I also think Emmy Rossum had the "look" for Christine, but, yes, I agree with her not being the ideal choice for the role. I reeeally love Sierra Boggess. Also Harriet Jones!
Rebecca Luker for sure, but I love Sierra Boggess and Anna O'Byrne. ( and Sarah Brightman got a bad wrap I think.). Here's hoping School Of Rock will make ALW relevant and respected again. Also, Love Never Dies really has some beautiful songs and melodies. The Ben Lewis/Anna O'Byrne LND is very entertaining with great costumes and sets, if only they could have ended it a little differently. When Christine sings Love Never Dies in front of that blue peacock that fills the proscenium it's absolutely gorgeous.
Jennifer Hope Wills for me had the definitive "Christine look" as well as a gorgeous voice and great acting that didn't portray the character as a bland little stick in the mud like many actresses playing the role tend to do.
Vocally, Rebecca Caine has to be another favorite of mine.
"Was uns befreit, das muss stärker sein als wir es sind." -Tanz der Vampire
I saw an understudy in Vegas once named Sarah Combs and she was the best Christine I'd ever seen out of the 15+ I've experienced over the years. Don't know what she's doing now.
Boggess is a close second. Her performance on the 25th concert is fantastic as well. Wish I'd seen her in LND.
Out of the 3 I saw which were Jennifer Hope Willis(lead) 3 times,Julie Hanson(alternate) once and Kimilee Bryant(understudy) once I liked Julie Hanson the best. Out of all the ones I've listened to over the years I'm gonna say Gina Beck is my favorite.
Rebecca Caine and Patti Cohenour are definitely my top. All around perfection vocally and acting wise. Melissa Dye as well, she had some amazing acting choices that really impressed me after seeing the show so many times.
Ten years ago this month, I saw swing Kris Koop in the role. I'd just seen her as Carlotta about a week earlier and wasn't sure how I'd like her as Christine. She was wonderful - gorgeous voice, passionate acting, and excellent chemistry with the rest of the cast.
I've seen a lot of Christines (Julie Hanson, Sara Jean Ford, and Trista Moldovan are all favorites), but Kris Koop's performance that night remains the best I've seen so far.
I've seen 4 different Christines- Rebecca Pitcher, Sarah Pfisterer, Sandra Joseph, and Jennifer Hope Wills. Of those 4, the one I enjoyed the most was Jennifer Hope Wills. The only one I really didn't enjoy was Rebecca Pitcher.