Steven Brinberg brings a touch of class to the stage in Theatre Royal Winchester performing as the world-class singer, actor, director and many other talents in the role of Barbra Streisand in Simply Barbra.
The performance offers a range of famous songs synonymous with Streisand from The Way We Were, Don’t Rain on My Parade and People. Brinberg takes the audience through part of her life story and film timeline.
Nathan Martin played the piano throughout the performance and accompanied “Streisand” during a couple of songs. He was taking on the role of an entire orchestra which usually accompanies Streisand’s concerts.
Brinberg brings a host of guests to the stage by impersonating the voices of Ertha Kit, Cher, Clio Lane and Judy Garland plus many more. The accuracy of these are superb and I would have liked to hear more of them.
Streisand’s iconic long nails are on display along with the delicate way in which she holds the slender microphone she uses during her performances. These subtle attention to detail shows the deep respect Brinberg holds for the icon.
Streisand has been overlooked on many occasions, especially for the Best Director role. Billy Crystal publicly remarked at the Oscars in 1992 when the film Prince of Tides was nominated for a host of Oscars except for Streisand as Director. Crystal shrugged and asked, “Did this film direct itself”. This a question I fully support and felt she was snubbed by the establishment.
The stage lighting I found to be distracting halfway through some of the musical numbers the lights suddenly either became lighter or darker. At times it gave the appearance of an fibre optic lamp changing colours which didn’t suit the tone of the performance.
Simply Barbra is currently on tour. For further information please check out the links below.
Three Stars.
https://nhs.ticketsforgood.co.uk/events/119280-simply-barbra-celebrating-yentl-40th-anniversary-tour
https://www.theatreroyalwinchester.co.uk/whats-on/simply-barbra
Theatre, Art and Film Reviews 
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