Picture: Manuel Harlan
Forced to re-think its reopening season once again, with Leicester having entered Tier 3, Leicester Curve announced plans to turn the eagerly-anticipated concert version of Curve’s hit production of Sunset Boulevard into an online event.
Plans for the return of live theatre are now on hold until the city can exit the country’s toughest restrictions, and as a result, the socially distanced Made at Curve production of Sunset Boulevard In Concert which was due to run from 18 December 2020 until 9 January 2021 has been cancelled.
In a first for Curve, the production will be performed by the company in the newly configured auditorium and filmed in HD for audiences to enjoy in their own homes. Tickets for the filmed version will start from £20 and there will be up to three performance times daily from 22 December 2020 to 9 January 2021.
Announcing the changes Curve’s chief executive Chris Stafford and artistic director Nikolai Foster said: “Due to Leicester entering Tier 3 and the uncertainty of when we will be able to reopen, we have made the difficult decision to cancel public performances of Sunset Boulevard. We are incredibly disappointed not to welcome audiences back to Curve this Christmas, especially as we have invested significantly in measures to ensure we can operate in a Covid-safe way.
“However, 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. 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. Our sincere thanks to Really Useful Group, Paramount Pictures, UK Theatre, the Musicians Union, our sponsors PPL and the Culture Recovery Fund for helping make this possible.”
With original leads Ria Jones and Manchester Theatre Award-winner Danny Mac reprising their performances as Norma Desmond and Joe Gillis, the company also includes returning stars Molly Lynch as Betty Schaefer and Adam Pearce as Max Von Mayerling, with Dougie Carter as Artie Green and 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 classic Paramount film by Billy Wilder, and featuring music by Andrew Lloyd Webber with a book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton, the 2017 award-winning production of Sunset Boulevard marked the first time a Lloyd Webber musical had been produced at the Curve.
The concert presentation will be directed by the production’s original director, Nikolai Foster. Musical supervision will be by Stephen Brooker, with set design by Colin Richmond, video design by Douglas O’Connell and choreography by Lee Proud.
Tickets for the streamed version will be available to audiences in the UK and across the world.
Angela Thomas
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