Olivier Award winner Tom Francis, who currently stars as Joe Gillis in Broadway's Sunset Blvd. revival, announced November 12 that he will be out of the production for the week due to a vocal injury. Understudies Diego Andres Rodriguez and Jimin Moon will cover the role in Francis' absence.
Francis shared the news via Instagram stories. "I've had pretty harsh laryngitis for a week now and it's ended up injuring my vocal cords," the actor wrote. "Soooo the doc has officially ordered me to sign off the show for an entire week so I can fix these pesky cords and come back stronger. The wonderful @_diegorodz_ or @jiminmmoon will be holding in down in the meantime, so please please please go and show them some love. I'll be fine just don't want to do any lasting damage, and that Joe Gillis is a tough one. Big love to you all x."
Jamie Lloyd's Olivier-winning revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical officially opened October 20 at Broadway's St. James Theatre.
The West End production's four leads crossed the pond with the revival, including Nicole Scherzinger reprising her Olivier-winning performance as faded screen star Norma Desmond, Francis reprising his Olivier-winning performance as ill-fated screenwriter Joe Gillis, Grace Hodgett-Young as aspiring writer Betty Schaefer, and David Thaxton as devoted butler Max Von Mayerling. Mandy Gonzalez plays Norma Desmond once a week, while Caroline Bowman is the stand-by for Norma.
The company also includes Olivia Lacie Andrews as Nancy, Brandon Mel Borkowsky as John, Shavey Brown as DeMille/Stan/Finance Man, Hannah Yun Chamberlain as Young Norma/Patsy, Cydney Clark as Joanna/Guard, Raúl Contreras as Finance Man/Frank, Tyler Davis as Sheldrake, E.J. Hamilton as Lisa, Sydney Jones as Dorothy, Emma Lloyd as Mary/Heather, Pierre Marais as Sammy, Shayna McPherson as Camera Operator, Moon as Morino/Hog Eye, Justice Moore as Jean, Drew Redington as Myron/Jones/Camera Operator, and Rodriguez as Artie. Swings are Giuseppe Bausilio (dance captain), Kristina Garvida Doucette (assistant dance captain), Brandon LaVar, Maggie Likcani, Abby Matsusaka, and Rixey Terry.
The Broadway staging has set and costume design by Soutra Gilmour, choreography by Fabian Aloise, music supervision and musical direction by Alan Williams, lighting design by Jack Knowles, sound design by Adam Fisher, video design and cinematography by Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom, hair and makeup design by Cheryl Thomas, intimacy coordination by Ann James, U.S. casting by Jim Carnahan and Jason Thinger and U.K. casting by Stuart Burt. Johnny Milani is the production stage manager, and 101 Productions, Ltd. serves as the general manager.
Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard (with a book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton) is based on the 1950 Billy Wilder movie of the same name, which featured Gloria Swanson as the reclusive Norma Desmond who falls in love with an unlucky writer—Joe Gillis—who happens upon her home by accident. William Holden played Gillis in the film, which was directed by the late Billy Wilder. Swanson, Holden, and Wilder all received Academy Award nominations for their work.
Sunset Blvd. is produced by The Jamie Lloyd Company, ATG 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 Wilder.
Visit SunsetBlvdBroadway.com.