STAGE TUBE: Preview Contra Costa Musical Theatre's SUNSET BOULEVARD

Contra Costa Musical Theatre will add another local premiere when it presents Andrew Lloyd Webber's lushly romantic Sunset Boulevard at Walnut Creek's Lesher Center for the Arts, now through April 15, 2012. Tickets for Sunset Boulevard range from $44 to $49 (with discounts available for seniors and students, and special group rates) and are on sale now at the Lesher Center for the Arts Ticket Office, 1601 Civic Drive in Walnut Creek, 925.943.SHOW (943-7469). Tickets can also be purchased online at www.lesherArtscenter.org. Group Sales: 925.295.1472.

Check out the video preview of the show below!

Sunset Boulevard weaves a tale of faded glory and unfulfilled ambition. Silent movie star Norma Desmond longs for a return to the big screen, having been discarded by tinsel town with the advent of 'talkies.' Her glamour has faded in all but her mind. When she meets struggling Hollywood screen-writer Joe Gillis in dramatic circumstances, their subsequent passionate and volatile relationship leads to an unforeseen and tragic conclusion.

The musical has Book and Lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton. The writing team has reinvented Billy Wilder's 1950 classic film noir as a romantic musical spectacle, adhering closely to the screenplay co-authored by Wilder. The film, starring Gloria Swanson and William Holden, was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won three. Lloyd Webber's musical adaptation was first produced in London's West End in July 1993, featuring Patti LuPone as Norma Desmond. The American Premiere opened in Los Angeles later that year, featuring Glenn Close. Ms. Close recreated her role for the Broadway Premiere in 1994, earning her a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress; the production garnered an additional 6 Tony Awards including those for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book of a Musical.