Andrew Lloyd Webber's SUNSET BOULEVARD

add to outlook add to google calendar remind me

Saturday, May 6th, 2017
May 5, 6, 12, & 13 - 8pm May 7 & 14 - 2pm

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s SUNSET BOULEVARD, winner of 7 Tony Awards and a New York Drama Desk Award, 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. Cloistered in a dilapidated mansion on Sunset Blvd., she meets down-and-out Hollywood screenwriter Joe Gillis in unforeseen circumstances and attempts to draw him into her fantasy world. But their subsequent passionate and volatile relationship leads to an unforeseen and tragic conclusion.

The musical is based on the classic 1950 Billy Wilder film noir of the same name. The film was praised by critics, nominated for eleven Academy Awards (won three), and included in the first group of films selected for preservation in the U.S. Library of Congress’ National Film Registry. It was ranked number twelve on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 best American films of the 20th Century. Although Lloyd Webber saw the film in the early 1970s, it wasn’t until two decades later that the musical, with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton, had a complete performance at the 1992 Sydmonton Festival starring Broadway legend Patti LuPone as Norma Desmond.

An early version of the song "With One Look," then titled "Just One Glance," was performed at Lloyd Webber's 1991 wedding. During a 2011 interview with Piers Morgan for CNN, Lloyd Webber noted his fondness for SUNSET BOULEVARD when asked by Morgan which was his favourite musical. Lloyd Webber went on to say, “I think it's one of the most complete ones I've done.”

With a professional orchestra to interpret the lush musical score, SUNSET BOULEVARD is produced by the Victoria Operatic Society and directed/choreographed by Heather-Elayne Day with Tom Mitchell as Music Director.

The production stars Francesca Bitonti as Norma Desmond, Jeffrey Stephen as Joe Gillis, Robert Mitchell as Max Von Mayerling, Ashley King as Betty Schaefer, Darren Rathgaber as Artie Shaw, Craig Wilson as Sheldrake, Jaymes Goodman as Cecil B. DeMille, Douglas Crockett as Manfred, and a 20 person ensemble.

The VOS production uses multi-media visuals and the Society has enlisted the help of Victoria filmmaker Jason King, owner of Shoestring Filmworks, Audio Visual Technologist at Camosun College, and Stage Manager/Technical Director/Videographer for Ballet Victoria, who has created original short films to depict the era and locations of the musical.

VOS is a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization established in 1945 with the purpose of bringing top-quality live musical theatre to Victoria and giving aspiring singers, performers, and stagecraft workers the opportunity to develop and display their talents in all facets of musical theatre production.