Barbra Streisand returned to the Forest Hills Music Festival in Queens, New York, which she had played the year before to great critical and financial success.
This time Barbra performed on a Sunday evening, her night off from Broadway's Funny Girl. Forest Hills reported they were sold out – 15,000 seats – about a week before the August 8th show.
In fact, there was a minor controversy about ticket sales. There were complaints that $7 tickets were being scalped for $25! Streisand herself was cleared of any wrongdoing, as she personally bought a block of 500 tickets for friends and record company executives. Still, it's interesting that ticket scalping has been going on all these years, to the frustration of over-charged concert-goers.
Streisand was accompanied by a 35-piece orchestra. Peter Matz provided the arrangements and also conducted and played the piano for her that evening. Streisand wore a gorgeous paisley chiffon gown designed by Galanos.
Despite the threat of rain, Streisand put on a magnificent show. The New York Times
gushed, “Always on pitch, with wondrous breath control, superb diction and an excellent sense of showmanship, she went from ballads to rhythm numbers, from crescendo to pianissimo and back with very little effort. Her gestures, which would have seemed extravagant in other singers, were as natural as her floor-length beaded gown and the Brooklyn accent used in asides to the delighted crowd.”
Earl Wilson wrote in his column that several celebrities were spotted at the show, including Liza Minnelli, Tony Newley, and actor Robert Horton.
For this show, Barbra Streisand included pianist Neil Wolfe – also a Columbia Records recording artist – to play for the audience while she made a costume change. According to one reviewer, “the fine pianistic artistry of Neil Wolfe went unnoticed by the throng. During the breaks interspersed to allow the songstress a costume change, Wolfe's solo performances were greeted by unenthusiastic applause and hoots from the crowd ... Not only was Wolfe's playing meritorious, but also his capable filler when one of the changes was unexpectedly longer than anticipated.”