At dinner, served at 7:30 pm, and which consisted of “heart healthy” foods, including a salad of watermelon and heirloom tomatoes, Tuscan kale, and pan-roasted barramundi filet, plus vegan choices including a quinoa pasta, Streisand took the stage to speak.
“In honor of President Clinton, we have a vegan option for dinner,” said Streisand, referring to Clinton's changed diet after his battle with heart disease. “And I know what many of you are thinking? You are charging how much?,” she joked. “If you are still hungry, there's a Jack in the Box on your way home.”
Following dinner, more speakers: Streisand about the evening's topic; Dr. C. Noel Bairey Merz (the heart center's head); and then Bill Clinton, who was introduced by Lisa Ling. Clinton spoke about heart disease then shared how Barbra had befriended his mother, Virginia Clinton Kelly, during the last year of her life and battle with cancer. “She had 50 weeks exactly to live from the night I was inaugurated president,” he said. “Barbra called her every single one of those weeks until she died. The funny thing is that my mother came to Camp David for Thanksgiving even though she was having two blood transfusions a day. I asked if she was coming back for Christmas and she said, ‘Oh, I don’t know.’ I said, ‘What do you mean you don’t know?!’ She said, ‘Barbra’s performing in Vegas and I don’t know if I’ll be back in time.’”
Performances next.
Josh Groban sang “Starry, Starry Night” at the piano.
Then Streisand took to the stage to begin her set of songs, which she rehearsed the evening before (and tried a few variations of). “I look around here in this audience and I see so many wonderful faces,” Streisand said in her patter, “my son, my husband, my friends, David [Foster], President Clinton, and my little furry daughter, Samantha, and I just have to say, [David Foster begins playing on the piano] . . . I love that face . . . ”
Vanity Fair said she cut the song short—“Sorry, my throat is kind of hoarse from yelling, ‘Put the curtain down here. Put the flowers here!’”
Then Streisand dedicated “Evergreen” to Clinton, and sang “Smile” as a duet with Groban.
After Streisand led a champagne toast in which she told the audience to “appreciate the aliveness of each moment,” she performed an encore: “Here's to Life,” with a few altered lyrics supplied by Alan and Marilyn Bergman:
“A woman’s heart beats well tonight / Because of you a woman’s future is looking bright / And it gets even brighter with each check you write / So thanks, with all my heart.”
