Nicole Scherzinger Confirmed To Make Broadway Debut As Norma Desmond In ‘Sunset Boulevard’

Greg Evans
·3 min read
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The hit London revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard is heading to Broadway later this year and bringing star Nicole Scherzinger and the rest of the West End principal cast with it.

As Deadline’s Baz Bamigboye revealed before Christmas, Scherzinger will make her Broadway debut reprising her acclaimed performance as Norma Desmond.

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Although production dates and venue are still to be announced, producers said today that the musical will star Scherzinger along with her West End castmates Tom Francis (as Joe Gillis), Grace Hodgett-Young (Betty Schaefer) and David Thaxton (Max Von Mayerling).

In addition to preview and opening night dates, additional casting will be announced shortly. A fall 2024 opening has been widely speculated.

Directed by Jamie Lloyd (A Doll’s House) and produced by his Jamie Lloyd Company, Sunset Boulevard began performances in London last September, receiving critical acclaim for its streamlined reimagining and what The New York Time’s called Scherzinger’s “career-defining performance.”

Based on director Billy Wilder’s 1950 cinematic masterpiece, Sunset Boulevard was adapted for the musical stage in 1993 by composer Lloyd Webber and book writers/lyricists Don Black and Christopher Hampton. Patti LuPone originated the Desmond role on the West End, though she was quickly replaced by Lloyd Webber with Betty Buckley in what was at the time a headline-making development. Glenn Close played Desmond when the musical opened on Broadway in 1994.

Unlike the most recent revival, the original production was not embraced by critics, even as the Lloyd Webber score included songs that would soon be ranked among the composer’s best: “With One Look” and “As If We Never Said Goodbye” have long since become musical theater standards.

The revival’s official synopsis: Haunted by her memories and dreams, movie star Norma Desmond yearns to return to the big screen. A struggling screenwriter 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.

The creative team for the upcoming Broadway production will include Soutra Gilmour (set and costume design), Fabian Aloise (choreography), Alan Williams (music supervisor and musical director), Jack Knowles (lighting design), Adam Fisher (sound design), and Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom (video design and cinematography).

Producing, in addition to The Jamie Lloyd Company, are 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.

Scherzinger is the platinum-selling singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer who rose to fame as a member of musical group The Pussycat Dolls. She went on to star on the West End in a revival of Lloyd Webber’s Cats, and appeared in the NBC musical television special Annie Live!. Other credits include Disney’s Moana, ABC’s 2017 remake of Dirty Dancing and, as a judge, X Factor, Australia’s Got Talent and The Masked Singer.

Francis’ credits include UK productions of & Juliet, What’s New Pussycat? and Rent. Hodgett-Young appeared on stage in The Little Mermaid, and Thaxton’s many stage credits include Les Misérables, Come From Away, Passion, Love Never Dies and Jesus Christ Superstar – The Concert.

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