Streisand: From Funny Girl To Funny Momma

Superstar Barbra Streisand opened her "Back to Brooklyn" tour with a spectacular concert at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Accompanied by a great orchestra, she belted out in top form many of her old hits such as "The Way We Were, which she dedicated to the memory of her frequent collaborator Marvin Hamlisch, and "The Way He Makes Me Feel" from Ynetl. Her voice and cleavage were better than many of the stars, who are half her age, that are currently touring,

On October 11 and 13, she returns to perform for the first time in her hometown of Brooklyn at the Barclays Center for the first time.

We saw a new Barbra on stage tonight- Funny Girl has matured into Funny Momma. Jason Gould, her son by actor Elliot Gould, joined her on stage for his public performance as a singer. She introduced him to her loyal fans with a short movie that he made for her 70^th birthday. It was a beautiful montage of pictures of them together through the years accompanied by his singing a song that he had written.

A star was born last night. He is already being compared to Josh Groban. He more than held his own in a duet of “How Deep Is the Ocean” with his superstar mother. The proud mother sat on the steps kvelling while her son performed solo.

"I will be right over here if you need me, but I know you won't," she said as she sat down.

Streisand was joined on stage by acclaimed trumpeter Chris Botti. She met Botti where all superstars meet.

Barbra said, “I am not one to drop addresses. I kept running into Botti at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House.”

Il Volo, the trio of Italian tenor/studs, are also performing with Barbra. When they exited stage right to great applause, she joked, "Take that Justin Bieber."

One very intimate part of the concert was the Ask Barbra segment. Before the concert, fans could stop by a booth and write down questions for the superstar to answer on stage.

One concertgoer asked what Streisand thought about Romney eliminating Big Bird? At first, she hesitated.

Babs, a longtime Democrat, said, "I love Big Bird. I was not going to talk about politics tonight."

Then she could not resist. "I hope Romney never finds Sesame Street or 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," she said. "How about that debate? Romney sounded like a proper Democrat.”

Streisand ended her concert with a plea to save the planet. She retold one of her favorite proverbs- A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they will never sit in. We need to start planning for our children and grandchildren.

She said, "We are a land of lush forests and blue oceans, but we keep cutting down the trees and polluting the waters."

Offstage, Barbra has been campaigning to fight women’s heart disease. Streisand has donated $10 million to the Cedar-Sinai’s Women’s Heart Center. She has raised more than $10 million from Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Sumner Redstone, Haim and Cheryl Saban, Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Barry Diller and Diane Von Furstenberg, Ricki and Ralph Lauren, and Ron Perelman for the Women’s Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Hospital.

Former President Clinton, who has suffered from heart disease, attended a star studded fundraiser at her Malibu Beach House. Israeli mentalist Lior Suchard, who won a Uri Geller contest, performed. At that event, Cedars-Sinai announced that they were renaming the center in her honor.

Streisand explained why she is fight against women’s heart disease means so much to her. “Why am I here … because I can’t stand inequality…,” she said. “Whether it is about civil rights, gay rights, or gender discrimination.  This was long before I made “Ynetl, which is about a women’s struggle in a man’s world, or the war on women that is being talked about now.

She first learned about the issue when a close male friend was being treated by Dr. Noel Bairey Merz. The doctor was able to reverse his heart disease with open heart surgery.

“I like to think that I am sort of well informed, but I was shocked to learn that heart disease kills more women than all cancers combined and that more women die annually from heart disease,” Streisand said.” Last year, in the United States alone, nearly 500,000 women died from it.”

Yet, most of the research in heart disease is done on men and very little money is allocated to research specifically on women’s heart disease.

Streisand said, “The only message that sends is that even in scientific research, women are still treated as second-class citizens. “That is unacceptable.”

Barbra Streisand "Stunning" at Dress Rehearsal

Sources tell me that Barbra Streisand was "stunning" at her dress rehearsal for Monday's night tour opening performance at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. After rehearing all week at Temple's Liacouras Center, she performed for her 500 of her nearest and dearest for nearly three hours this afternoon. Carole Radziwill of Real Housewives of New York City, former "Biggest Loser" host Caroline Rhea, who described Streisand as "phenomenal," and Pat Ciarocchi of CBS were some of the invited guests. 

Trumpeter Chris Botti and tenor hearthrobs Il Volo accompanied the songstress.

In a poignant moment, she dedicated the song "The Way We Were" to her good friend and frequent collaborator Marvin Hamlisch, who died this year. The diva made 5 costume changes, which included a sequined Brooklyn Dodgers baseball shirt. After opening in Philadelphia, the Brooklyn born star returns home to play at the recently opened Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. 

Jason Gould, her son, performed with her at the dress rehearsal. His proud mother has described him as "having a chamber music orchestra in his vocal chords". She is hoping to record a duet album with him.

Today's performance was his first time singing in public. Monday night's concert in Philadelphia will probably be his public debut. 

There are still a few tickets left for Monday's night concert, which is promising to be unforgettable evening.  This will probably be her last tour as well as her first performing with her son.

My Last Interview with Marvin Hamlisch

I interviewed pianist/composer Marvin Hamlisch last year before his appearance with performer Michael Feinstein at the Kimmel Center. One day, I picked up the phone and Marvin was on the other line from California. He died today at the aged of 68. To honor his memory, I repeat the interview here.

On December 26, Marvin Hamlisch, on the piano, will accompany five time Grammy nominated singer Michael Feinstein in a musical tour of Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley. Rarely has such a talented duo graced the stage at the Kimmel Center. They will perform songs from Hamlisch hits such as “Chorus Line,” “The Way We Were,” and “The Sting.”

With the exception of Richard Rodgers of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Marvin Hamlisch is the only person in the world to have all the major performing arts awards- Oscar, Emmy, Tony,
Grammy, and Pulitzer. In addition, he has won two Golden Globes.

The public listens to his music all the time without realizing it. If you love a movie, Hamlisch probably composed the score. His movie credits include “The Spy Who Loved Me,” “Frankie and Johnny,” and “Ordinary People.” Hamlisch also wrote the score for “Theme for Peabody” for the “David Letterman Show.”

Hamlisch has garnered two Emmy wins for his work as a musical director for Barbra Streisand. 

He says, “Barbra is brilliant. Her great instincts are spot on. Our collaboration works because it was two people working together who know what they are doing.”
 
Hamlisch, who recently wrote the music for “The Informant” starring Matt Damon, described how he got that job after not not composing movie themes for many years. 

“The director Steve Sonderbergh really enjoyed the score from Woody Allen’s “Bananas,” he said. "It apparently stuck with him all these years. He said get me the guy who did that,” said Hamlisch.


Hamlisch, in an attempt to explain his composing process, said, “When I am asked to write a score, I see the movie and feel for the characters and what they are doing on the screen. Other people will talk about their feelings in English. I will talk about them in the language of music."

Thanks to Dafni Comerota of the Kimmel Center for arranging the interview.