Review #2: The American Pops Orchestra Presents ‘Don’t Rain On My Parade: 75 Years Of Streisand’ at Lisner Auditorium

by  on January 16, 2017​

8-track tape: It’s the only medium of Barbra Streisand recordings that I do not own. LP, cassette, VHS, CD, DVD, mp3, mp4 … I have purchased some of Streisand’s work in two or three (for some movie content, maybe four) formats. As Streisand aficionados know, every new medium might bring some infinitesimal sound difference worth another purchase.

On Friday night, the American Pops Orchestra celebrated Barbra Streisand, an undisputed legend of American popular music, on the occasion of her upcoming 75th birthday in April. The overture interwove selections from Streisand’s vast, six-decade span of critically-acclaimed and award-winning vocal artistry — beautiful melodies which evoked memories of her unforgettable performances on stage, motion picture, television, and live in concert.

Fran Drescher. Photo courtesy of her facebook page.

Following the overture, the host of the evening, Fran Drescher, appeared to enthusiastic applause and cheers. She was a total knockout  — The Woman in Red — gorgeous, ravishing, glamorous and every bit as dazzling was her warm, welcoming smile. She opened with her trademark brand of self-deprecating humor and the audience was in the palm of her hand for the duration of the show. In addition to introducing the performers and their songs, Drescher spoke of her admiration for Streisand’s varied career as singer, actor, writer, director, producer, composer and, especially, as social activist and philanthropist. In Drescher’s long-running sitcom, The Nanny, her character Fran Fine was a major fan. Both stars are active advocates for women’s health, for example, the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and Drescher’s Cancer Schmancer Movement.

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