Belated Christmas Post

Working retail over the holidays can really take a toll. Something I do on the side is this. I write for a friend of mine who performs as Barbra Streisand. She asked me to write about my process - and so I wrote this back in December so she could share it on her blog and help promote the show. I hope you enjoy the read as well.

Hello gorgeous Melody as Barbra blog readers!!

I am Keith Russell - Melody's director, collaborator, and sometimes
writer of the shows Melody as Barbra performs. Melody has been on my
case for a while asking me to write about my process in putting a show
together. Since the Christmas show is coming up, I thought I would
take some time and finally give you an inside look into this specific
show. Last year we were asked to do a Christmas show. And this is what
happened -

I should start by saying that I am a bit of a grinch. I have worked in
retail for too many years to really enjoy the Christmas season. Along
with that, I used to work in the music department of a bookstore so I
was forced to hear the same music and songs over and over and over and
over and over and over again. When the request to do a Christmas show
came up, I saw it as an opportunity to showcase some songs that could
be considered seasonal, but not specifically Holiday or Christmas.
This is a bit of a sidebar but I am a big fan of the Canadian
singer/songwriter Jane Siberry (Issa). She did a live recording from
The Bottom Line in New York City. One thing she says during the show
is that she wanted to do a bunch of songs and eventually the right
songs would reveal themselves to her. She also stated that she wanted
to do a mix of new and old songs, and that since Christmas is seen as
a time of celebration, she wanted to make sure the audience knew why
they were celebrating - she wanted some darkness before the light,
some savory before the sweet (I am paraphrasing).

I took that to heart. I also didn't want to just replicate Streisand's
original and classic Christmas album. I wanted there to be a flow, a
narrative, and emotional journey of some sort for the audience to go
on. I love cabaret and while I am still new to that field, I love
telling a story. Even in the shows I have written and collaborated on
with Melody, there has to be a story, some ups and downs, some
variety. It has to take the listener someplace. I have found that to
be true of Streisand's concerts as well. She has a theme, some device
that she uses to get the audience into her mindset. This helps the
audience enjoy the concert even more, as well as allowing them to feel
closer to the artist. So, I looked through both of Streisand's
Christmas albums and selected songs. I put them into an itunes
playlist, and started playing around with the order. I realized that
some of the songs I just didn't care for. No one needs to hear another
Ave Maria...especially by a nice Jewish girl (meaning Streisand, of
course). ha ha ha

From her 1967 Christmas Album, I selected eight of the 11 songs. From
her 2001 Christmas Memories album, I selected six of the 12 songs.
That is only 14 songs which is about 45 min of listening. I knew we
wanted a longer 90 min show so I needed some other songs to fill it
out. I looked through Barbra's other albums - looking for songs about
faith, seasons, children (because Christmas is often about the child's
experience, memories of childhood, as well as the Christ Child). As I
added these other songs in, I started to get a sense of what the show
could be. I put them in an order that musically worked really well.
The order provided contrast musically (slow ballads and uptempo
numbers), and lyrically (songs about Christmas and songs that fit the
emotional story). At that time I believe I edited one song from a
medley into just the song I wanted.

At this point I may have put all the songs into a google drive and
sent Melody a link so she could hear it all - but I may not have.
Honestly I think for this show I just wrote it and put it all together
- then sent her the songs and script all at once. If I remember
correctly she was anxious to get it and get started on it. This is
another aspect of what I do - I know what Streisand songs Melody
already knows, and also know what songs may be new to her. The new
songs take time to learn so getting her the list as soon as possible
is important so she can find the sheet music, get to practicing and
memorizing lyrics, etc.

Anywho - I looked at the list of songs. I had them in an order that
worked for me musically and lyrically. I thought of Streisand (and
Melody) and thought of speech patterns, what sort of stories could be
told, what sort of experiences might they both bring to the table. I
thought of where should there be banter between songs, and which songs
could just be sung back to back. At this point I looked up the lyrics
to the songs and put them in a document. I listened to the Streisand
recordings and followed along - making corrections as needed. This
gives me a better sense of the lyrics, the sound of the show. Because
when it comes right down to it - the banter is not important. Very few
people come away from a Streisand concert and think about what she
said. Most people come away and remember what she sang, what she wore,
how she sounded, etc.

After getting the lyrics together I started writing. I figured out
where the banter should go and just wrote. I have been a fan of
Streisand for a long time. I have seen almost all of her films, and
certainly all of her concert DVDs as well as her TV Specials. While I
know she has writers for her shows, I think I have gotten a good sense
of how they write banter. So I go with my gut and write. Some songs I
have to do some research on, others I know well enough that I can just
write about them. I will give you two different examples.

The song "Sleep in Heavenly Peace (Silent Night)" is from Streisand's
Christmas Album. However I also know that she recorded and performed
it live at her Central Park show...which took place in July! So I took
a bit of the banter that she used on her introduction to that song in
Central Park, and the fact that she sang it live - and tweaked it a
bit for this show. No research needed.

"My Favorite Things" is one that I needed to find out why it was on a
Christmas album. I knew it is from "Sound of Music" but that show and
movie doesn't take place at Christmas. There is no reference to
Christmas in that show at all - except for some imagery in this song.
So how did it become a "Christmas" song? Well, thanks to Google - I
found out. Julie Andrews sang it on the Garry Moore show in 1961. It
was his Christmas Special and I have no idea why she sang it. The show
"Sound of Music" had opened on Broadway in 1959 and had won quite a
few Tony Awards, then it opened in London in 1961. Julie Andrews was
not involved in either of those productions so I honestly have no idea
why that song was selected. What I do know is that after she sang it
on the Garry Moore show, it started showing up on Christmas albums.
And yes, I did research just to write this paragraph!

After I had the script written, I sat one more time and read the
script while listening to the playlist. It worked for me and so I sent
it all off to Melody and awaited her response. I don't remember
exactly what it was but it was positive. We set up a rehearsal date. I
went to her house, sat in her basement and talked through the script.
I believe she may have sung along with Barbra during that first
rehearsal, or we may have just listened to the songs. Either way we
made a few some edits and tweaks to the script, and talked about
blocking (the movement Melody makes on stage or through the audience).
We talked about where she would focus her attention during certain
moments of certain songs to make sure the whole audience was with her.
I directed her - that is a lot of what I do. Talk over certain
emotional moments, where she should be looking for the most impact,
what to do with her hands, and sometimes even some vocal ideas - when
to belt, when to relax, when to breathe, and when to take a drink of
water. All part of our journey together to bring you, the gorgeous
audience, a great evening of song and stories.

I hope this has been entertaining and perhaps enlightening. Let Melody
know what else you may want to know about the shows, or my process, or
if you have a private party that you want her to do and want me to
write something for her. We do that as well! Either way, I hope you
can make it out to the Christmas show, and I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks for taking the time to read -
keith russell