Theatre review: For better or worse, Sunset Boulevard is all about Sarah Brightman

Sunset Boulevard

Base Entertainment Asia
Sands Theatre
Feb 7

Dark and moody, Sunset Boulevard was never going for feel-good vibes. Instead, its forbidding tone and cynical tale of Norma Desmond, a faded silent movie actress in 1949 Hollywood, during the age of talking films, likely invited contemplation on fame, ageing and graciously bowing out when one’s time in the sun is over.

The plot centres on the fragile star’s longing for a return to the big screen and her relationship with a struggling young screenwriter, played by Australian actor Tim Draxl.

Although its music is by famed English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, the show has not been as successful as some of his other creations. The Phantom Of The Opera has been staged here four times and will return for a fifth outing, at Sands Theatre from May 9 to June 1.

Sunset Boulevard, based on the 1950 film of the same name, was first performed in London’s West End in 1993. Despite featuring lavish costumes and a spectacular Spanish Gothic Revival-influenced set, this is the first time it is being performed in Singapore and Asia.

Perhaps it is because of the musical’s few memorable numbers. During showcases of Lloyd Webber’s music, only the title track, With One Look and As If We Never Said Goodbye are typically included.

The main draw of this production, it seems, is Sarah Brightman as Norma. Yet, it is not for this role that the legendary English soprano is known for, but as Christine Daae in The Phantom Of The Opera, which she played on West End and Broadway during the late 1980s.

From 1984 to 1990, Brightman was also married to Lloyd Webber.

Sadly, audiences here never got to see her play Christine, an ingenue and the love interest of the Phantom. But many heard her beautiful operatic voice via cassette tapes or CDs of the original cast recordings, as did this reviewer.

So, for many people, watching Sunset Boulevard is about seeing Brightman in the flesh and ticking it off their bucket list. Even if it is not her finest work. And, yes, Brightman is no longer at her peak.

On Sunset Boulevard, her pipes sound like a shell of what they once were. Despite her expressive vibrato standing out on With One Look, and her wistful delivery of As If We Never Said Goodbye, her voice lacks the pristine brightness and velvety flourishes from before.

However, it should be said that Brightman is now 64. From 1993, she had spent three decades away from stage acting, before returning with Sunset Boulevard. Expecting her voice to be as full or sonorous as it was on The Phantom Of The Opera CD might not be fair.

Her current vocal state seems a shadow of her past glory, and with an added tinge of pain and loss. However, it gives her performance a dark, self-referential quality, which may or may not have been intentional.

In interviews, Brightman has clarified that she is not Norma, and the character was an amalgamation of actors who did not make it into the world of talking films. Yet, it cannot be denied that, like her onstage character, Brightman is trying to make a comeback.

So, in a strange way, Brightman’s casting here is perfect. And it speaks of an actress’ immense maturity to accept a role seemingly reflective of her own career, and in a musical whose music was penned by her ex-husband. A more sensitive thespian might not have entertained the thought of being compared with one’s past self so directly.

But Brightman seems to have accepted her decline, acknowledged it and used it to colour a character whose situation mirrors her own.

It is clear she is no longer Christine. For better or worse, she is now Norma Desmond. And that is okay.

Book It/Sunset Boulevard

Where: Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue
When: Until Feb 23, 8pm (Tuesdays to Saturdays); 1pm (Sundays)
Admission: $88 to $258 via Marina Bay Sands (

str.sg/sdEb

) and Sistic (call 6348-5555 or go to

www.sistic.com.sg

)