As If We Never Said Goodbye! Is Sunset Boulevard Returning to Broadway, Starring Donna Murphy?

Will Broadway have new ways to dream once more? Roundabout is workshopping Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tony-winning musical Sunset Boulevard this week. The New York Post reports that two-time Tony winner Donna Murphy is playing Norma Desmond in the tuner, under the direction of Hedwig and Spring Awakening's Michael Mayer.

Murphy won the Tony for her performances in The King and I and Passion and she received nominations for her work in The People in the Picture, Lovemusik and Wonderful Town. She won a Daytime Emmy Award for HBO’s Someone Had to be Benny; her other screen credits include Star Trek: Insurrection, Spider-Man, Tangled and The Bourne Legacy.

Based on the 1950 film of the same name, Sunset Boulevard tells the story of Norma Desmond, an aging silent film star who recruits young writer Joe Gillis to help relaunch her career in the world of talking films. A reclusive shut-in, Desmond forms an unhealthy obsession with Gillis and soon demands he move in to her lavish Hollywood mansion.

Featuring a score by Lloyd Webber and a book and lyrics by Christopher Hampton and Don Black, the tuner premiered in the West End in 1993, directed by Trevor Nunn and starring Patti LuPone. In a widely publicized upset that resulted in an out-of-court settlement, Glenn Close brought the role to Broadway the following year and landed her third Tony. The show won seven Tony awards in total including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score.