Craig Revel Horwood’s production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Sunset Boulevard has extended its booking period at the Comedy theatre until 26 September.
The show, which received four nominations at the 2009 Laurence Olivier Awards, originated at the Watermill theatre, Newbury, before transferring to London in December last year. It had been booking to 27 June after extending once already.
Based on Billy Wilder’s 1950 film, Sunset Boulevard tells the story of faded silent movie star Norma Desmond, who lives in a grandiose house on the famous Los Angeles street of the title. Desperate to regain the limelight of her youth, Norma seizes her chance when a young screenwriter, Joe, comes to her door. But the relationship between the two is destined to end in disaster.
Lloyd Webber and book-writer Don Black’s stage version premiered in London in 1993 and ran in the West End for four years. Revel Horwood’s production is the first revival of the show since then. In keeping with the style of previous Watermill productions, this is a pared down version of the musical featuring a cast of actor-musicians who both inhabit the roles and play the score.
The cast is led by Kathryn Evans as Norma and Ben Goddard as Joe, and also includes Dave Willetts, Elisa Boyd, Tomm Coles, Alexander Evans, Kate Feldschreiber, Sam Kenyon, Nick Lashbrook, Tarek Merchant, Craig Pinder, Laura Pitt-Pulford and Helen Power.
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