INTERVIEW: ‘Simply Barbra’ comes to Rockwell in Los Angeles
No one will rain on Steven Brinberg’s parade. The singer and actor portrays Barbra Streisand in Simply Barbra, a show he has been performing in for more than a decade. The accomplished impressionist will bring the live-music show Tuesday, June 13 to Rockwell Table & Stage in Los Angeles. He also has a July 8 engagement at The Rrazz Room in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and an October show at Martini’s Above Fourth in San Diego.
The show is a loving tribute to the iconic singer, and fans can expect to hear all of the hit tunes plus some rarities from the back catalog.
Recently, Brinberg spoke with Hollywood Soapbox about Simply Barbra and his love for the famous singer. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
On what fans can expect at Simply Barbra …
“Well, it’s kind of like going to see a Barbra Streisand concert if it were not in some gigantic arena and on a more intimate scale, so I sing all of the songs that you know that she does. But I also do songs that she hasn’t done, and … somebody once described it as a loving satire, which sounds like an oxymoron. In a way, it’s poking fun at her a little bit, but it’s also very reverent and respectful. And anyone who loves Barbra, I think, will get a lot out of it, but even if they just knew who she is, they’ll get a lot out of it, too, because it’s just fun. And it’s got a lot of great music.”
On how the show changes year to year …
“It’s always changing, so from the first time I did the show, it’s just updated all the time. I mean, every show always has ‘People’ and ‘Evergreen’ and a few of the core standards, ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade,’ that people expect. … And yet I could always pull from the oldest albums, so the very first show that I did, I started with the first song on her first album. And now I open with a song from the movie On a Clear Day. That’s the most fun part for me, that it changes all the time, so it’s never really exactly the same show twice. It keeps it fresh, and for people that come back to see it again, that’s always nice.”
On working with composer Marvin Hamlisch …
“I did for about 11 years off and on. He would have these big symphony concerts across the country, and I was the special guest. And he would bring me out as if it were her. So he would be saying, ‘I can’t play this song without thinking of somebody.’ And he starts to play ‘The Way We Were,’ and you hear me off-stage [hums the opening notes]. He would look around like, oh, my God, and it was great. We were everywhere. We were in Milwaukee, and Oklahoma City, and the Kennedy Center and Pittsburgh, and it was just a great experience. And he was a wonderful person. I really got to know him — great guy, great experience.”
On whether he prefers impersonation, impression or interpretation …
“Most people don’t like impersonation because that sort of sounds like something different. I like impression. [Siân Phillips] actually called me an interpreter, which I thought was great. I think of myself as an actor, and this is just a part that I’ve been playing for a really long time. I always say, I’d never get dressed up like that to vacuum. It’s just what I wear on the stage, and I’ve done some shows lately where halfway through the show, I change back into me. And then I can talk about my life traveling as Barbra, and then I get to do my other voices without being in Barbra’s costumes. Though I do my other voices in all the shows anyway, whether I change or not. I have little snippets of everyone from Bea Arthur to Julie Andrews to Cher, Lena Horne. I can manipulate my voice pretty well as other people. It’s a strange gift.”
On performing for celebrities …
“I performed at a party, and Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas were there, and Joan Rivers, she was wonderful. And then a lot of stars would just come to see the show, like Liza Minnelli, and [Stephen] Sondheim and people like that, and they’re all so great and so nice. I was a star-struck kid, but as I’ve gotten to meet and work with some of these people, it’s really kind of wonderful to see most of them are just pretty down to earth and like anybody else, just that they’re famous. I mean, I’ve met so many people close to Barbra, so I almost kind of feel like I have met her already. But I’m still waiting for that day. I’m sure it’ll happen one day.”
On the closest he’s ever been to Streisand …
“Her best friend is Donna Karan, and when Donna had a birthday, Barbra couldn’t be there. So her management sent me to perform for Donna Karan as Barbra, and it was such a great night. … Most people that do her lip-synch first of all, but even some of few live people do it. They just sort of put on a fake nose and cross their eyes, and don’t understand that idea of being so disrespectful. It wouldn’t enter my mind because I’m a big Barbra fan. I always have been, so it’s kind of an honor to play her and to play her with the respect that she deserves.”
On using live music in the show …
“I have different pianists in different cities, so like I was recently in London. And then I was in Toronto, and I was in Mexico. And I actually worked with a different guy in each place, and I almost always have a live pianist because I prefer that. But in some places, you can’t always do it. Like just before I’m in Los Angeles, I’m performing in San Diego at the Del Mar Fair, and it’s outdoors. And it’s huge, so we have to use a disc of tracks. The tracks are fine when it’s a party, or just a couple of songs or an event like that, but I do prefer the live musician because then we can play off each other. And, of course, when I worked with Marvin, we had an 80-piece orchestra, which singing with that is like being shot out of a cannon. It’s just amazing, really wonderful. I mean, I play the piano myself, so I’m very musical. I notice if something is off by a beat. I guess I’m like Barbra that way, a perfectionist.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Simply Barbra will play Tuesday, June 13 at Rockwell Table & Stage in Los Angeles. Click here for more information and tickets.
