The plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the fabled Los Angeles street.

When young screenwriter Joe Gillis accidentally crosses her path, she sees in him an opportunity to make her return to the big screen, with romance and tragedy to follow.

On 20 February 1957, Paramount executive Russell Holman wrote to Swanson asking her to cease work on the project because "it would be damaging for the property to be offered to the entertainment public in another form as a stage musical.

A chance encounter with Billy Wilder at a cocktail party gave Sondheim the opportunity to introduce himself and ask the original film's co-screenwriter and director his opinion of the project (which was to star Jeanette MacDonald).

A revised version, written by Black and Christopher Hampton had a complete performance at the 1992 Sydmonton Festival, now with Patti LuPone playing Norma[9] and Kevin Anderson as Joe Gillis.

The cast featured Patti LuPone as Norma Desmond, Kevin Anderson as Joe Gillis, Meredith Braun as Betty Schaefer, and Daniel Benzali as Max.

'"[15] Frank Rich wrote in The New York Times: Much of the film's plot, dialogue and horror-movie mood are preserved, not to mention clips used to illustrate those sequences in which [Norma and Joe] travel by car.

Anderson makes the sardonic Wilder voice an almost physical presence in Sunset Boulevard, but he is too often drowned out by both LuPone's Broadway belt and mechanical efforts of Lloyd Webber and his director, Trevor Nunn, to stamp the proven formulas of Phantom and Les Miz on even an intimate tale.

[19] The first American production opened at the Shubert Theatre in Century City, Los Angeles, California, on 9 December 1993, with Glenn Close as Norma and Alan Campbell as Joe.

[23] The musical opened on Broadway at the Minskoff Theatre on 17 November 1994 with Close, Campbell, and Hearn recreating their roles from the Los Angeles production and Alice Ripley joining the cast as Betty.

Frank Rich, in his book The Hot Seat,[28] noted that these lawsuits contributed to Sunset Boulevard setting the record for the most money lost by a theatrical endeavour in the history of the United States.

[32] Lloyd Webber called in director Susan H. Schulman to design a scaled-down production, with Petula Clark once again in the lead opposite Lewis Cleale as Joe.

This production featured Anthony Powell's Tony Award nominated costumes, a slightly modified libretto by Schulman and Don Black and a new, more tour-friendly set by Derek McLane.

In August 2001, a UK tour commenced in Plymouth starring Faith Brown as Norma, opposite Earl Carpenter as Joe, and Michael Bauer reprising his West End performance as Max.

Ria Jones, who originated the role of Norma Desmond in the 1991 Sydmonton Workshop and understudied Glenn Close in the 2016 London revival, led a new production opening at Leicester's Curve Theatre on 16 September 2017 for a two-week run before embarking on a national tour around the United Kingdom.

Close reprised her role as Norma, making her London theatre debut, along with Michael Xavier as Joe, Siobhan Dillon as Betty and Fred Johanson as Max.

[41] Others in the cast were Tom Francis, David Thaxton, and Grace Hodgett Young (making her professional debut) starring as Joe, Max, and Betty, respectively.

[46][47] The cast featured Michael Xavier as Joe Gillis, Siobhan Dillon as Betty Schaefer, and Fred Johanson as Max von Mayerling, all reprising their roles from the 2016 London ENO production.

[50] Scherzinger reprises her role as Norma, with West End co-stars Tom Francis as Joe, David Thaxton as Max, and Grace Hodgett Young as Betty.

It also starred Rex Smith as Joe, Walter Charles as Max and Anita Louise Combe, who had played Betty in the London production, repeating in this role.

A German production of the musical opened 7 December 1995 at the newly built Rhein-Main Theater in Niedernhausen near Wiesbaden, starring Helen Schneider and Sue Mathys (matinees) as Norma and Uwe Kröger as Joe.

[62] Another German production, starring Katharina Scherer as Norma, Philippe J. Kayser as Joe, Antonia Crames as Betty, and Stephan Vanecek as Max, opened to sold-out seats on 15 September 2017 and had its fourteenth and final performance on 8 October 2017 at the Tuchfabrik in Trier.

[63] The Spanish premiere production opened 27 December 2017 at the Auditorio de Tenerife, directed by Jaime Azpilicueta and starring Paloma San Basilio as Norma Desmond, Gerónimo Rauch as Joe Gillis, Inma Mira as Betty Schaefer, and Gonzalo Montes as Max von Mayerling.

[64] Another Danish production by Den Jyske Opera opened 12 August 2022 at Musikhuset Aarhus, directed by Philipp Kochheim and starring Tammi Øst as Norma, Randy Diamond as Joe, Katharina Maria Abt as Betty, and Martin Loft as Max.

This new production is directed by Paul Warwick Griffin with set and costume design by Morgan Large, choreography by Ashley Wallen, and musical supervision by Kristen Blodgette.

[77] In April 2004, Petula Clark reprised her role as Norma opposite Michael Ball as Joe in a concert production of the show that ran for two nights at the Cork Opera House in Ireland, which was later broadcast on BBC Radio 2.

Another two-day concert engagement took place in 2004 at the State Theatre in Sydney by the Production Company; Judi Connelli starred as Norma, Michael Cormick played Joe and Anthony Warlow was Max.

Ramin Karimloo starred as Joe Gillis, with Mazz Murray as Norma Desmond, Zizi Strallen as Betty Schaeffer, and Jeremy Secomb as Max.

[80] In 2007, The Daily Telegraph reported that actresses considered for the role of Norma Desmond included Close, Paige, Meryl Streep, Liza Minnelli, and Barbra Streisand.

[84]In February 2019, it was announced that Rob Ashford had signed on to direct the film, with Close reprising her role as Norma Desmond and Tom MacRae penning the script, with production slated to begin on October of that year, but was then delayed to the fall of 2020.