LIZA SINGS STREISAND

Liza Pulman
Liza sings Streisand ****
at the Crazy Coqs

Liza is a member of the illustrious and hugely talented Pulman family. An ex opera singer with a perfectly placed soprano voice with an extensive range – and a mischievous sense of humour
In her a tribute to Barbra Streisand she begins by telling us not to ‘Rain on Her Parade’ from ‘Funny Girl’ the show that made Barbra famous.
In her opening chat Liza tells us when, as a blossoming opera singer she went into a music shop to buy Wagner and came out with Streisand. A lesson well learnt.
Is this an impersonation or a fanzone? Not either. Liza Loves Barbra, but as her own person, on her own terms, with her own arrangements. She has a wonderfully thrilling voice and she is backed by her band, a brilliant double bass, drums, guitar, sax and trumpet = plus her wonderful musical director and arranger Joseph Atkins.
The songs of Streisand take us back with to so many memories. Her husband Eliot Gould, who was appearing in South Pacific at Drury Lane said in Gerry’s “My wife is going to be the biggest star of all’ This may be apocryphal (he didn’t say it to me}, but whether true or not, he was right.
The songs Liza choses from Barbra’s repertoire were eclectic. Lovely to hear ‘Second Hand Rose’, ‘Miss Marmelstein’, ‘You made the pants too long’ ‘On a clear Day’ ‘New York State of Mind’. Just too many to recall. She ends her first half with a bravura performance of ‘My man’ from Funny Girl before she goes off to change her frock!
Funny anecdote Barbra nearly didn’t get the part of Fanny Brice, because, though both Jewish, Brice had her nose reshaped and Streisand refused to do so – she no longer looked like Fanny Brice. But she got the role and the rest is history.
Liza’s finale is the song to break hearts in 2018. The song that Streisand sang to every President but the present one ‘Happy Days Are Here again’
Her encore is of course ‘People’ the song that just yells at us Barbra Streisand every time it is heard.
It is always a delight to visit the exquisite Crazy Coqs. This is a short run but ‘Liza sings Streisand’ is to be seen a many prestigious venues throughout the year.