‘Sunset’ Sets a Record

More than 420 people vied to be the first ticket-holders for the U.S. premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard.”

The crowd lined up before tickets went on sale Sunday at 6 p.m.--sunset--at Century City’s Shubert Theatre. The theater reported record-breaking ticket sales by the time the box office had closed at midnight.

First in line was Paul Arenson, a 20-year-old UC Irvine student who said he arrived at 8:15 that morning to buy tickets for his mother. By 4 p.m., the line circled the interior of the ABC Entertainment Center and was dotted with lawn chairs and radios, umbrellas and water.

The musical, based on Billy Wilder’s 1950 film classic, opens at the Shubert Dec. 2 starring Glenn Close as Norma Desmond and a yet-unselected actor as Joe Gillis. It will be running concurrently with the London production of the musical, which premiered to mixed reviews on July 12 at the Adelphi Theatre starring Patti LuPone and Kevin Anderson.

A spokesman said the day’s sales were $100,900, far surpassing “A Chorus Line,” which opened there in 1976 and was the previous record-holder for opening-day sales at the Shubert.