Editorial: Barbra, Encore!
October
2006
In
the fall of 2000, it was presumed that Barbra Streisand was about to
enter formal retirement. Barbra, with a little help from media pundits,
had somehow convinced us that "Timeless" was to be her swan song, and
that we were never going to see her perform live again. Oh, how wrong
everyone was!
On September 28, 2000, a
pall of sadness drifted over Madison Square Garden at approximately 10:45
PM. Barbra Streisand had just received an extended standing ovation, and
she was crying. The tribute of love and admiration from 20,000 of her most
ardent New York fans may have caught Barbra by surprise, but not those of
us sitting in the cavernous arena. As Barbra sang the words to her most
famous signature song, we all collectively realized how truly prophetic
those thirty-six year old lyrics turned out to be. We were, without
question, the luckiest people to have been on hand for Barbra Streisand's
farewell performance. As the big red curtain of "Timeless" came down for
the last time, we left the Garden with mixed emotions. The euphoria of
having just witnessed a live Streisand concert was counterpoised with the
sobering realization that it will never happen again. Barbra was, by all
accounts, going to finally retire from the performance stage. She told us
so herself, and so did every television news broadcast around the country
that night. Sadly, the end of an era had arrived.
Or so we thought. Barbra
reemerges on the stage in just a few short days, and her music will
flourish once more as she travels the North American continent with a
brand new show, the most ambitious concert tour of her career. Barbra must
have realized that the gift she possesses is too precious to lock away.
After decades on the entertainment scene, she is still a singer without
parallel. So her microphone has come out of mothballs one more time, and
we couldn't be more delighted. Besides, this time around, her concerts
will have a direct financial impact on organizations that desperately need
her support to proffer a better future for all mankind.
People who need people. What better reason for an encore. |
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