How good of an actress is Sarah Brightman?

Question

I know Sarah Brightman has a beautiful voice (though I know some will disagree). I was just wondering out of curiosity how good of an actress is she. I know the part of Christine was written for her and she was married to Andrew Lloyd Webber, but I don't know if she got the part because she really deserved it or if he just gave it to her. It would be appreciated if someone could describe her style of acting and post some video clips of her acting. I've check on youtube.com but I can't find anything. I also wanted to know if it would be wise to base my acting style on her's. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

You never want to mention Sarah Brightman in the same sentence as yourself. She is a joke in the theatre/music world.
I'm sorry to say that but it's true. Most don't even like Lloyd Webber. You are your own actor. Period. Good lesson to learn right now. Best to you.

Answer 2

Yogini's right--she is something of a joke in the theatre world.

However, in all fairness to her, that may or may not have any relation to her actual ability. There is a lot of resentment that she got the part because she was married to the composer. The part is not the most demanding, acting-wise--Christine spends a lot of her time emoting wildly--so I don't know that Brightman really needed (or had a chance to demonstrate) any major acting chops. Is it really fair to judge her badly for acting hammily in a really hammy role?

On the other hand, she was very successful in the show, and let's give her some credit for that. Phantom was a major hit on Broadway and in the West End. Christine is a demanding part, vocally and physically if not emotionally--it requires an actress with a big range and who can dance en pointe and who has a lot of stamina--and those are acting skills just as important as the ability to rattle off a page of witty repartee. I don't know if the woman could tackle Shakespeare, but she helped carry a huge show and that is an accomplishment, regardless of who she married.

You can see her act a bit in any of her PBS specials, "Harem," "Live from Las Vegas," and one or two others whose names escape me. She is very melodramatic in these. Then again, in those concerts (just like Phantom), melodrama is called for and appropriate.

I also used to own a VHS tape called "The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber," which was a collection of the music videos made for the various singles that came out of his shows. Sarah Brightman sang several that were not Phantom songs, and I thought she did them really well. She had grown up a bit since Phantom, and while she didn't have any dialogue in any of the videos, her acting while singing was really quite mature and lovely. Much toned-down from anything else I'd seen her do.

Should you base your acting style on her? Gosh, why would you? Unless you're a highly-paid concert star with way too much eye shadow on, I think her style's going to be a bit much. If you see a trick or two of hers that you like, go ahead and steal it. But your acting should be about you, not about anybody else. Try to imagine what YOU would do and how you would act when faced with your character's circumstances, and don't worry about how another actress would do it.

Answer 3

Well, in Phantom of the Opera her part was written for her singing voice. She has an incredible range and I think she's very talented. However, umm her acting isn't quite that good, but her singing makes up for it and she is 20 times better than Emmy Rossum. I've posted a link below...it makes me cringe! :)
Andrew Lloyd Webber is my favourite composer and his musicals are wonderful. He married Sarah Brightman...but it didn't last very long otherwise they would have made a film with her and Michael Crawford * grinds teeth* rather than the pants movie they made a couple of years ago.