Show guide
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is Andrew Lloyd Webber's sung through musical about Norma Desmond, a forgotten silent film star clinging to fame in 1950s Hollywood.
- Broadway premiere
- 1994
- Music by
- Andrew Lloyd Webber
- Genre
- Sung-through
- Setting
- 1950s
Sunset Boulevard: quick answers
What is Sunset Boulevard about?
- Sunset Boulevard is about Norma Desmond, a forgotten silent film star living in a decaying Hollywood mansion, and Joe Gillis, a broke young screenwriter who becomes her kept man while helping with the script she believes will bring her triumphant return.
When did Sunset Boulevard open on Broadway?
- Sunset Boulevard opened on Broadway on November 17, 1994, at the Minskoff Theatre, starring Glenn Close, and ran until March 22, 1997, for 977 performances. It won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
Is Sunset Boulevard sung-through?
- Largely, yes. Sunset Boulevard is usually classed as a sung-through musical in Andrew Lloyd Webber's operatic style, with much of the film's plot and dialogue carried in recitative between the big songs.
Where and when is Sunset Boulevard set?
- Sunset Boulevard is set in Los Angeles in 1949, mostly in Norma Desmond's mansion on Sunset Boulevard and on the Paramount studio lot.
Has Sunset Boulevard played in London's West End?
- Sunset Boulevard premiered at London's Adelphi Theatre on July 12, 1993, with Patti LuPone as Norma, and ran for 1,530 performances. Jamie Lloyd's 2023 revival at the Savoy Theatre, starring Nicole Scherzinger, won seven Olivier Awards, including Best Musical Revival.
Is there a Sunset Boulevard movie?
- The musical is adapted from Billy Wilder's 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, starring Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond and William Holden as Joe Gillis. A film version of the musical has been in development for years without being made.
The story of Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is set in early 1950s Los Angeles and centers on Norma Desmond, once one of the biggest stars of the silent film era, who now lives in seclusion in her decaying mansion, convinced her comeback is only a matter of time. When struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis stumbles into her orbit while hiding from repo men, Norma hires him to work on the screenplay she believes will return her to the screen, and draws him into her isolated, obsessive world.
The story is narrated by Joe himself, already dead when the show begins, looking back on how he became trapped by Norma's delusions and his own compromises. Themes of faded fame, self deception, and the ruthlessness of the film industry run throughout, alongside the quieter romance Joe finds with a young studio reader named Betty.
The music and the makers
The music is by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton, who also wrote the book together, adapting Billy Wilder's classic 1950 film of the same name. The score is largely sung through, in the style of Lloyd Webber's other major works, with lush orchestral writing that underscores Norma's grandeur and instability.
Signature songs include With One Look, As If We Never Said Goodbye, and The Perfect Year, all built around soaring, dramatic melodies suited to a star vehicle leading lady. The contrast between Norma's operatic outpourings and Joe's more conversational narration gives the score its distinctive tension between old Hollywood spectacle and hard boiled cynicism.
Sunset Boulevard on Broadway
Sunset Boulevard opened on Broadway at the Minskoff Theatre in November 1994, starring Glenn Close as Norma Desmond, a role she originated on Broadway after the show's earlier London premiere with Patti LuPone. Close won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and the production won the Tony for Best Musical, running for more than two years and over 900 performances.
The show returned to Broadway in 2017 for a limited revival with Close reprising the role, and again in a stripped down 2024 Jamie Lloyd staging starring Nicole Scherzinger, which was praised for its radical, minimalist reinvention of the piece. Across its productions, Sunset Boulevard has remained one of the defining star vehicles of modern musical theatre.
Sunset Boulevard: frequently asked questions
Is Sunset Boulevard based on a true story?
No. It is adapted from Billy Wilder's 1950 film of the same name, a fictional story. Norma Desmond is an invented character, though she mirrors aspects of the later lives of real silent film stars such as Mary Pickford, Pola Negri, and Mae Murray.
Is Sunset Boulevard sung through?
Mostly. Sunset Boulevard is largely sung-through, but some scenes use spoken dialogue over musical underscoring rather than song.
Is Sunset Boulevard currently on Broadway?
No. The most recent Broadway revival, directed by Jamie Lloyd and starring Nicole Scherzinger, opened October 20, 2024, at the St. James Theatre and closed July 20, 2025.
When did Sunset Boulevard open on Broadway?
Sunset Boulevard opened on Broadway at the Minskoff Theatre in November 1994.
Who composed Sunset Boulevard?
Andrew Lloyd Webber composed the music, with lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton.
What is Sunset Boulevard about?
It follows Norma Desmond, a faded silent film star, and Joe Gillis, a struggling screenwriter drawn into her obsessive world, based on the 1950 film.
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