broadway, please visit www.sunsetblvdbroadway.com.
When The Jamie Lloyd Company’s new production of Sunset Boulevard began performances in September, it immediately grabbed the attention of theatergoers worldwide as an extraordinary reimagination of Lloyd Webber’s iconic musical. Scherzinger’s performance was hailed as “soul-baring and roof raising” (Daily Mail) and Lloyd’s “tour de force of a show” (Evening Standard) became the talk of both sides of the Atlantic, winning Evening Standard Theatre Awards for Scherzinger and Lloyd, and recently receiving nine WhatsOnStage Award nominations. In the U.S., it has already been included in Best of 2023 lists from the Washington Post, Town & Country, and Theatrely.
Lloyd Webber’s thrillingly atmospheric Sunset Boulevard features an iconic score including the songs “With One Look,” “The Perfect Year,” and “As If We Never Said Goodbye.”
Haunted by her memories and dreams, movie star Norma Desmond (Scherzinger) yearns to return to the big screen. A struggling screenwriter (Francis) who can’t sell his scripts to the Hollywood studios may be her only hope, until their dangerous and compelling relationship leads to disastrous circumstances. Drenched in champagne and cynicism, Sunset Boulevard scrutinizes the ambitions and frustrations of its characters and their intoxicating need for fame and adoration.
The creative team for Sunset Boulevard includes Soutra Gilmour (set and costume design), Fabian Aloise (choreography), Alan Williams (music supervisor and musical director), Jack Knowles (lighting design), Adam Fisher (sound design), Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom (video design and cinematography), Jim Carnahan CSA and Jason Thinger CSA (U.S. casting director), and Stuart Burt CDG (U.K. casting director). 101 Productions, Ltd. serves as the General Manager for Sunset Boulevard.
Sunset Boulevard is produced by The Jamie Lloyd Company, Ambassador Theatre Group Productions, Michael Harrison for Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals, and Gavin Kalin Productions by arrangement with The Really Useful Group Ltd and based on the original Paramount film by Billy Wilder.
BIOGRAPHIES
Grammy® Award nominated, Nicole Scherzinger (Norma Desmond) is a multi-award-winning, platinum-selling singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. The multi-hyphenate was formerly a member of one of the world’s best-selling music groups of all time, The Pussycat Dolls, firmly cementing herself as a global pop icon. Scherzingerhas previously starred on the West End in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats, for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress. On screen, she recently led a critically acclaimed cast in the NBC musical television special, “Annie Live!” and performed at Windsor Castle – headlining the entertainment at King Charles III Coronation Concert in London. The Hawaiian native has graced screens worldwide for over a decade in movies such as Disney’s Moana and ABC’s remake of fan favorite Dirty Dancing, and as a judge on shows such as “X Factor,” “Australia’s Got Talent,” and “The Masked Singer.”
Andrew Lloyd Webber (Composer) has written the scores of some of the world’s most famous musicals, beginning with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in 1969. When Sunset Boulevard joined School of Rock, Cats, and The Phantom of the Opera, he equaled Rodgers & Hammerstein’s extraordinary record of having four shows running simultaneously on Broadway. He is one of the select group of artists with EGOT status, having received Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards. Lloyd Webber owns and operates six London theaters, including the iconic London Palladium and Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Reopened in July 2021, the latter was completely restored and renovated at a cost of over $76 million – one of the biggest projects ever undertaken by a private theater owner in recent times. His mantra is that every penny of profit made from his theaters is put back into the care of the buildings. Lloyd Webber is passionate about the importance of musical education and diversity in the arts. In Britain, The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation provides 30 performing arts scholarships every year for talented students with financial need and supports a range of projects, such as the Music In Secondary Schools Trust and commissioning research into diversity in theater. In the United States, The Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative, administered through the American Theatre Wing, helps under-served, diverse students overcome barriers to pursuing a career in theater. The Initiative provides public school drama teachers with the resources they need to nurture young talent in their schools, and gives training and university scholarships to students, especially those from groups that are underrepresented in the theater industry. Lloyd Webber has composed anthems for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina and for two Olympic ceremonies, including “Amigos Para Siempre,” the official song of the 1992 summer games in Barcelona. He wrote “Let Us Love in Peace” for the aftermath of the attacks on 9/11 and wrote and performed “Sing” with Gary Barlow at Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012. Most recently, he composed the anthem performed at the Coronation of King Charles III. With his musicals continuing to be staged around the world, a unique interpretation of Cats (Cats: The Jellicle Ball) will premiere at the Pearlman Arts Center in New York and an all-new production of Starlight Express will premiere in London this summer.
Don Black (Book & Lyrics) received two Tony Awards for Best Book and Lyrics of a Musical for his work (with Christopher Hampton) on Sunset Boulevard, which marked his third collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber. They first joined forces to write the song cycle Tell Me On A Sunday, which developed to form the basis of the stage show Song and Dance. They were reunited again for Aspects of Love. He also wrote the lyrics for the Andrew Lloyd Webber produced Bombay Dreams. Awards include an Oscar for his song “Born Free;” five Academy Award nominations; two Tony Awards and three Tony Award nominations; six Ivor Novello Awards; a Golden Globe; and many platinum and gold discs. He has written a quintet of James Bond theme songs: “Thunderball,” “Diamonds Are Forever,” “The Man With The Golden Gun,” “Surrender” from Tomorrow Never Dies, and “The World Is Not Enough.” Among his many popular songs are two U.S. Number Ones – “Ben” for Michael Jackson and “To Sir With Love” for Lulu. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. In the recent King’s Honors List, he received the Commander of the British Empire Award. In 2020, he was awarded an Olivier Award for his outstanding services to theater. Most recently he wrote his critically acclaimed memoir The Sanest Guy in The Room, which featured in the Sunday Times of London bestsellers list. His musical of Bonnie and Clyde had a successful West End run at the Garrick Theatre and his next project which he wrote with Christopher Hampton and George Fenton is a musical version of the classic film The Third Man.
Christopher Hampton (Book & Lyrics) became involved in theater while studying French and German at Oxford University and wrote a play in his first year. The Royal Court’s subsequent production was so successful that it transferred to the Comedy Theatre while he was still a student, making him the youngest writer ever to have a play performed in the West End – a record which still stands. He said at the time that he also hoped to become the oldest writer to have a play in the West End, an ambition he has yet to achieve. His plays, musicals, and translations have so far garnered four Tony Awards, three Olivier Awards, four Evening Standard Awards, and the New York Theatre Critics’ Circle Award. Prizes for his film and television work include two Oscars; three BAFTAs, a Writer’s Guild of America Award, the Prix Italia, a Special Jury Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Hollywood Screenwriter of the Year, and the Collateral Award at the Venice Film Festival for Best Literary Adaptation. His musicals include Sunset Boulevard, Dracula The Musical, Stephen Ward, and most recently The Third Man, all with Don Black. Many translations include the German musical based on Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. Hampton’s screenplays include The Son, The Father, Perfect Mothers, A Dangerous Method, Chéri, Atonement, Imagining Argentina (which he also directed), The Quiet American, The Secret Agent (which he also directed), Mary Reilly, Total Eclipse, Carrington (the first film he also directed), and Dangerous Liaisons.
Jamie Lloyd (Director). For The Jamie Lloyd Company: The Effect (National); A Doll’s House (Hudson, Broadway; six Tony Award nominations including Best Director and Best Revival of a Play; Drama League Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play and nomination for Outstanding Direction of a Play); The Seagull (Playhouse/ Harold Pinter; Evening Standard Award nomination for Best Director); Cyrano de Bergerac (Playhouse/Harold Pinter/Glasgow Theatre Royal/Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York; Drama League Award nominations for Outstanding Revival of a Play and Outstanding Direction of a Play; Olivier Award for Best Revival; Evening Standard Award nomination for Best Director; WhatsOnStage Award nomination for Best Director); Betrayal (Harold Pinter/Bernard B. Jacobs, Broadway; Tony Award nominations for Best Director and Best Revival of a Play; Critics’ Circle Award for Best Director; Evening Standard Award nomination for Best Director; Drama League Award nomination for Outstanding Revival of a Play; Outer Critics’ Circle Award nominations for Best Director and Best Revival of a Play; WhatsOnStage Award for Best Play Revival); One for the Road, The New World Order, Mountain Language, The Lover, The Collection, Landscape, A Kind of Alaska, Monologue, Party Time, Celebration, A Slight Ache, The Dumb Waiter (Harold Pinter); Doctor Faustus (Duke of York’s); The Maids, The Homecoming, The Ruling Class, Richard III, The Pride, The Hothouse, Macbeth (Trafalgar Studios). Other theater credits: Evita (Regent’s Park Open Air; Evening Standard Award for Best Musical Revival; Critics’ Circle Award for Best Director; Olivier Award nomination for Best Revival of a Musical; WhatsOnStage Award nominations for Best Director and Best Musical Revival); The Pride (Royal Court; Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre); Inadmissible Evidence (Donmar); Passion (Donmar; Evening Standard Award for Best Musical; Olivier Award nomination for Best Musical Revival); Piaf (Donmar, Vaudeville, Teatro Liceo, Buenos Aires and Nuevo Teatro Alcalá, Madrid; Olivier Award nomination for Best Musical Revival, Hugo Award for Best Director, Clarin Award for Best Musical Production; ADEET Award for Best Production); The Little Dog Laughed (Garrick); Three Days of Rain (Apollo; Olivier Award nomination for Best Revival; WhatsOnStage Award nomination for Best Revival); The Lover and The Collection (Comedy); Salome (Headlong); Eric’s (Liverpool Everyman); The Caretaker (Sheffield Crucible/Tricycle). Radio credits include: “Heart of Darkness” (BBC Radio 4). @jamielloyd.
Tom Francis (Joe Gillis). Theater credits include: & Juliet (Shaftesbury), What’s New Pussycat? (Birmingham Rep), Rent (Hope Mill); Hair – The Concert (London Palladium), I Could Use A Drink (Gartland Productions). Workshop credits include: If/Then and What’s New Pussycat? Training: Arts Educational School. @realtomfrancis.
Grace Hodgett-Young (Betty Schaefer). Theatre credits include: The Little Mermaid, Bare, Made in Dagenham (Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts); Sister Act (Nottingham Playhouse). Training: Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. @gracehodgettyoung.
David Thaxton (Max Von Mayerling). Theater credits include: Les Misérables (Sondheim/ Queen’s); Come From Away (Phoenix); The Phantom of the Opera (Her Majesty’s); Passion (Donmar Warehouse; Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical); Camelot (London Palladium); Love Never Dies (Adelphi); West End Men (Vaudeville); She Loves Me (Sheffield Crucible); Candide (Menier Chocolate Factory); Roller Diner (Soho); Only The Brave, The Rake’s Progress (Wales Millennium Centre); The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Southwark Playhouse); The Cunning Little Vixen (Sherman, Cardiff); Trial by Jury (BBC National Orchestra of Wales/ St David’s Hall/ Chandos).
Concerts include: Jesus Christ Superstar – The Concert (Regent’s Park Open Air); Broadway to the Bay (Wales Millennium Centre); “Welsh Guards Centenary Celebration” (Cardiff Principality Stadium); “Friday Night is Music Night” (BBC Radio 2); Bond with the Royal Northern Sinfonia (Sage Gateshead); Bring Them Home (Cardiff Castle). Training: Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. @youngthacko