The Importance of Being Barbra

Theater manager Santopietro writes a decorous, dry analysis of "überdiva" Barbra Streisand, examining five decades of recordings, concerts, film, theater and politics. He analyzes Streisand as a "walking mass of contradictions," parsing those paradoxes through critical readings of her professional and personal gambits. Just as Streisand's "Brooklyn-ese" fades from her rich singing voice, so her stage and studio persona—tightly controlled—masks a diffidence in the limelight that just feeds her fans' interest. For these folks, the seminal sound bites of her career, from "Hello, gorgeous" to "So long, dearie," constitute the narrative's few flashes of energy, evoking Streisand in more glory than can be conveyed here. Santopietro astutely embeds his subject in cultural context to underscore her zeitgeist appeal; her brash urgency and in-your-face ethnicity, epitomized in "the nose," endears her to those out of the mainstream, including feminists and gays, and, in the '60s, augured the demise of pre-Vietnam dormancy. A prototype of postmodern celebrity, Streisand cultivated her own image, embellishing her "ugly duckling" myth through autobiographical roles. The author's discerning, nuanced critiques of Streisand's works depict a career of subtle evolution not without its setbacks, shedding welcome light on her uneven reception over the years. But his scholarly cant will perplex readers expecting a juicier read. Photos. (June)