(Above: Shirley Andress; photo by Paul Carter)
By Daniel Buckwalter
She was a gum-chewing, Brooklyn-born Jewish kid, a brash and determined 17-year-old who also was filled with anxiety, mostly about her looks.
Yet Barbara Streisand, from the moment of her very first professional audition in 1960, intrigued, then captivated, then grew an adoring crowd that lasts to this day. Her vocal range was immense. Her personality was (and still is) equal to her talent because of the honesty she has displayed about her anxieties. Streisand is an icon.
To match this talent and presence is not easy, but Eugene resident Shirley Andress captures it with exquisite touch this weekend at the Jaqua Concert Hall at The Shedd.
Andress touches on the classics of Streisand’s career start in a three-day run at The Shedd of Shirley Andress: Bon Soir — Barbara Streisand, 1960-64. Andress’ own magical pipes and commanding presence on stage is a perfect vehicle to tell the rags-to-riches story of Streisand.
It’s a well-known story to many to fans of the singer, actress and movie producer. Streisand walks into an audition, all of 17, and startles everyone with her talent. She doesn’t get the job she is aiming for, but in four short years she rockets to stardom beyond compare.
There is, of course, the Bon Soir club in Manhattan, where she truly begins to find herself professionally, becoming at once the brash and daring performer with a touch of elegance that people will gravitate to. She is becoming the talk of the town.
From there Streisand will sing at the Blue Angel (for more than $1,000 per week), perform for a short time at a club in Detroit (where nightly steak dinners are written into her contract), come back to New York and by 1961 appear on the Jack Parr television show.
By the fall of 1963, Streisand makes her West Coast debut (the Coconut Grove and the Hollywood Bowl), and this is followed in 1964 by the role that defines her to many, as Fanny Brice in the stage production of Funny Girl. Streisand reprises the role in film in 1968.
It’s a four-year arc wonderfully sung and spoken of by Andress, who, since singing as a child, has pointed to Streisand as her professional North Star. Andress is vibrant throughout the two hours, singing 23 (yes, 23) pieces that Streisand performed in the 1960-64 period.
This is not to say it is easy for Andress, though. It takes athleticism. Twice on Saturday night Andress commented on how difficult it was to find space to breathe inside a piece of music. This drew chuckles from the audience. It was an adoring crowd on this night that gave her a well-deserved standing ovation.
Andress is powerful in her renditions of Streisand’s music. She is backed up expertly by a seven-piece band led by pianist Vickie Brabham. Andress and Brabham have known each other since they were teenagers, and their trust in each other is absolute.
Andress, with Brabham and the band, completes the three-day tribute to Barbra Streisand’s early professional years at The Shedd today at 4 p.m.
Final performance of Shirley Andress’ Bon Soir
When: 4 p.m. Sunday, April 14
Where: Jaqua Concert Hall, The Shedd Institute for the Arts, 868 High St., Eugene
Creative Team: Shirley Andress (artistic director), Richard Jessup (director & choreographer), Vicki Brabham (music director), and Jesse Cloninger (principal arranger).
The Company: Shirley Andress (vocals), Vicki Brabham (band leader & piano), Nathan Waddell (bass), Michael Radliff (guitar), Don Elkington (percussion), Alex Garnica (trumpet), Glenn Griffith (trombone), and Matt Taylor (reeds).
Tickets: $20 to $34 (10 to $17 for students); available at The Shedd ticket office, 541-434-7000, or online at TheShedd.org
