Comic Robin Williams (dressed in white) opened the show with one of his ad-libbed monologues. He was obviously intimidated by the powerful Hollywood stars in the audience. He joked, “I see people out there who can say ‘I don't want him, get someone different!’”
When the concert began, Streisand emerged from a cloud of white smoke as her 8-piece band played “Somewhere.” The fashion theme of the evening was white — Streisand wore an off-white, knit outfit.
Streisand’s concert ensemble was created by Judy Graham — “Hollywood Knitter to the Stars.” Graham was on the Warner Brothers lot when she was approached (probably by Renata Buser) to create an outfit that would be “casual yet sophisticated, like a long skirt and top to match.” Graham was invited to Barbra’s house in Beverly Hills to consult. “We talked for awhile. She was lovely,” Graham wrote on her website. “We/she decided on a long off-white cream-colored silk/wool skirt with a ¾ length sleeve and a folded turtle neck with buttons up the back. The yarn was from a now out of business wholesale supplier, but similar yarns are now available in local yarn stores. There were several meetings and fittings.”
Graham noted that “Miss Streisand knew exactly what she wanted and I was there to make sure she got it.” The beading on the shoulders was to be done by Streisand’s team, so Judy Graham dropped off the outfit and also found herself invited to Barbra’s dress rehearsal. The only wrinkle in the story was that Graham discovered Streisand had commissioned three other outfits and that she would decide on the final one at the dress rehearsal (which would be videotaped).
Graham and her husband took their seat in the amphitheater built for the concert. “Her backyard was the size of a small park. Suddenly the music started and the full moon became visible. There was a cloud of smoke and she entered wearing the outfit I had made!! It was a thrilling night,” Graham said.
The next night when Streisand performed for her invited guests, there were many famous faces in the audience — the cameras captured glimpses of Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis, Sydney Pollack, Burt Bacharach, Jane Fonda and Penny Marshall.
At one point, after Barbra sang “People,” the camera focused briefly on Barbra’s son, Jason Gould, in the audience.
Producer Gary Smith confessed that different introductions to the songs were staged for the television special — less political and not specifically about Democratic fundraising.
Barbra told Rosie O’Donnell that they used the dress rehearsal performance of “America” in the final version of the TV show. During the actual September 6th performance, the audience stood and Barbra could not see her beloved TelePrompTer so she forgot the words!
Barbra Streisand sang two Judy Garland/Harold Arlen songs that evening, “Over the Rainbow” and “A New World” (from Garland's A Star is Born, 1954).
