Musicals Blog

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.