“SUNSET BLVD.” ANNOUNCES MANDY GONZALEZ TO GUEST STAR AS ‘NORMA DESMOND’ AT CERTAIN PERFORMANCES
Contact:
Rick Miramontez / Aaron Meier / Briana Sanchez / Morgan Zysman
rick@omdkc.com / aaron@omdkc.com / briana@omdkc.com / morgan@omdkc.com
212-695-7400
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ON THURSDAY, JULY 18, PLEASE
JAMIE LLOYD’S
NEW PRODUCTION OF
ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER’S
“SUNSET BLVD.”
ANNOUNCES
DRAMA DESK® & OBIE AWARD® WINNER
MANDY GONZALEZ
TO GUEST STAR AS ‘NORMA DESMOND’ ON BROADWAY
AT SELECT PERFORMANCES
OLIVIER AWARD® WINNER & GRAMMY AWARD® NOMINEE
NICOLE SCHERZINGER
TO STAR AS ‘NORMA’ WHEN PREVIEWS BEGIN SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
FOR A SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20 OPENING NIGHT
AT THE ST. JAMES THEATRE
PHOTO OF GONZALEZ AVAILABLE HERE
TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT WWW.SUNSETBLVDBROADWAY.COM
New York, NY (July 18, 2024) – Today, producers announced that director Jamie Lloyd’s new Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Blvd. will guest star Drama Desk® and OBIE Award® winner Mandy Gonzalez as ‘Norma Desmond’ at select performances.
Gonzalez will play her first performance on Tuesday, October 22 and will normally perform one show per week with Olivier Award® winner and Grammy Award® nominee Nicole Scherzinger scheduled to play all other performances. For the latest performance schedule, please visit: www.sunsetblvdbroadway.com/tickets.
Gonzalez is a beloved actor on stage and screen. She first grabbed the attention of New York’s theater community and was honored with an OBIE Award in director Diane Paulus’ Eli’s Comin, based on the music and lyrics of renowned singer-songwriter Laura Nyro. She went on to originate the role of ‘Nina’ in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights for which received a Drama Desk Award as part of the show’s acclaimed ensemble. She has also starred in Hamilton, Wicked, and Aida. On screen, she has appeared in Julie Taymor’s Across The Universe, Man on a Ledge, “Only Murders in The Building, “Quantico,” and “Madam Secretary.”
Director Jamie Lloyd said in a statement, “It is such an honor to be working with the truly wonderful Mandy Gonzalez. Nicole Scherzinger and I are so thrilled that Mandy will be joining the Sunset Blvd. company. I can’t wait to collaborate with her.”
Gonzalez said, “In my 25 years playing leading ladies on Broadway, I’ve never been more excited for a show. The role of ‘Norma Desmond’ is iconic, Jamie Lloyd’s direction is masterful, and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s score is sumptuous. To reinterpret a timeless story with such raw sophistication, especially as the first Latina to take this role on, is a dream come true.”
As previously announced, Sunset Blvd. will play Broadway’s St. James Theatre (246 West 44th Street) with preview performances beginning Saturday, September 28 ahead of a Sunday, October 20 opening night.
Joining Scherzinger and Gonzalez on Broadway will be co-stars of the London production, 2024 Olivier Award winner Tom Francis as ‘Joe Gillis,’ 2024 Olivier Award nominee Grace Hodgett-Young as ‘Betty Schaefer,’ and Olivier Award winner and 2024 Olivier nominee David Thaxton as ‘Max Von Mayerling.’
Tickets for Sunset Blvd. are on sale at www.sunsetblvdbroadway.com or Seat Geek HERE .
To coincide with the show’s Broadway opening, SUNSET BLVD: THE ALBUM recorded live at the Savoy Theatre in London’s West End, is set for global release in October via The Other Songs. Featuring the powerhouse London cast, SUNSET BLVD: THE ALBUM captures the thrilling energy of this bold, new production.
When The Jamie Lloyd Company’s new production of Sunset Blvd. began performances last fall, it immediately grabbed the attention of theatergoers worldwide as an extraordinary reimagination of Lloyd Webber’s iconic musical which is based on the classic Paramount Pictures film directed by Billy Wilder. Lloyd’s “tour de force of a show” (Evening Standard) became the talk of both sides of the Atlantic and was called “the show of the year” (Time Out).
Lloyd Webber’s thrillingly atmospheric Sunset Blvd. features an iconic score including the songs “With One Look,” “The Perfect Year,” and “As If We Never Said Goodbye.”
Haunted by her memories and dreams, movie star Norma Desmond yearns to return to the big screen. A struggling screenwriter who can’t sell his scripts to the Hollywood studios may be her only hope, until their dangerous and compelling relationship leads to disastrous circumstances. Drenched in champagne and cynicism, Sunset Blvd. scrutinizes the ambitions and frustrations of its characters and their intoxicating need for fame and adoration.
The creative team for Sunset Blvd. includes Soutra Gilmour (set and costume design), Fabian Aloise (choreography), Alan Williams (music supervisor and music director), Jack Knowles (lighting design), Adam Fisher (sound design), Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom (video design and cinematography), Cheryl Thomas (hair and makeup design), Jim Carnahan CSA and Jason Thinger CSA (U.S. casting director), Stuart Burt CDG (U.K. casting director), and Johnny Milani (production stage manager). 101 Productions, Ltd. serves as the General Manager for Sunset Blvd. The creative team also includes Rupert Hands (U.K. associate director), Benita de Wit (U.S. associate director), Paris Green (U.K. associate choreographer), and Ashley Andrews (U.S. associate choreographer).
Sunset Blvd. is produced by The Jamie Lloyd Company, Ambassador Theatre Group Productions, Michael Harrison for Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals, and Gavin Kalin Productions by arrangement with The Really Useful Group Ltd and based on the Paramount Pictures film directed by Billy Wilder.
Additional casting for Sunset Blvd. on Broadway will be announced shortly.
BIOGRAPHY
Mandy Gonzalez (Norma Desmond at certain performances) is an accomplished film, TV, stage actor, and author. She possesses one of the most powerful and versatile contemporary voices of our time.
Her first Broadway role was in Aida and has since gone on to originate the role of ‘Nina Rosario’ in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, In The Heights, for which she received a Drama Desk Award. She is also among the Broadway greats who have taken on the role of ‘Elphaba’ in Wicked and most recently she starred in the megahit Hamilton as ‘Angelica Schuyler’ for six years.
Along with being a stage actor, Gonzalez has been featured in television and movie roles including “The Good Wife,” “Madam Secretary,” Across the Universe, “Quantico,” and “Only Murders in the Building.” A frequent concert soloist, Gonzalez has performed with symphony orchestras around the world. Highlights include Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops, Boston Pops, Philly Pops, the National Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, and Atlanta Pops to name a few.
Gonzalez released her debut album FEARLESS in 2017, which debuted in the Top 20 of iTunes pop charts. In her quest to create positive change, Gonzalez is the proud founder of #FearlessSquad – a social media movement for inclusiveness and positivity. She is also an accomplished author who recently published her young adult series, FEARLESS – a four-book middle-grade series that follows young thespians whose brushes with the supernatural teach them about theater, friendship, and themselves.
Gonzalez is deeply committed to advocating for underserved communities and schools. She serves on the boards of BCRF (Breast Cancer Research Foundation) and BC/EFA (Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS), where she actively promotes awareness and fundraising efforts.
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