For those who missed what's-her-name's show at the Village Vanguard,  Steven Brinberg continued the Barbra brouhaha at Birdland with Love Is the Answer... But What Was the Question?

Perhaps the "question" refers to one of Brinberg's selections, "Alfie" and its line, "What's it all about?" The answer?  "It's entertainment."   It's also talent and a singular ability to evoke a glimpse of soft appeal along with the quirky egotism of the legendary singer/actor/producer/director/whatever-she-wants-to-be.  Brinberg presents a highly polished show for a performer he respects and it was not hard to occasionally forget that this is actually a man impersonating a world-famous singer with a self-involved personality and a splendid voice.  The preciseness of his impersonation never lagged.

Brinberg aims for chuckles of acknowledgement instead of belly laughs.  The Streisand touches are all there without excess—the accent, the occasional whisk of hair from her face, the inch-long fingernails and soignée black ensemble.  While the eyes were usually shut, occasionally they would pop wide for a high note or an unexpected sound.  The Streisand intonation, phrasing, and distinctive diction were evident from the start with Brinberg's rendition of "Melancholy Baby" (Burnett and Norton ) including the line, "Fe-ahs and foolish fancies..."  "Kids" (Lee Adams and Charles Strouse) from Bye, Bye Birdie in Barbra mode, was effective and amusing.  "The Way We Were" (Alan and Marilyn Bergman and Marvin Hamlisch) was a perfect vehicle for the extended long notes and the eye-popping stress on specific words.

Special guest, Andrew Samonsky from South Pacific, performed John Bucchino's "Taking the Wheel."  While Samonsky is a strong tenor, the selection was jarring to the show's flow.

Accompanied by Musical Director Christopher Denny's sensitive piano arrangements, highlights included "If I Love Again" by Jack Murray and Ben Oakland from Funny Lady and Tommy Wolf and Fran Landesman's lovely  “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most.”

Back again to "Alfie,"  Brinberg added more voices—Cher, Eartha, Lena and Bette Davis.  Remarkable was his encore of "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (Neil Diamond/Alan Bergman/Marilyn Bergman) pairing Streisand and Diamond.  All Steven Brinberg, all as good as it gets.

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
October 5, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org