1937: Babes in Arms at the Shubert Theatre

Barbra Streisand discovered three delightful songs from a prewar Broadway show: Rodgers' and Hart's 1937 musical, "Babes in Arms."  Each of the numbers Barbra sang from "Babes in Arms" was recorded rather early in her career, including her iconic rendition (and fan favorite) of "Where or When."    

"Babes in Arms" had a modest run which began at the Shubert Theatre (before being transferred to the Majestic) and played a total of 289 performances. Richard Rodgers (music) and Lorenz Hart (lyrics) also wrote the book of the musical to accompany their score. The show was choreographed by the legendary George Balanchine. A year before "Babes in Arms" opened on Broadway, Balanchine was choreographing dance moves for Fanny Brice in "The Ziegfeld Follies of 1936" which was performing nightly at, yes, the Winter Garden Theatre.

The plot of  "Babes in Arms" is simple: children in a small town try to avoid being sent away to a trade school by putting on a show. The original cast included Ray Heatherton, Mitzie Green, Alfred Drake, and the famed Nicholas Brothers.

A Note on the Film Version
MGM bought the film rights to "Babes in Arms," as a vehicle for Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, though one might have initially wondered why. Much of the script was rewritten and most of the original songs replaced. "Where or When," however, was one of only three Rodgers and Hart numbers to survive the transfer from stage to screen. It was performed in the film as a duet between Betty Jaynes and Douglas McPhail, although Judy Garland does sing a few bars during a cut-away scene with Mickey Rooney.

Busby Berkley directed the 1939 film which also featured Margaret Hamilton in a supporting role. Judy Garland and Margaret Hamilton would, of course, go on to give their career defining performances in "The Wizard of Oz," released by MGM later that same year.

In retrospect, "Babes in Arms" became one of the classic Garland and Rooney cliché films about two teenagers who put on a show in a barn. Nevertheless, the film did become one of the biggest money makers for MGM in 1939, with Mickey Rooney even getting an Oscar nomination for his performance.
 

Sometimes you think you've lived before . . .

Barbra Streisand recorded three of the numbers featured in the stage version of "Babes in Arms."  Her rendition of "Where or When" was chosen as the first act finale of her second television special, "Color Me Barbra." As she romps through the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Barbra suddenly finds herself among the antiquities of Egypt (note: the Philly museum does not have an Egyptian wing. The "Where of When" number was recorded in a studio). In a moment that has become one of Streisand's most iconic portrayals, she sings the ballad while being transformed into Egypt's Queen Nefertiti.

Barbra's version of this Rodgers and Hart number has since become a fan favorite. As far as we know, Barbra has only performed this particular ballad in front of audiences twice: once during the 2006 rehearsal of her Philadelphia concert, and then once more in front of paying audiences in Toronto. The luckiest people, indeed.

"My Funny Valentine," which Barbra recorded on her 1967 album, "Simply Streisand," is perhaps the most well known song from "Babes in Arms." Barbra, along with numerous singers throughout the years, have chosen to record this ballad. It has become one of the world's most popular show tunes. Having put her own spin on  the number back in 1967, Barbra dusted it off in 2002 and performed it live in front of audiences attending the Democratic Gala in Los Angeles.

The final number covered by Barbra from "Babes in Arms" is "Johnny One Note." Another popular song, Barbra performed it to a rather unique orchestration during the international sequence of her 1973 television special, "Barbra Streisand...and other musical instruments."

Those Barbra Streisand Eyes
Barbra has always been a fashion trend setter. She donned a Nefertiti costume and sang "Where or When" on Color Me Barbra in 1966 when the Egyptian look was at the height of women's fashion popularity. Both she and Elizabeth Taylor can be credited with introducing this iconic 1960s style into the mainstream.

Taylor's film, "Cleopatra," and Barbra's decision to incorporate the look off-camera as well as on, had women clamoring to duplicate the style.

Just pick up any magazine from the mid-sixties and you'll see women sporting those same Cleopatra eyes that Barbra became so universally known for.
 

Lorenz Hart

A frequent collaborator with Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart has penned hundreds of lyrics to Broadway shows. Early in her career, Barbra Streisand recorded her share of Lorenz Hart compositions. Hart, who wrote most of his music in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, lived in an apartment on New York's fashionable Central Park West. In a quirk of show-biz fate, Barbra Streisand bought that very same apartment in the 1960s and lived there for over thirty-five years.