Glenn Close to reprise ‘Sunset Boulevard’ in London

Chief Executive Officer of the ENO, Cressida Pollock said: “We at English National Opera believe that the combination of multiple award-winning Glenn Close, making her West End stage debut, and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical Sunset Boulevard, will once again pack the London Coliseum with ENO regulars and new audiences for us”.

Lloyd Webber said he was “thrilled” that audiences would get to see Close playing Norma Desmond, a role she previously played on Broadway. The production will be “semi-staged”, with the opera’s orchestra onstage alongside the cast.

Sunset Boulevard starts performances April 1 ahead of an official opening April 4. As Joe Gillis, Close’s American co-star Alan Campbell (William Holden to her Gloria Swanson from the movie) will also reprise.

In her mansion on Sunset Boulevard, faded, silent-screen goddess, Norma Desmond, lives in a fantasy world.

The actress won rave reviews, as well as a Tony Award, when she first played Norma, a delusional actress who is desperate to revive her career.

Close recently returned to the stage after a long absence in last season’s Broadway revival of Edward Albee’s “A Delicate Balance“.

Close’s relationship with Sunset Boulevard is the stuff of Broadway legend.

And now she’s back, and accompanied by none other than Andrew Lloyd Webber. The musical originated in London’s West End in 1993 with Patti LuPone in the lead role.

We’re ready for our close up…

The show follows the acclaimed March 2015 ENO and GradeLinnit Company presentation of Sweeney Todd with Emma Thompson and Bryn Terfel.