Gloria Swanson In “Sunset Blvd” Musical
I knew that Sondheim and Hal Prince tried to do a musical adaptation of the 1950 Billy Wilder film; it would have starred Angela Lansbury. I didn’t know that Gloria Swanson, the star of the Wilder film, was at the center of an earlier adaptation. From around 1952 to 1956, Swanson worked with actor Richard Stapley (aka Richard Wyler) and cabaret singer/pianist Dickson Hughes on an adaptation titled “Boulevard!” But the project foundered when they couldn’t complete the project to Swanson’s and Paramount’s satisfaction. Swanson recorded some of the numbers –listen to one above.
