My Name Is Barbra is the long awaited autobiography by Barbra Streisand. I found the book to be very easy to read. Her writing is so similar to the way she speaks that if you have followed her, and researched her, like I have, reading it will be like having her voice in your head for all 970 pages. Personally I am a fan and have been for a number of years, though I certainly didn't grow up as a fan. I was really introduced to her via a friend of mine who performed drag as Robyn West. She was a huge fan and would perform some of Barbra's numbers, and talk about her life. So because of Robyn, I dug more into the music of Streisand and fell in love with the voice, and the performances. I worked with a friend of mine who is an Streisand impersonator, and helped coach her with movement and vocal stylings, as well as writing a few cabaret scripts for her. It was such a fun project, and I really got a chance to dive into the vocal styles of Streisand.
Though I knew a lot of the stories that Streisand tells in the book, there were some missing portions which were good to read. She doesn't delve as much into the music aspect of things as I would like, but focused instead on the acting/directing portion. She states numerous times that she is an actor who sings, instead of being a singer who acts. It is a subtle but important distinction I think. I also found it really interesting reading her view on directing film, or acting choices.
A long read, but an easy one for sure. And I found it really enjoyable.
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