Glenn Close to Star in Sunset Boulevard Film
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Glenn Close is set to star as Norma Desmond in a movie musical adaptation of Sunset Boulevard. Tony Award-winning choreographer Rob Ashford (Thoroughly Modern Millie) is set to direct the film.
Close, who won the 1995 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for playing the role on Broadway, also reprised the role in the 2017 Broadway Revival. According to Baz Bamigboye from the Daily Mail, shooting of the film will begin in October. Tom MacRae will be writing the screenplay.
With music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton, Sunset Boulevard centers on Norma Desmond, an aging silent film star in 1949. It is based on Billy Wilder’s 1950 movie of the same title.
The original Broadway production also won the Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Musical Score, Best Book of a Musical, Best Scenic Design, Best Lighting Design, and Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for George Hearn. Prior to Broadway, the musical first opened in London in 1993 starring Patti LuPone.