Saratoga News

Photograph by Pat Kirk

Saratoga brothers Alex (left) and Jesse Brightman look forward to a bright future in the acting world.

Saratoga brothers both bitten by the acting bug

By Suzy Ramirez

Brothers, best friends and actors, Alex and Jesse Brightman of Saratoga are taking the theater world by storm with their current summer productions and "love affair" with acting in the San Jose Children's Musical Theater.

Alex, 10, just completed a stint during the week of July 25-Aug. 3 as young Tommy in The Who's Tommy, a Tony Award-winning rock opera set during World War II.

Brother Jesse, 9, is currently acting and singing as the Beast in a musical version of the classic fairytale Beauty and the Beast Aug. 7-10.

In Tommy, Captain Walker is called to serve in the war and returns home four years later to his son Tommy. The son soon witnesses the death of his mother's boyfriend--shot by Captain Walker--and becomes deaf, mute and blind in response to the shock. Tommy surprisingly finds a passion for pinball and becomes a pinball wizard.

Alex, who portrays Tommy at ages 6 and 10, describes the part as requiring a lot of focus and concentration on "nothing."

A star was born when Alex saw his first Broadway show, Cats, three years ago. "After the show I thought I totally wanted to do this, and went to my mom and said, 'I want to act, I want to act,' " Alex says.

Melissa Brightman, Alex and Jesse's mom, stumbled onto the San Jose Children's Musical Theater, and Alex was soon cast as Tiny Tim in his first production, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

Since his big break, Alex has been cast in numerous theater productions including Cabaret with Theaterworks in Palo Alto. He will also star as Jacob in a Lucasfilm-subsidiary production titled Face. He is currently waiting to hear about a role as actor George Clooney's son in a major motion picture.

Alex exhibits a mature attitude about the roles outside the children's theater that he might not get. "I think everything is just a learning experience," he says. "I am never really disappointed."

Jesse, destined to follow in his brother's footsteps, made friends at Alex's rehearsals and caught the acting bug. The younger brother is quiet and a little reserved--until he is on stage and singing one of the Beast's musical numbers, "One Day," in which he laments the hideous features of the former prince.

To say Jesse was excited when he discovered he had the part of the Beast, his first starring role, might be an understatement. "He screamed in the car the whole way home," Alex recalls with a laugh.

A fan of Grease and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Jesse loves to sing and hopes his future includes the theater, especially musicals on Broadway.

The San Jose Children's Musical Theater is the largest musical theater for youth in the nation. During the Brightman brothers' two-year stint with the theater, Alex and Jesse have performed together in musical productions of The Emperor's New Clothes, Sleeping Beauty and Three and a Half Musketeers.

The brothers also attend a singing, acting and dancing camp called the Conservatory of Performing Arts (COPA) together.

Ian Leonard, a director with the San Jose Children's Musical Theater, worked with both Alex and Jesse in The Emperor's New Clothes. He describes the differences between the siblings: Alex is outgoing, while Jesse is more reserved--until they get on stage. "Then Jesse becomes the Beast," Leonard says with a smile.

"You never see the competition aspect of brothers between them," Leonard says. "Alex and Jesse are so different in their mannerisms and sense of humor, but they interact better than any brothers I've ever seen."

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