One thing we can all agree on regarding Barbra Streisand; she provokes strong reactions. Or, she used to. I don't think Millennials or Generation X and Y completely understand what Streisand was like when she was a central part of the American cultural conversation.
In the 1960's and 70's, she was in many ways a kind of star the world had not seen before. And, as she pushed the limits of that stardom, she paid a price. Fairly or unfairly, she came to be seen by her detractors as a person especially crazed by vanity, even by the standards of show business. But, for others, she was and still is the person who refused to be marginalized and in that light, she becomes a hero.
GUESTS:
- Jacques Lamarre - Playwright and Director of Communication and Special Events at the Mark Twain House and Museum
- Tracey Moore - Associate professor of Theater at the Hartt School of Music at University of Hartford. She’s the author of Acting the Song: Performance Skills for the Musical Theatre
- Thomas Santopietro - Author of five books including The Importance of Being Barbra and most recently, The Sound of Music Story. He's been a manager for over 30 Broadway shows, including Phantom of the Opera.
- Jonathan Tolins - Playwright and the author of Buyer & Cellar, currently at TheaterWorks through February 14. He’s also adapting Grease: Live with Robert Cary for Fox TV on January 31
MUSIC:
- "A Piece of Sky" - from Yentl (1983)
- "I Have Dreamed/We Kiss In a Shadow/Something Wonderful" - from The Broadway Album (1985)
- "A Simple Man" - from Butterfly - 1974
- "Stoney End" - Barbra Streisand
- "Stoney End" - Beth Nielson Chapman
- "Evergreen" - Love theme from "A Star Is Born"
- "A Sleeping Bee" - sung by Barbra in 1961 on the Jack Paar Show
You can join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.
