Duet album authentically Streisand
MALIBU, California — Sometimes even Barbra Streisand needs a little help from her friends.
The 74-year-old stage and screen legend decided early on 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 such as 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.
“Records I have control over,” said Streisand, who was hands-on with every aspect, from song conception to directing each performance.
“That’s what I cared about as a young performer as well. I didn’t know about what salary it was,” she recalled. “I cared about creative control. That nobody can tell me what to sing or force me to sing or album cover design or anything that had to do with my creativity. It had to feel right to me.”
In a recent interview at the oceanside Malibu, California, studio where she recorded Encore, Streisand delved into her directing process with some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
Streisand admitted that 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. Will you experiment with me? Will you play with me?”
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.
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 between showbiz frenemies.
“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,” Streisand said. “But she compensates with so much personality and so much laughter.”
Streisand recalled how McCarthy struggled to hit some of the notes, but other times she nailed it.
“There are moments she sings and I go: ‘Melissa that was fantastic! You sang that beautifully!’ And she surprises herself,” she said.
“When I was a child I had imagination. I lived in Brooklyn. 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,” said Streisand.
This was the idea behind her duet, Pure Imagination, from the 1971 film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Streisand teamed with actor-filmmaker Seth MacFarlane for the dreamy ballad and penned a spoken-word introduction about imagination she hopes will resonate with modern audiences.
“The divisiveness, the violence, these are very sad times,” she said. “I just believe in the power of whatever it is — faith, prayer, visualization … who knows what that can manifest?”