Menzel, Latifah and Knowles Pay Tribute to Streisand at Kennedy Center Honors

The Huffington Post reports that Barbra Streisand got an awkward kiss on the cheek from the president, and yes, she gave him a smooch back, Streisand, a vocal critic of President George W. Bush, was a guest Sunday at the White House just before one of Washington's few A-list events: the Kennedy Center Honors.

"Art transcends politics this weekend," the longtime Democrat said beforehand stated the Huffington writer. Still, she said it would have been "lovely" if she could have received the award while President-elect Barack Obama was in office.

The singer and actress was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors, along with actor Morgan Freeman, country singer George Jones, dancer and choreographer Twyla Tharp and musicians Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of The Who.

The hug and kiss between Bush and Streisand _ who has previously said Bush's election wins in 2000 and 2004 were stolen _ was replayed later on video at a Kennedy Center gala. The crowd couldn't help but laugh states the website.

Chicago film star Queen Latifah opened the tribute to Streisand, saying she "threw out the rule book" to chart her own career. "She took to the stage like butter on a bagel," Latifah added in a video tribute reports the Huffington.

Idina Menzel from Broadway's "Rent" and "Wicked" sang "Don't Rain on My Parade" from Streisand's 1964 musical "Funny Girl." She mixed in some new lyrics included "Hey there, Ms. Streisand, I am your biggest fan.

The Huffington reveals that Beyonce Knowles rose from the stage floor to sing "The Way We Were." And the young musical star Ne-Yo grooved to Streisand's 1965 hit "Lover, Come Back to Me," with four male dancers.

Earlier, another set of stars paid tribute to The Who in front of a neon-lit backdrop of the Union Jack, in honor of the British band. "The full impact of it is still sinking in," Townshend said of the honor. "It feels a bit iconic."

Tickets to the gala sell for as much as $4,000. Last year, the event raised $5 million to support Kennedy Center programs. The show will air Dec. 30 on CBS.

The awards were presented Saturday night at a State Department dinner. Rice addressed each honoree, beginning with Freeman, who once played the president in the movie "Deep Impact."
"I know that when you played the African-American president of the United States, most people thought that would happen when a comet hit," Rice said, drawing laughs and cheers. "But wonder of wonders, fiction has become true."

Freeman, 71, who starred this year in "The Dark Knight," and on Broadway this past season in The Country Girl, also made headlines after suffering broken bones in a Mississippi car crash in August. The Oscar-winning actor said he was still recovering from nerve damage in his left hand and wore a glove to control the swelling revealed the story in the Huffington Post. Denzel Washington and Clint Eastwood testified to their success working with Freeman.

For Tharp's presentation, actress Lily Tomlin said Tharp sees dance everywhere she looks: "This is a woman who saw the Beach Boys and made a ballet."

Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser, who worked with Tharp at the American Ballet Theater, said Tharp taught him "the difference between making a ballet and making art."

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced back in September the selection of the individuals who will receive the Kennedy Center Honors of 2008.  Recipients to be honored at the 31st annual national celebration of the arts are: actor Morgan Freeman, singer George Jones, actress and singer Barbra Streisand, choreographer Twyla Tharp, and musicians Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of The Who. 

The annual Honors Gala has become the highlight of the Washington cultural year, and its broadcast on CBS is a high point of the television season.  On Sunday, December 7, in a star-studded celebration on the Kennedy Center Opera House stage, produced by George Stevens Jr., the 2008 Honorees will be saluted by great performers from New York, Hollywood, Nashville, and the arts capitals of the world. Seated with the President of the United States and Mrs. Bush, the Honorees accepted the thanks of their peers and fans through performances and heartfelt tributes. 

Stevens, who created the Honors in 1978 with Nick Vanoff, will produce and co-write the show for the 31st year.  The Honors telecast has been honored with five Emmy’s for Outstanding Program and is nominated again this year.  It has also been recognized with the Peabody Award for Outstanding Contribution to Television and seven awards from the Writers Guild of America.  

The Boeing Company is the exclusive underwriter of the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors Gala and weekend of events, which includes the honorees luncheon and post-gala supper dance in the Grand Foyer.  

Delta Air Lines, the official airline of the Kennedy Center Honors television broadcast, will provide transportation for the performers and television crew that will be coming to Washington for the Honors Gala.

The Honors recipients recognized for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts— whether in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures or television—are selected by the Center’s Board of Trustees. The primary criterion in the selection process is excellence. The Honors are not designated by art form or category of artistic achievement; the selection process, over the years, has produced balance among the various arts and artistic disciplines.

Past Honors recipients, as well as Members of the Kennedy Center’s national artists committee, made recommendations of possible 2008 Honorees.  Artists making recommendations included: Alan Alda, Dan Aykroyd, Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Glenn Close, Joel Coen, Christine ebersole, Renée Fleming, Savion Glover, Thomas Hampson, Herbie Hancock, Paloma Herrera, Hugh Jackman, Billy Joel, Evgeny Kissin, Patti LuPone, Rob Marshall, Reba McEntire, Terrence McNally, Mark Morris, Mark O’Connor, Bernadette peters, Frederica von Stade, Forest Whitaker, Damian Woetzel, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.  Previous Kennedy Center Honorees, including Carol Burnett, Clint Eastwood, Elton John, James Levine, and Sidney Poitier, also made nominations.

Michael M. Kaiser, President of the Center, expressed the national cultural center’s gratitude to the many individuals involved in the success of the Honors program.  “In addition to recognizing our most treasured artists, the Kennedy Center Honors also supports many of our performing arts initiatives, education and public service programming, and national outreach efforts.”
For more information, please visit www.kennedy-center.org.