Billed as an effort to raise money and awareness for multiple issues, the show was heavy on standard classics. Streisand left it up to lighting designer Peter Morse to "create the moods with light. I've been with Barbra for quite some time - she trusts me and lets me do my thing," he says.
Streisand played in the round with very limited scenery. The stage was an open platform with long, tiered, lit runways surrounding a full symphony orchestra. "The stage design was basically a square with a pit in the middle," Morse explains. "I used a series of square trusses above and dropped them down in increments like a large chandelier. It was a good look. I placed MAC 2000 Profiles and Washes all the way around the trusses. I was a bit worried that the lighting was too concentrated in one area but it worked."
Morse also placed MAC 700 Profiles and Washes on the floor upstage. "With the MAC 2000s at a trim of 40 feet and Barbra on stage with nothing in between - no video, nothing upstage centre - I needed to fill the space so I used the MAC 700s as floor lights." Lighting control was via a Martin Maxxyz console with lighting programming by Joel Young. Lighting supply was by Upstaging.
Streisand is the music industry's number one best-selling female artist of all time with 50 Gold, 30 Platinum and 13 Multi-Platinum albums to her credit. She is second in the all-time charts, exceeded only by Elvis.
(Chris Henry)
