imkittymyers at hotmail dot com
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
LIKE A BAD PENNY
Since this will be timed out by tonight, and because it's so delicious I found it impossible to edit, I'm posting it in its entirety.
BARBRA TO HIT THE ROAD AGAIN
PEOPLE who love Barbra Streisand concerts are the luckiest people in the world - because the legendary songstress is doing another farewell tour, Page Six has learned.
The Brooklyn-born diva - who previously bid her fans goodbye in 2000 - is to hit the road this fall, says our insider, but there's already plenty of behind-the-scenes intrigue.
We're told that Streisand's tour will have 20 shows, in which she'll perform "in the round" from the middle of arenas. She'll be paid $2 million per show, and the best tickets will go for $1,500 a pop.
Streisand's handlers have yet to secure an opening act. "They've tried unsuccessfully for Rod Stewart, Neil Diamond and Andrea Bocelli as opening acts," says our music industry snitch. "They're trying to get [operatic vocal group] Il Divo now."
Our mole continued, "The big worry is, 'Can Barbra lose the extra 50 pounds she's put on?' She feels that confirming the dates is the only thing that will make her lose the weight.
"The promoter is Michael Cohl, who does the Rolling Stones. The industry is freaked out about her ticket prices as the greediest ever. Her manager, Marty Erlichman, has screwed [talent agency] CAA out of their involvement, so there's a lotta bad blood out there about this one."
Streisand's last "final" tour began on New Year's Eve 1999 in Las Vegas and ended at a sold-out Madison Square Garden show in September 2000, which drew the likes of Rosie O'Donnell, Sarah Jessica Parker, Penny Marshall, Madeleine Albright and Drew Barrymore.
In June of 2004, Streisand, a vocal critic of President Bush, sang at a Los Angeles fundraiser for Sen. John Kerry, raising $5 million for his campaign.
More recently, Streisand worked on a new album with former Bee Gee Barry Gibb, starred in "Meet the Fockers," and holed up at her Malibu mansion with her husband of seven years, James Brolin.
Erlichman was said to be traveling yesterday and could not be reached for comment. Streisand spokesman Ken Sunshine declined comment.
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