Barbra Streisand in her Splendor
Legendary singer, Barbra Streisand, returns to her hometown of Brooklyn tonight to perform the first of two sold-out concerts at the new Barclays Center. After a run-through of the show last week at Temple University in Philadelphia for friends and family, it was evident that nothing has been left to chance.
“Every single word she utters is in the teleprompter”, an insider who attended the rehearsal told me. “Not just the lyrics to all her songs, but also all the banter between the songs is scripted. It was surprising that when she introduces her son, who comes on stage to sing a duet with his her, even that was in the teleprompter.”
After forgetting the lyrics to a song during a concert in New York City’s Central Park in 1967, Streisand started using teleprompters to make sure it never happened again. In an interview in 2006 with Oprah Winfrey, she revealed that she had also begun taking anti-anxiety medication in a bid to control her stage fright.
“Her exchange with son, Jason Gould, is scripted but charming. She invites him onto the stage and offers him tea or water,” said the insider. She opens the show with the Andrew Lloyd Webber song “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from “Sunset Boulevard”. She makes it personal and changes some of the words and references Brooklyn. At the rehearsal, she made several costume changes and had trouble walking in a few frocks. That will be fixed. Barbra Streisand is a true professional and pays attention to every detail. She will make sure the stool she uses on stage is a little higher for tonight. All in all, at the end of the day, she sounded better than ever.
Barbra Streisand is a perfectionist – using the Teleprompter helps her accomplish her goals.
