Barbra
was the opening night performer at the newly constructed International
Hotel in 1969 (renamed the Hilton in 1970). She performed there
in three separate engagements over the span of four years and rang in
the New Year twice - 1970/71 & 1971/72. Hotel owner Kirk
Kerkorian hired both Elvis Presley and Barbra as the first two
headliners for the casino's grand "Showroom Internationale."
But who would get the distinction of being the very first superstar to
perform at the new hotel? Elvis's representative Col. Tom Parker
said, "Open with the girl. We'll follow her. Get the kinks
out of the showroom."
A
mere dwarf in comparison with today's mega-resorts, the Las Vegas
International was, at the time, the largest resort hotel in the world
with over 1500 rooms. Opening night was probably one of the most
exciting events Las Vegas had seen in years. Barbra's first
night audience saw the likes of Lucille Ball, Cary Grant, Natalie Wood
and ever-faithful Streisand pal Phyllis Diller. Liberace even dropped
by backstage to catch his one-time opening act in her very own
headlining performance.
Barbra's International
Hotel performance of July 30, 1969 was taped as a Streisand TV special. Though the special never
materialized, a portion of the footage was shown around the country
during a segment of The Ed Sullivan Show. Barbra treated her
nationwide audience to a memorable medley from "Hello, Dolly!".
Barbra performed at the Hilton
International in three separate engagements:
July 2, 1969 - July 30, 1969
Dec 13, 1970 - Jan 2, 1971
Dec 24, 1971 - Jan 13, 1972
Barbra's Partial Song Set in 1970:
Sing
Make Your Own Kind Of Music
Starting Here, Starting Now
Don't Rain On My Parade
Monologue
Value
On A Clear Day
Sweet
Inspiration / Where You Lead
More Than You Know
My Man
Second Hand Rose
One Less Bell To Answer
A House Is Not A Home
Sing / Happy Days Are Here Again
