By Andrew Poretz***The very talented Christina Bianco is a singer, actor, impressionist and much more. The star, popular in New York for both her cabaret shows and for her roles in Forbidden Broadway, moved with her husband to London a couple of years ago, where she has 
been in demand in the West End. In Paris, she was awarded the Trophees De Le Comedie Musicale for playing Fanny Brice in Funny Girl.
Bianco’s new show, Christina Bianco: Her Name is Barbra: My Passion for Streisand is a love letter to Barbra Streisand. She employs the device of reading from My Name is Barbra, Streisand’s 970-page memoir, in Streisand’s voice, or that of any number of dead-on celebrity impersonations. She also read from an earlier Streisand book, My Passion for Design: A Private Tour by Streisand, which apparently was the inspiration for the show’s title.
The petite star was dressed in a black top with purple and green sparkles over a custom-made black jumpsuit, though she changed her top several times during the 90-minute show. The star announced, “I’m Christina Bianco, and I’ll be leading this TED talk,” to great laughter, Bianco chose passages that were often funny (sometimes unintentionally), and made funnier when she used other celebrity voices to read them. Between snippets from the books, Bianco sang mostly complete songs that fit the passages. Sometimes 
she sang in the voice or multiple voices of various celebrities, and sometimes in a Streisand impression.
After reading a passage from Streisand’s first book, in the voice of Kiera Knightly, she noted, “I’m not changing a word in this book, just who said them.” She playfully tested the crowd to see who read the memoir. “What did Babs play with instead of dolls?” and multiple audience members called out the correct answer. Bianco read Streisand’s discussion of her cooking skills in the voice of “Midge Maisel,” marvelously nailing the voice and rhythm of the television character.
“Sarah Jessica Parker” and Christine Baranski” soon grabbed the mic, before “Liza Minnelli” came in to read “how to choose a song,” albeit “with apologies to those in the audience who know her,” which included Liza’s actual friends Nicolas King and Jim Caruso. Her Liza impression, singing “Much More” from The Fantasticks, was perfection. As “Streisand” speaking of an early television appearance where she noticed the camera focusing on something she nervously did with her fingers while singing, Bianco got big laughs with, “I could imagine people imitating me, and I did not want to be imitat
ed.” Here, life imitated art imitating life.
In a splendid rendition of “People” (Funny Girl), including the obscure verse, Bianco nailed Streisand’s phrasing and overall performance, without going broad. A trivia question thrown out to the audience was quickly answered by Jim Caruso, who won a Christina Bianco refrigerator magnet as a prize. A highlight of the show included the legendary television duet between Streisand and Judy Garland of “Happy Days Are Here Again” and “Get Happy.” She noted, “I can’t not talk about probably the most important moment in Gay Diva History,” which was especially funny in a room that had a preponderance of gay male Streisand fanatics and other impressionists, several of whom have recreated this very duet. Though her Judy Garland impression wasn’t as strong as, say, Julie Sheppard’s, the number was fantastic.
A short piece channeling Patti Lupone singing from the Streisand Christmas album was quite funny, and sung in front of a Patti Lupone impressionist in the first row. After doing a costume change on stage, Bianco read a passage in Jennifer Aniston’s voice about “holding the note,” accomplishing the longest phrases “because I want to. It’s a matter
of will. I wanted to hold it. So I did.” In an excellent “Before the Parade Passes By” (Hello Dolly), Bianco wowed by making the seemingly endless final note. A tour de force rendition of “The Way We Were” included fabulous impressions of Britney Spears, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters, Idina Menzel, Shirley Bassey, Kristin Chenowith, Julie Andrews, and even a Gen Z performer, Billie Eilish. After donning a white jacket, she sang “Guilty” with surprise guest, the excellent pianist and singer Brad Simmons.
The cleverly-constructed show was funny, at times exhilarating, and entirely joyous. The packed Green Room audience was quite enthusiastic. Aside from a few glitches here and there that will no doubt be resolved by the next time this show is staged, this paean to Streisand was a delightful evening. Bianco is funny, with excellent timing, presence, impression skills and musical chops. She really nailed Streisand’s speaking cadence and the overly dramatic parts of her songs, though when singing a full song, she tended to fall into more of her own voice. Bianco is an excellent singer, even if she does not have Streisand’s magical, goose-bump-raising timbre. Brava!
Photos by Andrew Poretz
