SARAH BRIGHTMAN To Star in Australian SUNSET BLVD.- Page 6

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 5/22/24 at 12:28am

Yes nearly all the audience sat, a few people stood. For me I can’t make this any clearer , Sarah was underwhelming. That glorious voice no longer exists , the acting was questionable, the chemistry with Tim Draxl ( as Joe ) was forced. 
Sunset has always been a flawed show ( get rid of all the ensemble numbers, they stop the show cold ) in saying that get an actress Maria Mercedes / Glenn Close who can sing and act it, the flaws are hidden. Than parts of that show soar. 

[Listener]

Posted: 5/22/24 at 1:22am

Thanks for the Insta link - but did they seriously squeeze the pipe organ into a wall panel by the staircase???

And I thought the original was shoehorned into the set!

I'm not surprised Sarah isn't belting. That was never her thing. Be interested to hear how her understudy sounds, though.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/22/24 at 1:25am

I’m seeing Sarah and the understudy next month. Hopefully there’s time for her to grow into the role - seeing Brightman in a musical is HIGH up there on my theatrical bucket list. 

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 5/22/24 at 1:38am

Jordan, by luck I saw Sarah and Michael’s final “Phantom” performance in New York a lifetime ago, it ranks as one of the highlights of my theatre going life. I hope so she doesn’t disappoint you. 

[devonian.t]

Posted: 5/22/24 at 1:39am

What a pity- I was hoping for a barkingly mad over-the-top operatic production.  This sounds underpowered.

But the Lloyd version was all gimmick and no substance, so the original (well, the |Mark 2 version) remains the best, it seems.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 5/22/24 at 8:40am

Jamie Lloyd’s version is magnificent. And Sarah used to belt. Look up her filmed performance of Song and Dance on YouTube. 

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 5/22/24 at 11:30am

As I've said before in posts, I'm a die-hard Sarah fan, but I can constructively criticize with some additional perspective.

The last time she was in a run of traditional show was when she did a few straight plays in the UK, from 1992-1995.

From that point on, she's had absolute, meticulous creative control over her albums, photo sessions and concert tours.  She's at a point where her tours are almost robotic. Any time she talks to the audience, she's reading the dialogue from a teleprompter(!)

Being thrust back into a lengthy run of a musical, in an ensemble, where there's a lot of memorization (and possibly the need for some improvisation in the heat of the moment) is probably very daunting to her right now. She's extremely out of her element, here. 

She's only two previews in to this run... she needs some time to figure it all out and get used to this again. 

I know she gets polarizing reactions out of people, but, let's give her a chance!

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 5/22/24 at 12:31pm

Having seen the original 1994 Broadway production and the original 1996 1st National Tour (which was basically a carbon-copy of the original Broadway production) as well as the disappointing 2017 concert-style revival, I will say the set for this current Australian production is beyond fabulous and totally acceptable for Broadway today. This is the closest to lavish and opulent we'd be getting in today's Broadway.  It looks GORGEOUS.  

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 5/22/24 at 2:11pm

So, I just had a quick listen to her first scene and Brightman's singing voice is definitely shot. Her voice is now at a low chest register and her singing sounds like Aunt Bea from THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW.  She sounds like an older woman trying to sing in a warbly operetta style. Her American accent is impressive and I liked her line readings/acting. The orchestra sounds lush as expected. Also, there is zero conviction in her song interpretations so she's not feeling those lyrics - she's just singing the songs. Glenn evoked conviction in each lyric so you believed what she was singing even if the voice wasn't polished.  She shares this with Carol Channing and Elaine Stritch - their singing voices leave a lot to be desired by boy can they interpret a lyric.  

[JSquared2]

Posted: 5/22/24 at 2:27pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "So, I just had a quick listen to her first scene and Brightman'ssinging voice is definitely shot. Her voice is now at a low chest register and her singing sounds like Aunt Bea from THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW. She sounds like an older woman trying to sing in a warbly operetta style. Her American accent is impressive and I liked her line readings/acting. The orchestra sounds lush as expected. Also, there is zero conviction in her song interpretations so she's not feeling those lyrics - she's just singing the songs. Glenn evoked conviction in each lyric so you believed what she was singing even if the voice wasn't polished. She shares this with Carol Channing and Elaine Stritch - their singing voices leave a lot to be desired by boy can they interpret a lyric."

 

Really?  We're STILL judging performances based on a 30-second snippet from a bootleg audio of the 1st preview?  have we learned nothing from SWEENEY TODD and Aaron/Sutton??

 

[binau]

Posted: 5/22/24 at 2:56pm

I honestly believe that Sarah Brightman in Sunset is a little piece of theatre history that even if - and ESPECIALLY if - she can't pull it off - anyone is lucky to see. If she can't pull it off, it's probably her last stage musical role ever. And of course there is a novelty about the original Christine in perhaps the most iconic musical of all time, who once was not just working with but WITH ALW, return on stage to one of his shows.

I've always been skeptical about this production and haven't for one second believed it would ever 'compete' with the Jamie Lloyd production that is going to Broadway - despite some hopes here that it was this production instead lol.

But I can't ignore that this is in our small circle a historic event. So in many ways I don't care what actually happens on that stage lol. 

Updated On: 5/22/24 at 02:56 PM

[chernjam]

Posted: 5/22/24 at 3:25pm

I'm not a Brightman fan and wasn't excited at all for the casting, but appreciate people's perspectives especially giving her time to adjust to starring with an ensemble cast performing a role multiple times.  Here's hoping she's able to settle in by the time critics attend next week.  
In the meantime, I'm impressed with the pics we've seen of the set.  As excited as I am for the Jamie Lloyd production, it's exciting to see a massive production of this scale from sets, to cast, to marketing.

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 5/22/24 at 3:38pm

The original sharer stipulated that it not be spread any wider than the initial share, and I'm hoping anyone who has heard it will respect that, but I'm sure other clips will show up on X or TikTok soon enough.

I can say that Sarah simply sounds wrong within the musical "laws" of this show. She's doing it all in head voice. Her sound disappears among the orchestra in With One Look right when it should be leading the charge. She’s changing or dropping entire consonants left right and center because of where her voice is placed. Example: “With one look, I’ll be zee!”

It doesn’t work. 

The orchestra, however, sounds as good as any Sunset orchestra ever before. The ensemble sound is also fantastic. Robert Grubb, the original Sheldrake in Melbourne in 1996 who eventually took over as Max, sounds wonderful as Max this time around. 
Tim Draxl is doing great as Joe. Great intonation with all the vocal jumps Joe does. A bit much vibrato but maybe that’s first-audience nerves.

Updated On: 5/22/24 at 03:38 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/22/24 at 6:03pm

The audio recording that’s out there is all over the place. You can’t put that toothpaste back in the tube. 

Updated On: 5/22/24 at 06:03 PM

[binau]

Posted: 5/23/24 at 2:10am

That was much faster than expected. I’ve heard With One Look and As If I Never Said Goodbye and my opinion is it’s EXACTLY what you’d expect to hear of an aging Sarah Brightman. I don’t know how anyone could be expecting anything else from her unless you were expecting her to defy laws of biology and physics. She can still sing though. And there is a little bit of subtext to “As if I Never Said Goodbye”.
 

I also think there is no way this will ever been seen or heard outside Australia again with Nicole lingering around - because Nicole is giving one of the greatest stage and vocal performances of all time. So people should enjoy this rare moment while it lasts!

 

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 5/23/24 at 2:33am

This opens tomorrow night ( Friday, so it’s only had three previews and that’s it for the cast to settle in. )  it will be interesting to see if the reviews are kind. 

[Ensemble1716440075]

Posted: 5/23/24 at 5:55am

WHERE are people hearing these clips? Can you please share?

[Lot666]

Posted: 5/23/24 at 7:19am

I hate the way Tim Draxl phrases the words, "Sunset Boulevard".

[Seb28]

Posted: 5/23/24 at 8:08am

BorisTomashevsky said: "Friend who saw it says she’s singing in the Glenn keys."

Friends of mine who saw it say she's singing 4 whole tones higher than the Glenn keys and in head voice.

 

 

Updated On: 5/23/24 at 08:08 AM

[Seb28]

Posted: 5/23/24 at 8:12am

binau said: "because Nicole is giving one of the greatest stage and vocal performances of all time.!"

I disagree with that. It felt posed. Especially her 2 big numbers felt insincere, sloppy, slow, disconnected, with average singing, lacking proper build up and finesse in notes.

 

Updated On: 5/23/24 at 08:12 AM

[MusicalsLive]

Posted: 5/23/24 at 8:59am

Jordan Catalano said: "The audio recording that’s out there is all over the place. You can’tput that toothpaste back in the tube."

Maybe I'm stupid, but where is all over the place? ;-)

[chewy5000]

Posted: 5/23/24 at 10:23am

I’ve just returned from tonight’s performance, and I loved it. An exciting, occasionally bizarre, combination of melodrama and camp.


The production design was impressive, with a good amount of spectacle. I lost track of how many costume changes Norma had. Some interesting choreography choices that stand out a bit too much, especially in the final moments. And ‘The Lady’s Paying’ is a bit of a disaster.

Sarah Brightman dancing the ‘Dance of the Seven Veils’ is worth the price of admission alone, while her ‘As If We Never Said Goodbye’ was probably the highlight of the evening. She sings the entire score in her upper register, which does mean some of the beltier passages unfortunately lose their punch. This ultimately makes her Norma a much softer, less intense character than you might expect, but she still totally commands the stage, and by the final bows pretty much everybody was on their feet. It’s definitely an event.

 

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 5/23/24 at 12:28pm

MusicalsLive said: "Jordan Catalano said: "The audio recording that’s out there is all over the place. You can’tput that toothpaste back in the tube."

Maybe I'm stupid, but where is all over the place? ;-)"

I'm trying to figure out the same thing, if anyone can point me in the right direction.

[singerunlimited]

Posted: 5/24/24 at 11:17am

Bumping this - hoping someone can point us to where these audios might live!

[Huss417]

Posted: 5/24/24 at 1:46pm

rosscoe(au) said: "Jordan, by luck I saw Sarah and Michael’s final “Phantom” performance in New York a lifetime ago, it ranks as one of the highlights of my theatre going life. I hope so she doesn’t disappoint you."

I didnt see Brightman's final that was on June 4 1988 but I was at Crawford's final which was October 8 1988. He was pretty much out most of the week leading up to his final.

I Was on my way to dinner before the Saturday night show and went to the box office to see if he was back in the show as passing someone on the street with a Playbill said he was out of the matinee. Box Office told me he is in the theatre getting into his makeup and will be attempting to go on for his final.

Happy to say he was there but was sicker than a dog. When he was singing Music of the Night his nose was leaking like a sieve. You could also hear it in his voice throughout the performance but it was a truly memorable night.

Updated On: 5/24/24 at 01:46 PM