The show received its original US premiere in December 1993 at the Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles, which starred Glenn Close (Norma Desmond), Alan Campbell (Joe Gillis), Judy Kuhn (Betty Schaefer) and George Hearn (Max von Mayerling), with Close, Campbell and Hearn going on to recreate their roles for the show?s 1994 Broadway opening at the Minskoff Theatre in November 1994.They were also joined by Alice Ripley as Betty Schaefer. That production opened with the highest advance in Broadway history at the time ($37.5 million in ticket sales).

Roger Ebert hailed SUNSET BOULEVARD as "the best drama ever made about the movies." The Tony Award-winning stage production, a visually spectacular tale featuring breathtaking music by the legendary Andrew Lloyd Webber, weaves a magnificent tale of faded glory and unfulfilled ambition.

Silent movie star Norma Desmond longs for a return to the big screen, having been discarded by Tinseltown with the advent of "talkies." Her glamour has faded in all but her mind. When she meets the struggling Hollywood screenwriter Joe Gillis through dramatic circumstances, their subsequent passionate and volatile relationship leads to an unforeseen and tragic conclusion.