The company of the musical about a screenwriter pulled into the delusions of a faded silent film star will include D.B. Bonds, Susan Derry and Ed Dixon, plus Helen Hayes winner J. Fred Shiffman and Washington, DC, actor Harry A. Winter.
Broadway's Lacey (Evita; Hello, Dolly!; The Grand Tour; Signature's Follies) will play the tragic silent film star Norma Desmond; Bonds (The Phantom of the Opera; Les Misérables; Signature's The Visit) will play scribe Joe; Derry (Wonderful Town) will play love interest and fellow screenwriter Betty; and Ed Dixon (Les Miz, The Iceman Cometh, The Three Musketeers) will play Norma's major domo Max von Mayerling. Three-time Helen Hayes Award winner Shiffman will be Sheldrake, and Winter will play DeMille.
The new production in Signature's 276-seat MAX Theater in Arlington, VA, will be directed by artistic director Eric Schaeffer (Million Dollar Quartet). Music director and conductor Jon Kalbfleisch will lead the 20-member orchestra. The creative group behind Signature's current Chess will team up for Sunset Boulevard: Karma Camp (choreography), Daniel Conway (sets), Chris Lee (lights), Kathleen Geldard (costumes) and Matt Rowe (sound).
The Sunset Boulevard ensemble will feature Sandy Bainum, Matt Conner, William Diggle, Rebecca Fale Ghiu, Gia Mora, Jake Odmark, Kirsten Riegler, Stephen Gregory Smith, Sean Thompson, Matthew Wojtal and Kara Tameika Watkins.
Based on the 1950s film noir directed by Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard has book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton, and score by Lloyd Webber. The musical won 1995 Tony Awards for Musical, Book, Score, Lighting, Scenic Design and Leading Actress (Glenn Close), Featured Actor (George Hearn). Signature notes ask, "In the glamorous film world of Los Angeles, where youth and beauty were all, what happens when the lights dim and the audiences disappear?" The score includes the songs "With One Look," "As If We Never Said Goodbye" and "The Perfect Year."
Tickets range in price from $59-$85 and are available by calling Ticketmaster at (703) 573-SEAT (7328) or visiting www.signature-theatre.org.
Group discounts are available for parties of ten or more by contacting Bethany Shannon at [email protected] or by calling (571) 527-1831. For more information, visit www.signature-theatre.org.
