Melissa Errico Returns to The Smith Center with THE STREISAND EFFECT

Tony Award®–nominated Broadway star Melissa Errico returns to the stage with her new concert experience, The Streisand Effect, debuting at Myron's in The Smith Center on March 28. This special event will inspire and resonate with fans and music lovers.

The concert coincides with the release of her latest album, I Can Dream, Can't I?, part of her American Songbook collection, celebrating Errico's reputation as an expressive interpreter.

Storytelling is blended with song in a concert featuring intimate interpretations of works by iconic composers such as Frank Loesser, Cy Coleman, Duke Ellington, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, and Joni Mitchell. Backed by a world-class quartet led by Randy Waldman, the evening explores themes of mentorship, artistry, and independence, inspiring admiration for the talent behind the performance.

With Barbra Streisand's recent performance at the 98th Academy Awards, interest is high, and sharing this milestone with Errico's audience continues the anticipation for her new music.

"I wanted to do something to honor her work and influence, but didn't want it to be a wearying 'tribute' concert, where you run through the hits, and everyone is comparing your sound with hers. I never enjoy those kinds of shows much. I wanted instead to do something I think of as an 'homage' – a concert where her work and my work, however smaller-scale, shape a kind of Venn diagram where you can spot the shared inspirations and influences and feel the way music passes from one generation to the next," explained Errico. 

Streisand is such a towering figure, and Errico "wanted to press hardest on her as an exemplary figure for the next generation of women performers. There's a robust feminism to her example, but not one that's too polemical. David Shire, who's been writing for Barbra for fifty years, wrote a new song for me in her honor, with words by Adam Gopnik, that tries to capture it. It's called 'Daughter of Fire,' and it's about how she taught my generation to be a little bit more fearless, and how I'm trying to pass that wisdom on to my own daughters." 

As for Streisand's recent performance, "As with everything with her, it was distinctive and stood out above everything. She was utterly herself, and it was honest and real. I think we all know Barbra more and more since she wrote her book. We know her as a woman of dimension, who has lived with us through time. She gave us the gift of seeing her again as a completely real woman. She burst into song despite how much we all know she has always found live performing unnerving. What a generous thing to do. She looked like an artist, with loose hair, glasses, and a cool, funky gown... The truth is out, yet again. Barbra is an artist by nature, not a celebrity, who shares her truth." 

The Streisand Effect has become a universal idiom for all the things done in life that, while intended to accomplish one end, accomplish another end. Basically, what is produced is the opposite of what was wanted. This effect, ironically, is one of the great subjects of the songbook Errico and Streisand share, from the Lane-Lerner "What Do I Have That I Don't Have Now?" to Sondheim's "Send in The Clowns" — the repertory that Errico and Streisand share turns so often on tales of love gone wrong and passions turned upon their heads and intentions turned against their makers. Selections include: "I'd Rather Be Blue," "I Never Meant to Hurt You," "The Summer Knows," "Ordinary Miracles," "Sleepin' Bee," and "Lazy Afternoon." 

Errico balances honoring Streisand's legacy while maintaining her own distinct voice on stage. "There's no 'imitation' in the show." She is known for her Broadway musical roles, including Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady and the title role in One Touch of Venus, as well as her albums of songs by Stephen Sondheim and Michel Legrand. For more info, visit melissaerrico.com and follow on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

The Streisand Effect will be performed at Myron's at The Smith Center on March 28. For more info, visit thesmithcenter.com.

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