Tony Winner Alice Ripley to Star as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard at North Shore Music Theatre

Alice Ripley will find new ways to dream this fall, when the Tony-winning star headlines a new production of Sunset Boulevard at North Shore Music Theatre. Ripley, who originated the role of ingenue Betty Schaefer in the original 1994 Broadway production of the musical, will graduate to the lead role of silent-film star Norma Desmond for the new staging, set to run from September 24 through October 6 at the Beverly, Massachusetts theater.

Ripley told Broadway.com, "I'm happy that my chance to play Norma is now, when I'm finally her actual age. I'm confident surviving the last decade of my life especially is going to prove to be quite useful in approaching Norma Desmond."

In addition to her original turn in Sunset Boulevard, Ripley earned a 2009 Tony Award for performance as Diana Goodman in Next to Normal. Her other Broadway credits include a Tony-nominated turn in Side Show, as well as performances in American Psycho, The Rocky Horror Show, James Joyce's The Dead, King David, The Who's Tommy and Les Misérables.

Based on Billy Wilder's 1950 film, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Tony-winning musical Sunset Boulevard centers on faded, silent-screen star Norma Desmond (Ripley), who lives in a fantasy world. Soon, an impoverished screenwriter named Joe Gillis stumbles into her reclusive domain and is persuaded to work on the film script that she believes will put her back in front of the cameras. He is seduced by her and her luxurious lifestyle. Entrapped in a claustrophobic existence, his love for another woman leads him to try to break free of Norma's web, but with dramatic consequences.

Additional casting and creative team members for North Shore's Sunset Boulevard will be announced at a later date.