SARAH BRIGHTMAN To Star in Australian SUNSET BLVD. — Page 2

pmensky said: "BorisTomashevsky said:

Where the shows were written has nothing to do with it, the issue is bringing in actors when there are excellent local performers who can do the job. When video of Debra Byrne in the original Australian Sunset finally surfaces (we're patiently waiting, Aurora...) people will realize she was one of the best.

Korean, Japanese, and continental European productions of British and American musicals don't import foreign stars, and the ones who do work there, like Drew Sarich, have made the place their home.

Bigger ticket sales only benefits the producers. And the three-month-ish run that seems to be slated for Melbourne is short for Australian standards. There's plenty to vilify here."

You left out how Broadway and West End shows use each others’ actors regularly. Also, I disagree that it doesn’t matter where the show was written. Sydney’s entire theatre scene is made of shows from Broadway and the West End. The Australians are benefiting from the work of artists from abroad. They shouldn’t be so precious about a few roles going to foreigners when their entire industry is build on the work of foreigners."

Yes, and the counterpart unions have strict rules about who can work where, when. MEAA in Australia seems to just bend over and take what the producer demands, which is something performers down under aren’t happy about. 
And where does “a few roles” begin and end? These shows are exports. Like McDonald’s or Pizza Hut. Money is paid for the rights and then the writers get a cut of the box office and that’s it. No need for extra gratuity to be thrown in in the form of casting. 
 

Debra Byrne has just commented online: “Wrong voice. Wrong choice. Another role lost (by) a worthy Australian. There goes another role an Australian has trained for.”

I think Sarah is uniquely suited for the role. In a way, she sort of IS Norma Desmond-ish. She’s very dramatic, very melodramatic at times, and quite often unintentionally campy. She is very precious a d mannered at times.  Having seen her in concert many many times, I also think she’s a tad delusional, but in the most creative sense. I think she always sees herself as an ingenue, sexy and sensual. She’s adoring of her fans and at times the way she accepts their adulation is VERY Norma Desmond. I don’t know how much acting will be required. 

I will be curious to see how they work the score for her voice. 

She is an international superstar and is playing the lead. There will be plenty of roles and work for locals. As we are seeing across the world, theatre is a risky investment and having a star that sells tickets will definitely help. 
 

Debra Byrne should take a chill pill. 

Did Byrne really say that? Not a good look, sis. 
 

And you have to think Brightman knows what she can and can’t do with her voice at this stage, before announcing a major role like this. It will be the campiest Norma ever and I LIIIIVE for that. Paint her face so much she looks like Jimbo about to give birth to bologna.  

Updated On: 10/9/23 at 06:09 PM

This is brilliant!   If it by for some reason have a chance and comes to Broadway, or even tours I can also see the current London production Off-Broadway.  As far as belting or not,  if Sarah Brightman sings her legit classical sound,  she may bring a new level operatically to Norma.  Just because it has mainly been done by belters doesn't mean it needs to be either.  Similar sound to Violetta in La Traviata.

Would it be logistically possible to bring this to Broadway? The impression I've gotten is that it has become cost prohibitive to run productions like this here in the U.S. I could see it maybe imported by an opera company or Lincoln/Kennedy Center, though.

Tsao5 said: "Does she have the vocally exciting "bite" to sing the score? Feel free to tear me apart, I just don't see her doing the score justice, either vocally or acting wise. Does anybody consider her even an actress? ."

This worries me too. Norma should not just sound "sweet". She is a very layered and complex woman. I have never seen Sarah Brightman act. How I see her, for lack of a better word, is mostly like an inflatable doll singing songs. Wide-eyed and only capable of 2 expressions, surprised or sleepy. Like another poster said, the songs could be sung in a higher key, more operatic and it could work very well, it doesn't have to be belted because we are used to that. Debra Byrne does this wonderfully too, she uses a lot of head voice. But it's the acting that I worry about more. Norma is not just a world alienated vacant doll. She is a passionate tiger with temperament.

 

Updated On: 10/9/23 at 08:10 PM

CATSNYrevival said: "This sounds like a much more exciting production than Jamie Lloyd’s Sunset Avenue in London."

Agree as the London production should just stay there as a revival w/ Brightman sounds intriguing plus she's a bigger name-star than Scherzinger.

Agree to disagree on that, for a musical the voice you hear is the inner voice of the performer of course you want to hear her sing strong.   This isn't a sally Bowles character where her singing or lack there of was part of her performance.   Norma does have to sing the score strongly for the internal struggle, I truly believe Sarah brightman regardless if she belts this or sings this legitly can pull it off.  I THINK her kupie doll wide eyed face works for the silent film star, her singing obviously will prove this. I cannot judge her until she performs the role,  based on her performance in Song and Dance, Phantom and let's not forget the film Repo Opera, I cannot wait!

Tsao5 said: "I would have hoped to have seen the great Caroline O'Conner in the role instead."

Now THAT would be inspired. I’m sure she’ll need an alternate and I hope to god you nailed it with this call.

Sarah Brightman sings three songs from Sunset (The Minnie Mouse Versions)  If she doesn't have the power to sing "With One Look" and "As If We Never Said Goodbye," there is no reason to the show.

The Perfect Year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q0HFbcM2ug

Surrenderhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nq_tdfGAxo

Too Much Love To Care https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WcSHTK1B1A

 

 

I still remember the awkward moment of Brightman sharing the stage with Betty Buckley for ALW's 2006 Kennedy Center Honors.  She delivers two wispy lines from Memory and then Buckley's soaring vocals thunder through to finish the song at its climax.

https://youtu.be/RDcmNI9JF3k?feature=shared&t=969

Updated On: 10/10/23 at 04:59 AM

Theatrefanboy1 said: "a woman who made a living from silent film would not necessarily have a strong voice."

We need to get rid of this idea. This idea is the opposite of everything theatre stands for. This art form and language is the opposite of literal. 

 

This announcement is far more intriguing and exciting to me than that for Nicole Scherzinger. 

I very much liked Ms. Brightman's recording of "Surrender".