Petula Clark, who played Norma Desmond in the London and the second U.S. national tour of Sunset Boulevard, will return to that role next month.
Clark will play the faded silent-screen star in two concerts of the musical at the Royal Opera House in Cork. She will be joined by Aspects of Love’s Michael Ball as the doomed screenwriter Joe Gillis; this marks the first time Ball has performed the role onstage. The concerts of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Don Black musical will be presented April 23 and 24 and will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Sunday, May 2 at 7 PM.
The 1950 film “Sunset Boulevard,” directed by Billy Wilder, concerned an out- of-work screenwriter named Joe Gillis who happens upon the home of former silent-screen star Norma Desmond. William Holden and Gloria Swanson starred in the film, which won three Academy Awards. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black’s musical version debuted in London with Patti LuPone as Norma. Other Normas included Betty Buckley, Elaine Paige, Glenn Close, Diahann Carroll, Petula Clark, Helen Schneider, Linda Balgord and Debra Byrne.
Michael Ball made his Broadway debut as Alex in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects of Love, a role he created on the London stage. His other London stage credits include The Pirates of Penzance, Les Misà©rables, The Phantom of the Opera, Passion and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Ball’s numerous, best-selling solo recordings include “Centre Stage,” “Christmas,” “Live at the Royal Albert Hall,” “The Movies,” “The Musicals,” “First Love,” “Always” and “Michael Ball.” [Story]