Andrew Lloyd Webber makes history with the revival of his Broadway show, "Sunset Boulevard"

Record ID: 165823

  • Title: Andrew Lloyd Webber makes history with the revival of his Broadway show, "Sunset Boulevard"
  • Date: 25th January 2017
  • Summary: ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHAEL XAVIER, ACTOR, SAYING: (ON PERFORMING ON BROADWAY) "Very excited, very excited. I mean obviously we've done this production in London, but I'm excited to show it to the New York audiences. I think - we had a great success in London and I hoping that you're going to love it here." ACTOR FRED JOHANSON POSING FOR PICTURES (SOUNDBITE) (English) FRED JOHANSON, ACTOR, SAYING: "I think the show will be even more exciting here than it was in London." [REPORTER QUESTION: Why is that?] (SOUNDBITE) (English) FRED JOHANSON, ACTOR, SAYING: "I don't know, it feels as if 'Sunset Boulevard' is about America, it's about Hollywood and now we're actually in America playing it. And I think everyone in the cast and they are all closer to that story I think than we are in the West End. I think the audience will be as well." CAST POSING FOR PICTURES, JOHANSON, DILLON, CLOSE, WEBBER, PRICE, XAVIER (LEFT TO RIGHT) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF THEATER
  • Embargoed: 8th February 2017 20:37
  • Keywords: Andrew Lloyd Webber Glenn Close Broadway Sunset Boulevard musical theater revival
  • Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • City: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Theatre
  • Reuters ID: LVA00860KXK5P
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: From rock to opera Andrew Lloyd Webber has Broadway covered with "School of Rock - The Musical," "Cats" and "The Phantom of the Opera." Now with the return of "Sunset Boulevard" to Broadway, the composer will tie the record for most musicals running simultaneously with Rodgers and Hammerstein.
    "This is a little bit of an accident, I must admit. This time last year I never would have thought there would be four. And it's the English National Opera (ENO) production originally in London that was done as a concert, really, a highly staged concert. But as a concert for a month last year and it was a big success in London and there were a lot of people who wanted to bring it here. I have delightfully nothing to do with it other than the composer and being able to work with a 40 piece orchestra. So it was not something that was on the radar," explained Webber.
    Webber and actress Glenn Close have reunited for the revival of the musical which won seven Tony Awards in 1995, including a best actress trophy for Close. The veteran stage and screen star also won an Evening Standard Award in 2016 for her performance in the West End Production in England.
    For Close, revising the role wasn't an easy decision.
    "It's a daunting role, it takes a lot of technical singing and knowledge and takes a lot of just muscle to get through it," said Close, a three-time Tony winner.
    The veteran stage and screen actress plays washed up silent-screen star Norma Desmond, who hopes to revive her career with a new film.
    After nearly 23 years Close said her life experiences have caused her to approach the role differently this time.
    "You get tempered by life and we get tempered by our craft and hopefully as an actress you should just - that all goes into whatever you're creating at the moment. And I definitely think, well I know that my Norma today is very different from my Norma I did all those years ago."
    The musical will feature the popular songs "With One Look," "As If We Never Said Goodbye" and "Perfect Year."
    The ENO production is a scaled down version of the original, without huge scenery which Webber hopes will give audiences a better appreciation for his score.
    "Here, what I'm writing about, which is something in a way about an old Hollywood. And of course big orchestras and film music of that time, they would have employed a much bigger orchestra than 40 pieces," said Webber.
    "To be able to have an orchestra like that to be able to really try and convey hopefully some of the spirit of what that Hollywood was in those great, great film scores of the time," he added.
    The show will run for 16-weeks, officially opening on February 9.
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