'How Lucky Can You Get?' 4 of Broadway's Best to Tour Europe with Streisand 2007/04/30

'How Lucky Can You Get?' 4 of Broadway's Best to Tour Europe with Streisand

Monday, April 30, 2007; Posted: 08:04 PM - by Robert Diamond

"How Lucky Can You Get?" are the lyrics and title of a song written by John Kander and the late Fred Ebb as part of the score for the film Funny Lady, which starred the legendary and uniquely talented Barbra Streisand.

Funny Lady made it to the screen in 1975 and was a continuation of the story of Fanny Brice and her marriage to Billy Rose, played by James Caan. Other notables in the film were Ben Vereen, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall, Carole Wells and others. The film had many dazzling musical numbers and a powerful performance as Fanny Brice.� Obviously, the actress/singer already knew the character intimately, which drew us into the arms of the ever-watchable Streisand.

"How Lucky Can You Get?" will now also undoubtedly be on the minds of every guy on Broadway.

It was announced earlier today that the much "rumored about" European concert tour of the star became "official." Talk of this trans-Atlantic tour had been circulating ever since Streisand's enormously successful 2006 concert tour ended its 20 engagement record-breaking run last November.�

For the official press release information, click here.

The other rumor that's been buzzing around, mostly among the Broadway community, and as far away as L.A., was that four Broadway actor/singers would be singing with her on the tour.�

The "buzz" really started picking up when the guys who were chosen started giving notice ("to leave") various shows and situations, or were offered television series', where the deal memos had to allow for the concert dates.�

Knowing that the release would eventually be delivered, I did a little homework, found out who the "mystery guys" were, tracked them down and have been sitting on this 'til today.�

Well...the wait is over. Here they are, in alphabetical order...

Michael Arden

You Might Know Him From... Twyla Tharp and Bob Dylan's The Times They Are A-Changin', Tom Sawyer in the Deaf West/Roundabout production of Big River, BARE: A Pop Opera and Pippin, along with TV's Grey's Anatomy and NUMB3RS in addition to numerous New York appearances.

Michael's First Thought After Getting the News About Touring With Barbra Streisand? I thought that it was a practical joke because why would I be asked, as a 24 year old, as a guy working in NY, who never did a recording or anything big be asked to do that? The first thing that I felt was disbelief, then shock, then gratitude and then honor.

Who He Told First... Betsy Woolf, who I was doing Ace with, at the Old Globe, and because I was on my way to a dress rehearsal, I got in the car with her and I said that I thought I might be going on tour with Barbra Streisand. Betsy's a fantastic performer, she's in 110 in the Shade and was in Spelling Bee� Anyway, she was thrilled for me. I remember that at the time, I was also recovering from getting my appendix taken out and when I got the call, I had bandages on and was still on pain medication so also thought that I might be hearing things cause I was a bit hopped up from pain meds due to my emergency appendectomy�

Peter Lockyer

You Might Know Him From... Cyrano the Musical, The Phantom of the Opera, La Boheme, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, TV's Gypsy with Bette Midler and more...

Peter's First Thought After Getting the News About Touring With Barbra Streisand? I had a few thoughts because I'm currently finishing up school so the very first thought was � "Can I do it? What are the dates?" Second was "Oh my God, Barbra Streisand!" It was surreal because a legend like that�it's just surreal. Barbra Streisand � is it for real? Just thinking about the chance to work with a legend and to be able to watch, and learn from them, never mind sing with them � Oh my gosh!

Who He Told First... My wife, of course.

Sean McDermott

You Might Know Him From... Miss Saigon, Falsettos, Starlight Express, Grease, West Side Story, Chicago, Jesus Christ Superstar, Carousel and Showboat and TV's Guiding Light, Charmed and Freddie.

Sean's First Thought After Getting the News About Touring With Barbra Streisand? The very first thing that came to mind is that I'd be working for the summer! Just kidding! I felt extreme excitement to work with her, because she's been a huge part of my singing background. We had been told that there was a possibility of it for a couple of months prior, so when I got the call that it was definitely happening, I felt relief and general adulation. I was also thrilled because I've always been a big fan of hers�

Who He Told First... I told my mother who's coming to see us!

Hugh Panaro

You Might Know Him From... Lestat, Buddy in Sideshow, Julian Craster in The Red Shoes, Martin Guerre, Marius in Les Miserables, Gaylord Ravenal in Showboat, Raoul and the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera and numerous galas and benefits.

Hugh's First Thought After Getting the News About Touring With Barbra Streisand? Whether or not it was really going to happen... I think I've gotten very protective of disappointment, so anytime, for example, that I get a Broadway show, I kind of keep myself very calm and prepare myself for worst case scenarios - like it's not going to happen, so that I don't get disappointed. The first night after I calmed myself down, I had a dream that I was at Barbra Streisand's house, making her a margarita, 'cause I'm a really good bartender. We were sitting on her floor drinking them, and I spilled my drink and thought that she was going to kill me because I stained her carpet. Well, of course, she didn't, and was actually really nice about it, so it was a dream with a happy ending.

Who He Told First... Aside from my family, who I tell everything to, the first person that I think I told is a friend in Nashville. Her name is Diana, and she's a life coach, and also one of my best friends. She's an amazing mom with a beautiful family - 2 little girls � and her reaction, which is why I love her, and the first words out of her mouth were, "Great, can I come? I'll carry your luggage..."

It's hard to believe that Streisand has never toured Europe during her remarkable career. However, even in the United States, she has played very few concert dates, with large chunks of time taken by films that she has directed, such as Yentl and The Prince of Tides.�

As a matter of fact, outside of the United States, she has only made appearances in London and two cities in Australia, Sydney and Melbourne. She also played Montreal and Toronto during the 2006 U.S. Tour.�

Today's press release also stated that, in addition to the cities that were announced for Europe, additional cities would be announced shortly, as they are still in negotiations.

The other great news for the Broadway community is that, once again, her orchestra of 58, conducted by Bill Ross, would be comprised of some of the best musicians from the Broadway pits of musicals all around town, along with a few of her favorite sidemen from L.A.

The concert will again be co-directed by Ms. Streisand and Richard Jay-Alexander and I hope to catch up with all of them to see what more they can tell us during rehearsals and before they leave the United States for their European adventure.�

For more information on Barbra Streisand and the tour, visit www.barbrastreisand.com