Broadway-Bound Sunset Boulevard, Starring Nicole Scherzinger, Wins Big at Olivier Awards
(Photo: Marc Brenner)
The Broadway-bound production of Sunset Boulevard, starring Nicole Scherzinger, won seven awards, including Best Musical Revival, at the 2024 Olivier Awards. The ceremony took place at London’s Royal Albert Hall on April 14, with Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham hosting.
Sunset Boulevard also won Best Actress in a Musical for Scherzinger, Best Director for Jamie Lloyd and Best Actor in a Musical for Tom Francis. In the Best Musical Revival category, it beat productions of Guys and Dolls and Hadestown.
“Thank you to Andrew Lloyd Webber, my dear friend and mentor, for writing this masterpiece,” Scherzinger said in her acceptance speech. “Thank you so much for writing music and lyrics that I can sink my teeth and my soul into.”
She added, “As a little girl from Hawaii and then growing up in Kentucky, coming from really humble beginnings, I always wanted to be a singer and do musicals, and I dreamed of so many roles that I wanted to do. And honestly, this role, Norma Desmond… was not one of those roles. I was like, ‘Jamie, what are you thinking?’ God works in mysterious ways because honestly it’s one of the ballsiest and bravest things I’ve ever done. And I have the incomparable director Jamie Lloyd to thank for that.”
Concluding the speech, Scherzinger said, “I cannot wait to come for blood on Broadway with you and the rest of the team.” Sunset Boulevard will begin performances at the St. James Theatre on September 28, with an official opening set for October 20.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a prequel to the Netflix show eyeing a 2025 opening on Broadway, won the award for Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play and Best Set Design. Elsewhere, Succession’s Sarah Snook was named Best Actress for her performance in The Picture of Dorian Gray, a production also believed to be eyeing Broadway, while Mark Gatiss was named Best Actor for his performance as John Gielgud in The Motive and the Cue, currently screening stateside via National Theatre Live.
