I was trying to think of a good title to this blog entry as it is the first time that I will wax poetic about my ultimate favorite musical artist. I remembered Miss Marmelstein, one of Streisand’s earlier ditties and incidentally was also her debut role in Broadway’s 1962 show I Can Get It For You Wholesale, where her secretary character spoke of why do people just call her Miss Marmelstein and not address her affectionately or admiringly. But then how else can you describe a great artist, surely there are not enough words, so I will opt for the plain and simple, Miss Barbra Streisand.
If you’ve known me a long time then you know how much I love this lady. So it shouldnt come as a shock to you that I got a ticket for her upcoming gig in London – at the face value ticket price of £500. Plus £22.50 processing fee. Mention Barbra Streisand within an earshot and you will see my face glow, my pulse begin to race, my undivided attention solidly fixed on you. I have only really admired one single artist, the rest I might have listened to over the years were really just blah, but the be all and end all to me as unique and pure talent is only Miss Streisand.
I was an awkward teenager at 13 who was just recovering from what I thought was the end of the Star Wars movies, when my uncle took me to the cinema to watch an actress called Barbra Streisand in what I thought was an obscure film called Yentl. It was love at first sight. I loved the movie, and I loved the songs, most of all I loved her. But I couldnt afford to get her albums so I had to wait until I was 16 to get hold of a few of her cassette tapes. The rest is history.
I have had marathons of her old films, laughed silly as I saw her in Funny Girl, bawled like a baby after watching The Way We Were, and devoured every single album I could get my grubby hands on. Still that elusive dream of seeing her perform live beckoned. It was not until she made a comeback concert after 20 years in 1994’s Barbra Streisand: The Concert which happily enough I got to watch via video. So there was still hope that my dream will come true now that she has performed as well in 1999’s Timeless, and when she embarked on a successful US concert series in 2006 that is now coming in my neck of the woods. To finally see her perform is just within my reach now come July 22, when I will eventually experience the greatness and magnitude of that one true star whose shine will never fade, that of Miss Barbra Streisand.
