Big guns come out for Babs
MALIBU, CALIF. Sometimes, even Barbra Streisand needs a little help from her friends.
The 74-year-old stage and screen legend decided early that her 36th studio album would feature Broadway duets. So she called on some of her friends and favourite actors, including Anne Hathaway, Daisy Ridley, Hugh Jackman, Chris Pine and Bradley Cooper, to bring her vision to life.
The result, Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway, is a quirky mix of surprising and entertaining collaborations pulled from hit musicals like My Fair Lady and A Chorus Line, as well more obscure productions such as Evening Primrose and Smile.
Despite the group effort, the album — out Friday — is still authentically Streisand.
In a recent interview at the Malibu studio where she recorded Encore, Streisand delved into her directing process with some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
BALDWIN CAME READY TO PLAY
Streisand admitted some stars took a little persuading. Alec Baldwin, for example, feared he didn’t have the vocal chops.
“And I said, ‘You’re a personality and it’s perfect for the song,’ ” she said of her early conversations with the 30 Rock actor. “Will you try with me? Because if it’s really terrible we won’t use it.”
Luckily he agreed and the outcome is the cheeky, romantic duet, The Best Thing That Ever Has Happened, from Stephen Sondheim’s lesser-known musical Road Show.
“It’s hard work getting the notes right for people who are not singers, but I know they can act their way through it. They’ll get it and that’s the fun of doing this kind of project,” Streisand said.
FUNNY GIRLS UNITE
Streisand wanted a new twist on the classic Anything You Can Do, from Broadway’s Annie Get Your Gun. So the Funny Girl star tapped fellow funny lady Melissa McCarthy to reimagine the song as comedic banter.
“When I approached Melissa, the first thing she said to me was, ‘I can’t sing you know’ and so she’s a little bit tone deaf. But she compensates with so much personality and so much laughter and so much spontaneity.”
WILLY WONKA REIMAGINED
“When I was a child, I had imagination. I lived in Brooklyn, N.Y. You know, I slept in the living room. But I imagined myself as somebody, as having something worthwhile to be noticed and somehow I manifested it. So I know anything is possible.”
This was the idea behind her heartfelt duet, Pure Imagination, from the 1971 film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Streisand teamed with actorfilmmaker Seth MacFarlane for the dreamy ballad and penned a spoken-word introduction about imagination she hoped will resonate with modern audiences.
FOXX FOR THE FINISH
Streisand had confidence Jamie Foxx would rise to the challenge of performing one of Broadway’s most-beloved songs: Climb Ev’ry Mountain from The Sound of Music.
“I did because I saw him get an Academy Award for playing Ray Charles. So I know he can sing,” she said. “His soulfulness, his great voice. … He was able to sing it in one session, you know. I mean he’s that good. So I was thrilled. I was thrilled to sing with him.”
Streisand closes the album with the soulful, moving duet, which she said is about “having dreams and taking chances.”