'Sunset Boulevard' concert to be streamed

The previously announced concert production at the Curve in Leicester has been cancelled.

UPDATE: Sunset Boulevard is now available to stream via Leicester Curve to 17 January.

Due to Leicester moving into Tier 3 yesterday, the concert production of Sunset Boulevard at the Curve Theatre has been cancelled, and the staging will be reconfigured in a new auditorium and filmed for streaming. Audiences will be able to watch the concert from home 22 December - 9 January.

"The show must go on and in a Curve first, we will be bringing back our terrific Sunset Boulevard company to film the production for audiences to watch from the comfort of their own homes," Curve's Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster said in a joint statement. "The concert staging will see our stalls cleared of seats to accommodate our socially distanced 16-piece orchestra and we will celebrate every corner of Curve's astonishing in-the-round auditoria with Andrew Lloyd Webber's magnificent score. Although we are sorry not to be able to come together in person this Christmas, we are delighted we can share this specially-created concert with audiences across our city and beyond."

Original company members from Curve's 2017 touring production of the show will join the previously announced Ria Jones and Danny Mac, who will star as Norma Desmond and Joe Gillis. Molly Lynch will reprise her role as Betty Schaefer, Adam Pearce returns as Max Von Mayerling, Dougie Carter as Artie Green and Carl Sanderson as Cecil B DeMille. The Sunset Boulevard company will also include Benjamin Chambers, Owen Chaponda, Joanna Goodwin, Kristoffer Hellström, James Meunier, Gemma Naylor, Joanna O'Hare, Jessica Paul, Sam Peggs and Barney Wilkinson.

Based on the 1950 Billy Wilder film, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical follows the aging, reclusive film star Norma Desmond and her quest to re-enter the spotlight with a little help from a new friend and a fan. The production will be directed by Foster. 

^{Photo credit: Ria Jones as Norma Desmond and Danny Mac as Joe Gillis}