Melissa Errico
The Streisand Effect: Back to Barbra
54 Below, NYC, May 28, 2026
Reviewed by Candace Leeds
Photo by Maryann Lopinto
Melissa Errico returned to 54 Below with a powerful show, The Streisand Effect: Back to Barbra, to salute Barbra Streisand’s tremendous influence. It was a reprise of her November 2025 show, also at this club.
Throughout the evening she referred to Streisand’s massive 992-page autobiography, My Name is Barbra, published in 2023, which she held up to the audience. She described Streisand’s tremendous impact on the music scene and her “effect on everything we are and were.” She made it clear that she was not trying to impersonate Streisand but to celebrate her influence.
Errico performed with sweeping gestures and a palpable desire to connect with the audience, occasionally moving among the tables and singing directly to audience members at close range. She began with a lively rendition of “I’m All Smiles” (Michael Leonard/Herb Martin), followed by “Hurry, Up It’s Lovely Up Here” (Burton Lane/Alan Jay Lerner). She was accompanied by the award-winning composer, arranger, and vocalist Billy Stritch at the piano, who joined her in song. Stritch also delivered a fine rendition of Arthur Hamilton’s “Cry Me a River” while Errico briefly exited the stage to change from her black-and-white pantsuit into a glittering full-length gown.
A highlight of the show was a lovely interpretation of “The Way We Were” (Marvin Hamlisch/Alan and Marilyn Bergman) that showcased her vocal prowess. She talked about Hamlisch, with whom she toured and also appeared as a guest soloist in many of his orchestral concerts, calling him “an amazing human being.”
Streisand’s wrote in her autobiography that an elderly family member had referred to her in Yiddish as the “Daughter of Fire.” One day, when Errico’s own daughter mentioned “sometimes I feel like I’m on fire,” it gave her the idea of asking David Shire to write the melody of a song with the title “Daughter of Fire”; she wrote the lyrics with Adam Gopnik. Her rendition of this song was another highlight that showcased Errico’s vocal prowess.
She concluded with “Happy Days Are Here Again” (Milton Ager/ Jack Yellen) and “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?” (Michel Legrand/Alan and Marilyn Bergman) and departed to cheers and a standing ovation.
