Nicole Scherzinger to Star in ‘Sunset Boulevard’ on Broadway within the Fall

Jamie Lloyd’s radically reimagined revival of “Sunset Boulevard,” wherein Nicole Scherzinger performs the light movie star Norma Desmond, will come to Broadway this fall after a rapturously obtained run in London.

Earlier this month, the revival was nominated for 11 Olivier Awards, together with finest musical revival, finest actress in a musical for Scherzinger and finest director for Lloyd. The Broadway manufacturing is scheduled to start previews Sept. 28 after which open on Oct. 20 on the St. James Theater.

The musical, a darkish thriller based mostly on a 1950 movie by Billy Wilder, options music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and guide and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton; Glenn Close starred in each earlier Broadway productions, in 1994 and 2017. (The stage function was originated by Patti LuPone in London; the movie starred Gloria Swanson.)

Lloyd, a British theatermaker, has carved out a particular area of interest by staging starkly spare productions of classics with a deal with psychological drama. The new manufacturing, which ended its London run in January, is stripped down in some ways — two songs have been lower, there isn’t any grand staircase or turban and Scherzinger doesn’t even put on footwear.

“It’s much more about the psychological and emotional journey as opposed to huge, elaborate sets,” Lloyd mentioned in an interview. “It’s very much a kind of psychological chamber piece.”

The present, set in midcentury Los Angeles, is a few forgotten star of the silent movie period who latches onto an aspiring younger screenwriter within the hopes of rebooting her profession.

Scherzinger, 45, has had a various leisure path — as a musician, an actress and a tv expertise present choose. The critic Matt Wolf, reviewing the London manufacturing for The New York Times, referred to as this “a career-defining performance” for Scherzinger; the New York manufacturing will probably be her Broadway debut.

“I guess I’ve been waiting for this my whole life,” Scherzinger, who studied theater in highschool and school, mentioned in an interview. “I can’t believe that it’s finally about to happen.”

Scherzinger, who was born in Hawaii and raised in Kentucky, mentioned she was desperate to have one other go on the function within the United States. She mentioned she is going to put aside the script for just a few months — she simply spent three weeks visiting together with her grandparents in Hawaii — earlier than reimmersing herself within the character.

“I’ll be back in America, my home, and I’m going to want to try and up my game even more,” she mentioned. “There’s certain places I can make stronger choices, and I’m excited to play around with that to see where it can go — it’s great to be able to explore even more and go deeper.”

Scherzinger, who mentioned she has dedicated to 9 months within the function, will probably be joined on Broadway by her three Olivier-nominated co-stars, Tom Francis, Grace Hodgett-Young and David Thaxton.