Sunset Boulevard - Bridewell Theatre
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
GEOIDS Musical Theatre is presenting the first Amatuer Production of Sunset Boulevard in central London, in association with the Really Useful Group.
The global hit musical, based on the Billy Wilder film of the same name, featuring music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Christopher Hampton and Don Black, will run at the Bridewell Theatre from October 6 to October 12, 2015.
NODA (National Operatic and Dramatic Association) affiliated companies have been able to perform the musical for the first time in 2015, and Geoids Musical Theatre have been awarded the only licence in central London.
Sunset Boulevard weaves a magnificent tale of faded glory and unfulfilled ambition. Silent movie star Norma Desmond longs for a return to the big screen, having been discarded by tinsel town with the advent of “talkies”. Her glamour has faded in all but her mind. When she meets struggling Hollywood screenwriter Joe Gillis in dramatic circumstances, their subsequent passionate and volatile relationship leads to a tragic conclusion.
The score features such haunting classics as With One Look, The Greatest Star of All, As if We Never Said Goodbye, The Perfect Year, plus the emotionally charged title song Sunset Boulevard.
The musical was first staged in London in 1994 in an iconic production starring Patti LuPone and Kevin Anderson, before opening in LA and Broadway with Glenn Close. The original production was famed for its extravagant sets as well as its backstage dramas. It became the hottest ticket of the year, if not the most talked about new musical of the decade.
This new production is directed by Dom O’Hanlon, with musical direction by Sarah Burrell and choreography by Honor Roche. Set design is by John Winters, lighting by Chris Taylor and Graham Webb, projection design by Clarisse O’Dell and sound by Andy Bennett.
The cast includes Susan Booth (as Norma Desmond) Michael Stacey (Joe Gillis), Patrick Harrison (Max von Mayerling), Nikki Davison (Betty Schaefer), Russell Hughes (Artie Green), Alan Scobbie (Sheldrake), Daniel Penfold (Cecil B. DeMille), Mark Bonington, Trudi Camilleri, Francesca Canty, Ed Curry, Laura Fox, Will Howells, Kathryn Hyde, Ben Kelly, Julia Kleinsteuber, Jaime Laity, Hannah Parker Smith, Judith Perkins, Kate Vlietstra and Sean Westwood.
Tickets are available at www.geoidsmt.co.uk/.