My first post on BWW - but for whatever reason, this prompted me to respond.
I was at the Philly concert, and when I started hearing them play the Gypsy music as a segue, I was intrigued ... even whispering out loud, "Oh, she's gonna do that?!" Audience members next to me seemed more into her pop stuff, but I was def into the Broadway angle.
Anyway, agree with posters that this was not the finest moment of her show. She did forget a lyric and, yes, she was a bit raspy on and off all night. (She was drinking tea on stage and press reported she had a cold a few days before.)
It was also clearly the first show, as there were a few missed cues and some forgotten lines in some of the bits with the guest stars (Il Volo, Chris Botti, etc).
Having just seen Patti at 54 Below, I still think she is Mama Rose for me, but Babs was ok, just ok.
Gypsy aside - the concert overall was actually quite fulfilling.
Even though she was occasionally ragged, there were many moments of awesome where she sounded incredible (SPOILER ALERT now)
Highlights were the tribute to Marvin Hamlisch, her duet with her son (!), and then "People." Being up there with her son really seemed to relax her, and some of the finest moments were in Act II. I didn't like the segue from Gypsy into the end of "Don't Rain on My Parade," which seemed abrupt.
She closed with "Make Your Garden Grow," which is one of my favorites and the melody alone always makes me cry. Streisand is no Barbara Cook, but with the backing of a choir and her other guest artists, she pulled it off nicely.
For those going in Brooklyn, I think you will enjoy. (Some speculated that she might have been holding back in Philly to save her voice....so she might be even better.)
Updated On: 10/11/12 at 11:09 AM
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