I think that she could have been a really special stage performer. Listen to her playing Carrie Pipperidge in the studio recording of "Carousel" with Barbara Cook. She's giving a real character performance. Is she the best Carrie ever? No. But, you can hear that the potential was there.
She didn't have the chance to further that potential with "Phantom", however. It's hard to act in those Lloyd-Webber sung-through shows. I know I've done "Aspects." You're too busy trying to remember which bad lyric comes next.
I could have imagined her being an excellent Amalia Balash in "She Loves Me" (and I'm a Barbara Cook fan, keep in mind)
The only concert of hers that I've seen is "Eden".' The only thought that came to my head while watching it was, "Who died and made her CHER?"
"A coherent existance after so many years of muddle" - Desiree' Armfelt, A Little Night Music
"Life keeps happening everyday, Say Yes" - 70, Girls, 70
"Life is what you do while you're waiting to die" - Zorba