Sunset Boulevard tickets

By: Don Black and Christopher Hampton
Songs by: Andrew Lloyd Webber (music), Don Black, Christopher Hampton (lyrics)
Director: Jamie Lloyd
Choreography: Fabian Aloise
Producer: Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals and The Jamie Lloyd Company
Cast list: Nicole Scherzinger (as Norma Desmond), Rachel Tucker (as Norma Desmond alternate), Tom Francis (as Joe Gillis), Grace Hodgett Young (as Betty Schaefer), David Thaxton (as Max Von Mayerling), Carl Au (as Myron/Jones), Georgia Bradshaw (as Lisa/Masseur), Hannah Yun Chamberlain (as Patsy/Beautician), Tyler Davis (as Sheldrake), Kamilla Fernandes (as Dorothy/Astrologer), Ahmed Hamad (as Artie), Laura Harrison (as Catherine/Doctor), Charlotte Jaconelli (as Joanna/Masseur), Olivia-Faith Kamau (as Nancy/Beautician), Luke Latchman (as John/Guard), Emma Lloyd (as Mary/Heather/Analyst), Mireia Mambo (as Jean/Beautician/Dance Captain), Gregor Milne (as Sammy), Kody Mortimer (as Finance Man/Frank), Jon Tsouras (as Finance Man/Cecil B. De Mille), Charlie Waddell (as Morino/Hog-Eye) Design: Soutra Gilmour
Costumes: Soutra Gilmour
Lighting: Jack Knowles
Sound: Adam Fisher
Other info: Music supervision and music direction by Alan Williams, video design and cinematography by Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom, voice and dialect coaching by Hazel Holder, fight direction by Kate Waters, intimacy coordination by Ingrid Mackinnon

The role of Norma might seem like a departure for pop star Scherzinger, who has become a stalwart of TV reality competitions (Dancing with the Stars, The X Factor, The Masked Singer) since her time with the Pussycat Dolls. But she has multiple musical theatre credentials.

She previously appeared in another Lloyd Webber show, playing Grizabella in the 2014 West End revival of Cats and earning an Olivier nomination. She also starred as Grace Farrell in Annie Live! on NBC and performed “Reflection” from Disney’s Mulan at the Coronation Concert.

Scherzinger now joins a long line of Normas that includes LuPone, Glenn Close, Ria Jones, Mazz Murray, and Stephanie J. Block. And she's teaming up with a director renowned for his thrilling, hugely popular productions starring big names: Jamie Lloyd, fresh from directing Jessica Chastain in A Doll’s House on Broadway.

Previously, he wowed with a James McAvoy-led Cyrano de Bergerac, a Betrayal starring Tom Hiddleston, and The Seagull with two Game of Thrones alumni: Indira Varma and Emilia Clarke.

What to Watch For

• Even if you haven’t seen it before, you’ll definitely recognise some Sunset Boulevard quotes. Along with Norma’s fabulous “I’m ready for my close-up,” there’s this great exchange: When Joe quips that Norma used to be big, she replies: “I am big – it’s the pictures that got small!”
• Lloyd Webber wasn’t the first to try a stage adaptation of Wilder's film. Gloria Swanson (star of the movie) worked on a cabaret version, but Paramount Pictures halted it. Stephen Sondheim composed a first scene, but he abandoned the project after Billy Wilder said it had to be an opera since it’s “about a dethroned queen.”
• The original tryout version of Lloyd Webber’s musical starred Ria Jones and Michael Ball. The latter is also now in the West End in another of the composer’s shows, Aspects of Love, which made his name.
• In the show, Norma’s comeback vehicle is based on the princess Salome – who, legend has it, did such an alluring dance that she persuaded her stepfather, Herood Antipas, to gift her the head of John the Baptist. Her story has inspired numerous tellings, including Oscar Wilde’s Salome play and a movie starring Rita Hayworth.
• Norma’s torch song, “As If We Never Said Goodbye,” has become a breakout hit, recorded by artists including Barbra Streisand, Elaine Paige, and Alfie Boe. Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer) also sang the song on Glee.