BWW Interviews: Ann Hampton Callaway Talks About THE STREISAND SONGBOOK at SOPAC

Ann Hampton Callaway will perform "The Streisand Songbook" on Saturday, September 28 at 8PM at the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC). She will be performing this show with Ted Rosenthal at the piano, Martin Wind on bass and Tim Horner on drums. This is the trio she performed with when this show earned two Broadwayworld.com Awards and The MAC Award for Best Show of the Year.

Ann Hampton Callaway is one of the leading champions of the great American Songbook, and is best known for her Tony-nominated performance in the hit Broadway musical Swing and for writing and singing the theme song to the hit TV series "The Nanny." She is also a Platinum Award winning writer whose songs are featured on six of Barbra Streisand's recent CD's.

Broadwayworld.com was able to interview Callaway just prior to her appearance at SOPAC.

What qualities of Barbra Streisand's work have you admired most?

"Barbra has innate brilliance in her instincts as a singer and an actress. She possesses an awe inspiring instrument, comedic timing, passionate delivery, originality, and the uncanny ability to inhabit a song as if she is experiencing the story in that very moment. She also has given us a trailblazing career driven by her loyalty to her sense of authentic self. It is that loyalty to her own truth that has helped liberate us all into wanting to be our truest selves."

We know that you have written songs that are on Barbra Streisand's CD's. Tell us a bit about those pieces.

"Barbra recorded my anthem for world peace 'At the Same Time' on her CD Higher Ground. When I researched it for the show, I found out that it not only went Platinum, it reached 11 million people! I also, by Barbra's request, wrote lyrics to a melody Barbra fell in love with by Rolf Lovland. I ended up turning the lyric into a wedding song which she received three days before she was getting married and she sang on her wedding day! It was released on 'A Love Like Ours' and several other recordings. My holiday song "Christmas Lullaby" is on her CD "Christmas Memories" and is being rereleased this season on Barbra's 'The Classic Christmas Album.' I am currently working on a duet for a future project she is assembling."

Metropolitan area audiences will delight at the opportunity to enjoy the talents of Ann Hampton Callaway as she performs "The Streisand Songbook" at SOPAC on Saturday night in a venue that is perfect for her performance.

Since 2006, South Orange Performing Arts Center has been serving as a premier performing arts center in the region. SOPAC presents diverse performing arts programs that include arts education partnerships and programs for people with disabilities, delivers artistic, educational, and innovative experiences within an intimate, inviting environment, and promotes regional involvement in the arts, serving as a catalyst for economic development and continued revitalization of South Orange's Central Business District. For ticketing and information on upcoming performances, please visit, http://sopacnow.org/

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