We have just flipped the page on the New Year, but now's a good time to start thinking about why it's more important than ever to keep a close eye on Barbra Streisand in 2012. As we've reported before, 2012 is being celebrated as the official 50th anniversary of Barbra Streisand's career, although she had been singing in clubs like the Bon Soir in 1961.
But it was March 22, 1962 when Barbra Streisand stopped the show -- "I Can Get It for You Wholesale" -- on opening night at the Shubert Theatre and went from quirky girl singer to Broadway star.
However, that was yesteryear; what about today…and tomorrow? Let’s look forward, starting with what we know will happen in Streisand world in 2012:
Back On the Silver Screen: "My Mother's Curse"
Barbra Streisand returns to the big screen in a starring role -- name above the title -- with costar Seth Rogen in the comedy “My Mother’s Curse.” The two will be playing mother and son in a road-trip/relationship romp from screenwriter Dan Fogelman ("Crazy Stupid Love") with Anne Fletcher ("The Proposal") directing.
The word from fans that have gotten into test screenings -- there have been six that we know about -- has been very positive. In fact, the quality of Fletcher’s final cut was so good that the movie's release was changed from March to November 2; Paramount thinks the film is too good for a March release. Moving it to the holiday season is a sign that they think it’s a hit.
There hasn't been a lot of publicity about "My Mother's Curse," but Barbra had an interview for UK radio – with lyricist Don Black – where she mentioned that the movie was very funny and also had some poignant moments. While promoting his film "50/50," Seth Rogen was also encouraged by what he’d seen.
"We actually worked very well together, I think. [Barbra] was really into us being like a comedy team. Like she really embraced the idea that this was a buddy comedy with a mother and son. So we really worked on the scenes and how we could both be funny and how we could kind of interact, how we could bicker with each other in a funny kind of way…there's a lot of bickering in the movie, a lot of us getting annoyed with each other. It was great. I had a great time working with her."
Read All About It: "Barbra: A Retrospective"
Coming February 7, 2012, a new book about Barbra Streisand’s career from author Allegra Rossi. "Barbra: A Retrospective" is described by the publisher as follows: "A lavish tribute to perhaps the world's most beloved and enduring star: the incomparable actress, director, and diva, Barbra Streisand. …This large-format, fully illustrated book celebrates her uniquely brilliant career with hundreds of rarely published photographs, album artwork, memorabilia, annotated lists, and special in-depth features on everything from her trend-setting style to her transcendent voice."
Ms. Rossi lives in England, so it might be interesting to assess her analysis of Barbra from the other side of the Atlantic, especially since Streisand is very beloved in England. For instance, did you know that when "Love Is the Answer" was number one in America, it reached the same lofty top of the charts in the UK? It's true. Barbra’s had a bunch of chart-toppers in Great Britain.
Read All About It, Too: "Hello, Gorgeous"
In the fall of this year, there’ll be another new book about Barbra called "Hello, Gorgeous." Author William Mann's biography of Barbra Streisand, to be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, is unlike other bios. Instead of trying to cover the length and breadth of Barbra's incredible career, Mann's just covering the 1960s -- from the early days when Barbra was a struggling actress in Greenwich Village who used her voice to get noticed to "A Happening in Central Park" when all of New York City was at her feet for a free concert on June 17, 1967. Believe me, it’s no easy task covering Barbra’s entire career; I remember well trying to get it all into “The Barbra Streisand Scrapbook.”
There's reason to hope that Mann’s book will be something special. His previous book was "Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn." And perhaps even more important, the publisher wants to celebrate Barbra's 50th anniversary in show business.
George Hodgman, senior editor at Houghton, said in a press release, “All of Streisandia, of which I am a founding resident, has been waiting for the real, class-act Barbra bio. William Mann has set out to do nothing less than a book that will stand the test of time as the definitive record and truly a portrait of an artist.”
From the Vaults: More Music
For years we’ve been expecting Columbia Records' new boxed set of Barbra music from the vault, and it will be out in 2012. No date has been set, but it’s likely the fall.
The title may be "Release Me," but that might have just been a working title and Barbra may have some other appellation for a collection of never-before-released on CD material. Fans have speculated about rare recordings, B-sides, live sessions…
If it's anything like 1991's "Just For the Record" -- the four-CD set that revealed gems like "When You Gotta Go/In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," "We've Only Just Begun" and "Warm All Over" -- we're in for a treat.
What We Don't Know…Yet
Well, today as January is just commencing, these are the things we know for sure. But you just know there are things in the works that have yet to be revealed.
- Since this is the 50th anniversary, it's the perfect time for Streisand rarities from the video vault to be released, just like the “Release Me” set. Just imagine, clean, clear DVDs of… "Stars Salute Israel," "The Burt Bacharach Show," "Funny Girl to Funny Lady"…not to mention the movie documentaries, "A Film Is Born" ("Yentl") and "With One More Look At You" ("A Star Is Born"). I'll be disappointed if some of these items are not eventually freed for the fans to enjoy.
- "Gypsy" …Will she or won't she? Barbra's made some references to doing a new film adaptation of the Jule Styne-Stephen Sondheim musical. Barbra has envisioned making the classic Broadway show the bookend to her movie musical career; the career that kicked off with her Oscar-winning turn in "Funny Girl." That was also a Jule Styne score -- including songs like "Everything's Coming Up Roses," "Some People," "Small World" and "Let Me Entertain You" -- and it was also written by Arthur Laurents, the man who penned "The Way We Were" and directed Barbra on Broadway in "Wholesale." Before Laurents' death last May, he was actively talking with Barbra about "Gypsy" and she'd been looking forward to working with him again. Hmm…couldn't you see Barbra filming "Gypsy" in 2012 as a follow up to "My Mother's Curse"? And couldn't you see the film dedicated to the memory of Arthur Laurents?
One thing I will suggest for sure; Barbra has looked too good and too vibrant in recently appearances to not be getting ready for some major project. If not "Gypsy," could she tour again? And with her 70th birthday coming up on April 24, 2012, if not now, when?
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