Mandy Gonzalez To Guest Star As Norma Desmond In Broadway’s ‘Sunset Blvd.’ On Nicole Scherzinger’s Weekly Day Off

EXCLUSIVE: Mandy Gonzalez, star of In The Heights, Hamilton and Aida , will play the role of Norma Desmond at select performances of Broadway’s upcoming Sunset Blvd. , taking one performance a week with star Nicole Scherzinger taking all others.

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Gonzalez will play her first performance on Tuesday, October 22. The casting was announced today by producers of the Jamie Lloyd-directed revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, which begins previews at the St. James Theatre on Saturday, September 28 ahead of a Sunday, October 20 opening night.

Gonzalez said in a statement, “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 Broadway, is a dream come true.”

(Rita Moreno played the Norma role in a 1996 London production.)

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.”

Joining Scherzinger and Gonzalez on Broadway will be costars of the London production Tom Francis as Joe Gillis, Grace Hodgett-Young as Betty Schaefer, and David Thaxton as Max Von Mayerling.

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Additional casting will be announced shortly.

Gonzalez first came to the attention of New York’s theater community in director Diane Paulus’ Eli’s Comin , based on the music and lyrics of singer-songwriter Laura Nyro. She went on to originate the role of Nina in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights and has also starred in Hamilton, Wicked, and Aida. On screen and TV, she has appeared in Julie Taymor’s Across The Universe, Man on a Ledge , Only Murders in The Building, Quantico and Madam Secretary.

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.

For the performance schedules, visit the musical’s website.

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