Tony Award nominee returns to The Basement and New York with new show.
Tony Award nominee Melissa Errico has returned to 54 Below this week with her latest erudite entertainment, a musical cabaret centering around Barbra Streisand, appropriately titled THE STREISAND EFFECT. The Streisand Effect, Ms. Errico explains, is an internet term referring to a syndrome whereby a person trying to draw attention away from something makes the something more noticeable than ever. In the case of her show, the singing actress detailed at her opening performance last night, The Streisand Effect is more aptly applied to discussing the effect the legendary lady has had on all our lives. Naturally enough, the star of cabaret and concert has plenty of examples regarding The Effect as it pertains to her own life, but the message is clear: Barbra Streisand has made a change in all our lives, indeed, in the world, even for those who may or may not be as devoted to the EGOT winner as Melissa Errico.
“Resplendent in two different outfits, Errico is singing at the top of her game. It can be a mistake for musical artists to sing songs made famous by Barbra Streisand, but everyone knows that Melissa Errico has the talent to sing anything she wants with credibility, and, here, she rises to the occasion. During her ninety-five-minute concert, Melissa Errico sings some of Barbra Streisand’s most famous hits (and some of the not-so-famous), and it would be difficult (nay, even impossible) for even the most dedicated Streisand fan to deny that she aces every number. Even a rendering of “The Way We Were” performed to a blissfully perfect carbon copy of Marvin Hamlisch’s original arrangement is beyond compare. (Errico’s spectacular band has provided her with treatments that honor, to the nth degree, famous Streisand recordings, as well as brand-new treatments that honor Errico’s own ability to style songs.) The “Way We Were” moment was one of the evening highlights, as well as another carbon copy arrangement, this time of Streisand’s Oscar-winning “Evergreen” – Ms. Errico should put both songs in her permanent rotation, for she has accomplished the unimaginable: she has matched Barbra Streisand with her vocal artistry.”