Sunset Boulevard

ACT ONE

The lights come up on Hollywood, 1950. Joe Gillis observes his own dead body in a swimming pool as he comments that a homicide has been reported (“Prologue”).

A flashback to six months earlier, struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis has a meeting at Paramount Studios with big executive Sheldrake to talk about his script Bases Loaded. The meeting goes poorly for Joe after his script is eviscerated by Betty Schaefer, Sheldrake’s assistant. To make matters worse, Sheldrake refuses to lend Joe $300 for car payments (“Let’s Have Lunch”). Betty suggests that she and Joe work together on one of Joe’s earlier scripts, Blind Windows, as Betty believes that Joe has real talent (“Betty’s Pitch”).

As he is leaving Paramount, Joe is spotted by repo men who are after his car and a chase ensues (“Car Chase”). He is able to shake them on Sunset Boulevard by pulling his car into the garage of a once beautiful (but now decaying) mansion. Joe is summoned into the house by the butler, Max, and a