Glenn Close to star in Sunset Boulevard at the ENO

The ENO and the GradeLinnit Company have announced that Glenn Close will reprise her Tony-winning performance of 'Norma Desmond' in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard which will run in a semi-staged production at the London Coliseum from 1 April to 6 May 2016, with an official opening on 4 April 2016.

The show will mark the second production in the partnership between English National Opera (ENO) and the GradeLinnit Company, following on from the success of 'Sweeney Todd' earlier this year.

Featuring music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton, Sunset Boulevard is produced by arrangement with The Really Useful Group Ltd and is based on the original Paramount film by Billy Wilder.

"In her mansion on Sunset Boulevard, faded, silent-screen goddess, Norma Desmond, lives in a fantasy world. Impoverished screen writer, Joe Gillis, on the run from debt collectors, stumbles into her reclusive world. Persuaded to work on Norma's 'masterpiece', a film script that she believes will put her back in front of the cameras, he is seduced by her and her luxurious life-style. Joe becomes entrapped in a claustrophobic world until his love for another woman leads him to try and break free with dramatic consequences."

The semi-staged production will be directed by Lonny Price, with full cast and creative team to be announced.

Sunset Boulevard originally premiered in London at the Adelphi Theatre in 1993 starring Patti LuPone where it ran for almost four years and played to nearly two million people. The production was remounted in Los Angeles starring Glenn Close, who later transferred to Broadway making headlines as LuPone was unceremoniously fired via a gossip column, instigating several law suits.

Glenn Close made her professional theatre debut in Harold Prince's revival of 'Love for Love' on Broadway. She has won Tony Awards for her performances in 'The Real Thing' and 'Death and the Maiden', and returned to Broadway in November of 2014 to lead the cast of Edward Albee's 'A Delicate Balance'. She is a six-time Academy Award nominated actress and has appeared in more than 35 films. This will mark her West End debut.

Public booking opens 10am on 29 September 2015.