Barbra Streisand - Movie Musicals
by Claire J Rottenberg
Since I ended my last theme on composing teams with
"Funny Lady" (Kander & Ebb), I decided it would
be a good idea to review Barbra Streisand's movie
musicals. Although Streisand is known primarily as a
singer and her career started with Broadway musicals,
she has appeared in only five movie musicals, three
of which were her first three films. She has appeared
in at least twice as many non-musical roles.
Streisand started her career in 1962 in the Broadway
musical "I Can Get It for You Wholesale." She made
her mark on critics and audiences with a song in the
show, "Miss Marmelstein," that showcased her unique
talents as a singer and comedienne. Streisand's real
success came, however, two years later when she was
cast as Fanny Brice in the Broadway musical "Funny
Girl." She was perfect in the part and four years
later, she was cast in the movie version.
In 1969, Streisand made her second film musical,
"Hello, Dolly!" This film had a young, 27-year-old
Streisand trying to play a woman twice her age. The
following year, she was cast much more appropriately
as 22-year-old Daisy Gamble in "On a Clear Day You
Can See Forever."
From 1970 until 1975, Streisand starred in five
non-musical films. In 1975, audiences again had the
chance to see her in a musical when she made "Funny
Lady," the sequel to "Funny Girl." It would take
another 8 years for Streisand to make another movie
musical. In 1983, she co-wrote, co-produced,
directed, and starred in "Yentl," her last film
musical.
In the next few posts, I'll profile each of
Streisand's movie musicals, giving information on
each film and my own reviews of the films.