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A SUPREME TALENT
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Although she gained fame performing material rooted in the American musical theater, she was unafraid to push the boundaries of her style and art. By the early 1970s, she was recording songs by Carole King and Laura Nyro, aiming for acceptance in a Top 40 radio milieu that had immutably changed. She wasn't yet as vociferously political as in later years, but even a love story like THE WAY WE WERE carried a strong message in its midcentury story and setting.
Streisand continued to leap from strength to strength as the decade progressed. Her 1975 film FUNNY LADY, the sequel to FUNNY GIRL, was a hit, and A STAR IS BORN (1976) an even bigger one. That movie's love theme, "Evergreen," which she cowrote and composed, won the Academy Award® for best original song and was her second single to reach #1 on the BILLBOARD charts. She continued to tackle mainstream pop with aplomb, scoring further smashes with Neil Diamond and Donna Summer and showcasing the work of young songwriters like Rupert Holmes. A 1980 collaboration with Bee Gee Barry Gibb on the album GUILTY netted even larger musical success.
She ventured into ever greater frontiers in the 1980s, becoming a formidable director and producer, starting with the deeply personal YENTL, which she also wrote, and continuing with NUTS, THE PRINCE OF TIDES, and THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES. The movies and records didn't come at quite the same frequent pace as she had worked for most of her career, but when they did appear, Streisand's stamp was hard to miss. (Maybe even more personal was her return to musical theater repertoire on 1985's BROADWAY ALBUM and the later BACK TO BROADWAY.) There was the inevitable CD boxed set and a rare guest appearance on James Lipton's INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO series.
Streisand continued to make new art, though, and to retain a strongly partisan political voice. Without dwelling too heavily on the past, it's good to return to the early days. MY NAME IS BARBRA captures a unique, multifaceted talent in a revealing, honest setting. The crispness you see and hear isn't just the result of digital remastering; it's the snap and pop of sparks flying. In this missive from early in her career, a woman issues notice of just how much she can do and gives at least a hint of just how far she can go. I mean, she says, to shine.
Top banner photos: Barbra Streisand FROM MY NAME IS BARBRA (center photo: CBS Photo Archive). |
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Streisand was only 23 when she starred in this special. |
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The sailor dress she wore was auctioned for charity in 2004. |
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The DVD, VHS, and CD are available from Amazon.com. |
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