"Petula Clark To Take Hershey Theatre Stage In Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical"


by Henry Homan
Lebanon Daily News

April 12, 1999

Based on the 1950 Billy Wilder movie starring Gloria Swanson and William Holden, the musical "Sunset Boulevard" will be presented on the Hershey Theatre stage starting Tuesday, April 13. Petula Clark will take the leading role in the tragic story of fading movie star Norma Desmond.

In a telephone conversation from her hotel suite in Detroit on St. Patrick's Day, Clark told me that she'll be on tour with the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical for the rest of this year and the major part of the year 2000.

When I asked her about her interpretation of the deluded Norma, she said that she doesn't view her as a monster and added, "Norma is more to be pitied than scorned. She still believes that her comeback as the reigning silent movie star of the 1920s is enviable ... that her fans 'out there in the dark' are still out there.

"She is not a mad woman when you first meet her. She's got a sense of humor ... and more importantly, she's capable of love - and that's what eventually drives her over the edge."

Having done "Sunset Boulevard" in London to rave reviews, Clark was scheduled to replace another British star, Elaine Paige, in the New York production, but the producers suddenly closed the run.

After the intriguing discussion of her role in "Sunset Boulevard," my questions turned to the pop recording career of Clark, a recipient of Grammy awards for two songs, "Downtown" and "I Know A Place." I asked her if she has a favorite from her long list of hits.

"Oh, I like them all, but I guess I'd select 'Don't Sleep in the Subway.' I sing them all in concerts but of course not in 'Sunset Boulevard'."

Famous as a British child star on radio, television and in the movies, 64-year-old Clark said that her childhood was happy, not at all like those of Judy Garland and perhaps Liz Taylor. "My father was very strict with me, and in England young stars did not fall prey to that so-called Hollywood machine."

Clark last appeared on the Hershey Theatre stage about two years ago in another British musical, "Blood Brothers," and has also done shows in Hersheypark. Check the Hershey Theatre box office for "Sunset Boulevard" ticket information.

It's interesting that Gloria Swanson, star of the movie "Sunset Boulevard," appeared in Lebanon some years ago. She wasn't here to promote the movie industry but to speak out in favor of a new so-called cancer cure known as Krebiozen at the request of Dr. Allen Rutherford, a local physician who was one of the flag wavers for the questionable cure.

Swanson met with reporters following her speech at the Lebanon Senior High School but would not talk about her movie career. She would only talk about her interest in Krebiozen, which never was approved as an effective cancer cure.