Main Menu

HOME PAGE
Barbra, Live!
Features
News
Editorials
Reviews
Photo Galleries
Clippings
On Location
People
Streisand History
Visit Our Friends
E-Mail

 

See Also

Fanny Brice at The Winter Garden
50th Anniversary for Wholesale

On Location

New York
   

Broadway
 
There's a whole lot of Streisand history within just a few short blocks of midtown Manhattan. That's the neighborhood where Barbra made numerous appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show (and a surprise appearance in 1991 on The David Letterman Show in the same theatre).    

Barbra's biggest New York triumph happened right across the street at The Winter Garden Theatre where she starred in "Funny Girl" on Broadway.
   
   
Shubert Theatre - 225 W. 44 St.
Then and Now
Barbra' made Broadway history in 1962 in a small but universally acclaimed role in "I Can Get It For You Wholesale."  She played the part of Miss Marmelstein and stopped the show each night as she rolled onstage for her solo number. 


 The Shubert Theatre marquee in 1962 and in 2004
The Shubert Theatre, where Barbra made her Broadway debut, is perhaps Broadway's most well known house.  It continues to be the home of smash hit musicals.  In recent years, Streisand-pal Marvin Hamlisch won a Pulitzer Prize for "A Chorus Line," whose roots were firmly planted at The Shubert for many years.  At the time of its closing, "A Chorus Line" set a record as Broadway's longest running show.
The theatre's stage door in Shubert Alley (1962)
More recently, the hit "Chicago" found a home at The Shubert.  And a few years ago, theatergoers were enjoying another big time Broadway smash, "Gypsy," whose collaborator Arthur Laurents also wrote "Wholesale."  Recently, visitors to this venerable Broadway house will enjoy the antics of the Tony winning musical, Spamalot.
 
Winter Garden Theatre - 1634 Broadway

Then and Now
Barbra's home away from home during 1964 and 1965 was The Winter Garden Theatre. She carved out the beginnings of a legendary career eight times a week, playing to packed houses in the role of Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl."


The Winter Garden in 1964

Fanny Brice, the legendary comedienne herself, performed at the Winter Garden, too. She was the headliner for the 1934 and 1936 editions of "The Ziegfeld Follies."


The Winter Garden in 1936
Today, The Winter Garden remains one of Broadway's most vital houses, big enough to accommodate large scale musicals.  Recently, "Cats" ended an unprecedented 18 year run at the Winter Garden. Today, you can enjoy the music of ABBA in the Broadway smash hit, "Mamma Mia!".
The Winter Garden in 2003
 
"Fabulous Winter Garden" ... A Fan Remembers Funny Girl

 Aug. 3, 2011 - Janice Mahon, one of our web site visitors from Maryland told us about the time she saw Barbra in "Funny Girl" at the Winter Garden. The year was 1964. Here's her story:
 
"The first time I heard the wonderful Barbra, I immediately purchased her first album. I was hooked. I told my great aunt that we had to see Funny Girl. We took the subway over to Manhattan, stood in the rain, purchased matinee tickets for the following Saturday. $9.00!!

"We took our seats. I was on fire. I was only 20 years old, the anticipation was making me nuts. The curtain went up and there she was. An unintentional funny scene was during the Henry Street number. Fanny, sitting there, trying to light a cigarette and the match would not light. Over and over she struck another match, no go. The audience was in stitches and gave her a round of applause.

"Fabulous Winter Garden Theater. It was raining when we got out, but I was in sheer heaven, and I have been all these years. Barbra is an American treasure."
 
   

Cort Theatre - 138 W. 48 St.
Then and Now

  
Way back in 1956, Barbra attended her first Broadway show at the Cort Theatre on W. 48 St. The play was "The Diary of Anne Frank" and starred Susan Strasberg and Joseph Shildkraut.

The man who directed the first Broadway show Barbra ever saw, and later, the first Broadway show she would star in, was the same. Garson Kanin directed both "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "Funny Girl."

Barbra Returns to Cort
On May 11, 2010, Barbra returned to the Cort Theatre with pal Donna Karen to see a performance of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize winning drama "Fences."  The play stars Denzel Washington in a show the New York Post calls "a dramatic home run."
 
 
Ed Sullivan Theatre - 1697 Broadway
Then and Now
 Barbra created her first four television specials in New York city. The concert sequence of "My Name Is Barbra" was taped at the CBS television studio that is now known as The Ed Sullivan Theatre on Broadway. Members of Barbra's earliest fan club were invited to the show, providing just the right amount of enthusiasm needed for one of the show's highlight segments.

Prior to "My Name Is Barbra," Barbra made several appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show which were taped at the same studio.
CBS Studios: then ... and now

Today, the CBS television studio is still in full production mode and is now the permanent home of "Late Night With David Letterman." When Letterman moved in, the studio was renamed for Ed Sullivan. In 1994, Barbra made a prodigal return to one of the most important locations of her career. On her way to a performance of "The Concert" at Madison Square Garden, Barbra stopped in on Letterman to offer him tickets to her show.