21. Yentl - Will Someone Ever Look At Me That Way

[dragonology5]

Not THAT one. My father can hear me just fine, he's in California.

[ballershanelle]

In roles that producers and backers still reign over...Rent and a few did tip the usual odds

[ballershanelle]

Who said she can't play a boy? Stupidity is something else....dressage is key. IM a stemme...a lesbian woman that dresses ultra femme but also can dress like and look boyish with a change of male clothing and hairstyle. When did the arts become restrictive?oh, right,it is a bit racial biased

[lesyllphide]

she and barbara streisand should sing together!

[NYFAvids]

Umm...I think she was more likely speaking of the story taking place in Russia. Just saying. And for the record, I'd see Audra sing the phone book.

[maybegoodable]

she s great but lyricalllllll too much here!

[wicked0824]

haha so clever "not THAT song..my father's in california watching..he can hear me just fine." XD lol

[aryeh211lion]

YES!

[merboyprince]

SHE IS A STAR! A HUUUGE STAR! AND..she's witty,and funny as well! I soooo looove her!

[ClassicMovieClub]

I guess it doesnt matter her colour but if she is actually Jewish or not because I think thats an important element for the character. Even though everyone can idenitfy with her. Beautifully done! im defintly on board with Steph doin Yentl! Peice of Sky and No Matter What Happens better be in it though or ill die lol!

[BeritYentlSchumann]

Nice =)

[kcdupelle]

one of my very good friends is a black lesbian that's how we are supposed to find her at work "Where's the Black Jewish Lesbian?" and they know exactly who we are talking about so ya... she could do it!

[rellenoz]

I love her interpretation. A song so well written can stand up to anyone singing it. She did a beautiful job.

[GreenEyedMusic]

So happy to have stumbled into this beautifully wonderful and moving rendition of a lovely song. Brava!

[Broadwaybaby1384]

I love this song so much. All the Yentl music is just so gorgeous and well written. And I love Audra too her voice is so pretty!

[bellabecka2You]

Audra is great (she has a high soprano/operatic voice). So is Streisand. Both have different vocal ranges and styles. Audra wouldn't want to intimitate Streisand and vice versa. But both do an incredible job on this song by Michel Legrand and the lyrists Alan and Marilyn Bergman. That is what you should be looking at regarding this video of this piece.

[madjosh23]

I dont really care for her voice...

but she loves her some Barbra and i love her for that! :)

[FoggyRoad81]

The real reason Audra could not play Yentl is that her figure and face are so womanly and she is so tall she could never get away with playing the "boy" Anshel. As Pauline Kael said the conceit only works if Anshel is a smart "boy." Avigdor would never trust him with Hadass if he thought Anshel was truly sexual and virile. Anshel for obvi reasons seems like a desexualized man, so Avigdor can consent to the marriage. Audra sings this WONDERFULLY, but she couldn't play the role.

[alexmz123]

what concert is this??? I hate it when Audra has a concert and i can't buy the DVD... is this available for sale? Flawless Audra!

[abbycaddaby]

Isnt she beautiful! =)

[alexmz123]

@abbycaddaby as one posted before that made me laugh 'the bitch is flawless'.

[QuasiPerfectto]

She did not mention Barbra???

[nealbrice]

@QuasiPerfectto I noticed that too.....I love Audra..so I am trying to forgive her...

[QuasiPerfectto]

You are correct, being Jewish is not a race but a religion. There are Black Jews, White Jews, Latino Jews etc... The Biblical Jews were Hebrew people with tan olive skin like the Arabs; very different than what we see today. Today a Jewish person is composed of multiple races. Not one specific race.

[JOVANA3009]

Gracias por esta version hermosa de mi cancion Favorita

[awsome107]

First time I've heard of HER!! I love Barbra My all time FAV... and I love her// God thank you for her voice I honestly couldn't beleive there woud be a Great Singer like Barbra and here she is!!!! WOW!!! WOW!!

[hollywoodhunny91]

I love this song, but it's weird hearing anyone but Babara sing it. I've been listening to her sing it since before I was even born. She did a beautiful job though.

[PurpleReels]

beautiful voice

[Chilair1]

there are black Jews! Judaism is a religion...so why can't she be in yentl?Is there something Im missing?

[naltrexonejunkie]

I don't think she wants to be IN Yentl, she wants to BE Yentl. Yentl takes place in Eastern Europe around the turn of the previous century. I think it would be a hard sell considering there were probably not many black people in Eastern Europe at that time, not because she'd be playing a Jew. But I've seen Broadway shows, like Les Miz that had an Asian woman as one of the leads. I think in America we buy into it. I'm for it.

[djalternegro]

thank u!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jew is not a race it is a religion, and a very strong and tight culture, but there is no jewish race.and i know plenny a black jews...

[wattsnelson]

voice wise, she should be in Yentl,but.......she can't really pass for a guy

[cbstrange4]

Oh theatre, you know. I auditioned for Anne of Green Gables as one of the general cast, but I'm black so...;)

There are black Canadians, but not back then.

[mickey05491]

@Chilair1 ....because at the time "yentl" is supposed to occur there were no black jews...it's ok ..it took me a while to get it too...lol

[josbo51715]

@mickey05491 Wrong! The original Jews were black. The fair skinned Jews of today are converts.

[MROSEN62]

@Chilair1 A black Jew in a Russian Stetl 100 years ago would have been more than a bit unusual. In those communities, the ethnic group and the religion were one and the same.

[berlande101]

@Chilair1 i know what your saying but when you say jewish, people have an image in their heads and going against it just does nothing but enforce people's criticizing ways

[ashep0507]

@Chilair1 You are missing something. Judaism is a religion, but the term jew refers to more than a follower of a religion. It refers to a member a specific ethnicity. Thanks!

[mikesterSTLMO]

@Chilair1 Yeah! And they can remake Stormy Weather replacing Lena Horne with Celine Dion. Or how about a new version of Lady Sings the Blues starring Christine Aguilera? Julia Roberts can play Aretha in the big screen version of her life, and they really need to remake Porgy and Bess with an all white cast.

[jojo34209]

@Chilair1 Yes, youa re missing something; there were no Black Jews in the time frame YENTL is set, and Black Jews are not originally from that region of the world. Any black person that is Jewish is either a converted JEW or someone born from a JEW in the Americas in a more present timeline, not back in the 1800's or even the early to mid 1900's.

[cbstrange4]

I comment once again...she is so beautiful.

[evans54]

poignant and ironic when she speaks of her father who died in a crash a few months after this concert

[AngelOfMusic144]

i never knew that -- that's horrible! :[

[cbstrange4]

Oh Audra...:)

[moesanda1a]

Yentl was directed by Streisand and the screenplay was co-written by Streisand and Yentl was played by Streisand. She also sang almost all the songs in the movie. The only thing Audra McDonald could possibly do is to sing the songs half as good as Barbra.

[capuandres]

I agree with you

[liciaboos24]

You know why she can't be in Yentl right it's because she is African American not being racis im African American too. But she is just simplt devine. And i think she should have that role in Yentl.

[andrear]

I love Audra and Stephanie Block NEEDS to be Yentl. =)

[tmacattacker]

@andrear That's a brilliant idea

[rbocanegra62]

audra, stick to audra...bad bad bad to follow babs...just horrible!

[mickey05491]

what is "that" song?

[prelasser]

"Papa, Can You Hear Me?"

[mickey05491]

oh...i like that song because my papa died when i was 8 and i've always felt alone

[shangqinli]

Come on Mickey, the title is just above the vid. It hurts me deeply that your dad left this world when you were so young. I can understand how lonely you feel. I lost my wife, so I do now the pain. Listen to this song by Audra, again and again; your dad will be there, next to you, listening too. And for one moment, one little moment, he'll be alive again. The rest of the time, be sure he keeps looking upon you and protect you.

[mickey05491]

thank you..........alot.

[Broadwaystar2be5]

too classical..sometimes simplicity is better...example: this song

[senoramariposa]

Audra is so lovely in every way.

The school is called Yeshiva. The original title of the story, by Isaac Bashevis Singer was called "Yentl, The Yeshiva Boy".

[Misty15big]

i confused what is singing yentel? sum 1 plz explain!!

[jefgain]

Misty, supposedly the joke of Audra wanting to play the title role in 'Yentle' which was played by Steisand, is that Yentle is a European Jewess that wants to study the talmud when girls weren't allowed. It shows Audra's great sense of humor. But I think she would do a great job.

[shauninfl28]

Yentl....not Yentle

[jefgain]

I forgot the 'e', what are you an english teacher? (joking)

[aristo48]

Love both Barbra's and Audra's versions

[Babsfanalltheway]

I'm not a fan of this I'm afraid - she puts too much of her classical voice into it and that's just not how it's meant to sound. Maybe I'm just biased but it's just not possible to get anyone to sing it better than the one and only Barbra Streisand!!! NOtice how she didn't even mention her name - surely she should get just as much credit for how it sounds!!

[jefgain]

You are biased, but when it comes to Babs it is justifiable.

[148jules]

The credit for songs usually go to the lyricist and composer who actually created the song. Btw, yes I am a huge Babs fan myself!

[jojo34209]

This is as beautiful a rendition as Barbra's.

[MrsWLeach]

AMEN!

[jefgain]

She would be great in Yentl.

[MichelleHayworth]

Better yet, Mental. Go, grrrrrrrl!

[jefgain]

No not Mental, that was "Nuts", Yentle. I think she would be great as Yentle. There are very many dark skinned and black Jews in Israel and Africa. FYI, I love your selection of Favs.

[astroshape]

she WOULD be perfect..just PERFECT..remember nothing is imposible

[MrsWLeach]

On top of which, 15 yr old Yentl was played by 45 year old Barbra. So why not Audra??

[Gale1543]

What Audra meant was Yentl is a 15 year old Jewish girl. There weren't any "black jews" in that time period. as racist as that sounds, it's the truth. She even said that herself when she said "Color blind casting". But yeah she would be amazing as Yentl if anyone was to make it into a musical

[spitty0]

Your statement is false. The original Jews are black and reside in African. Some European Jews do share the same DNA as that tribe in Africa. The African Tribe still exists of course. It was on History Channel!

[nousernamewhatsoever]

Sir,YOUR statement is false.The original Jews are black?!?!what the hell.Just open a bible and you'll see you're wrong.Maybe some Jews got mixed with the Africans but Jews certainly didn't originally come from Africa.I can prove to you that Russians have the same DNA as some European Jews.Does that mean Jews Originally came from Russia?NO!it only proves that they got mixed with them.History Channel..Phaleeze!

[jojo34209]

Barbra was 40 when the movie was filmed, and the movie is an adaptation of a short story, and there is no mention in the film about her age, she is not playing a girl, she is playing a woman. The same way 10 things I hate about you was adapted from The Taming of the Shrew, and Clueless was adapted from Emma, I am very sure that Yentl could be adapted to fit Audra's casting and ethnic background.

[xandre111]

I agree with you Jojo34209. ART is ART, doesn't matter which race or skin color the actor or actress has. Matter whether or not will touch people's heart. As Barbra did (... still does) and as Audra does with her unique voice and interpretation!

[jojo34209]

Thanks, Xandre.

[atlblkprync1981]

Can someone direct me to a clip where she is singing in full voice? thanks -jermaine

[senoramariposa]

Yes, she's singing in full voice in MY MAN'S GONE NOW. It's on my my playlist.

[jo2wong]

I love babs and Audra is amazing.. Thanks for posting!

[Voolu]

I agree with the acting comment. It's the reason I love to hear her sing. I don't think her trained voice is anything above and beyond any other classically trained singer. But she brings so much passion to her roles that you *believe* the words, and the music becomes more than a pretty song. That's her incredible talent.

[pete422188]

Lacks in vocal tone? I didn't even realize you were going there.

I mean, what it really comes down to is a difference of opinion and I'd HATE to become one of those people who gets into arguments via youtube comments. She's probably best known for her voice because her degree at Juilliard was in Vocal Performance (she hates singing classical, though) and she does concert tours.

What do you mean by interpretation?

[theatre90]

Okay, I KNOW Audra McDonald is absolutely amazing. Stellar technique, etc. but after listening to countless numbers of her recordings and such, i think her vibrato is far too wide, and her interpretations are all the same, pretty basic, nothing to blow your mind.

[pete422188]

Despite how much I love Audra (and seriously... I really, really do), I can understand where you're coming from. But if you ever see her perform a role, I feel like that's where her brilliance really lies. Watch a clip of her in Ragtime, then look at Carousel, then look at 110 in the Shade. There's SO MUCH diversity in the roles she's played and what she's brought to them.

[theatre90]

Oh i absolutely agree. Her in 110 in the Shade is pure brilliance....acting wise. What i mean is, she is so widely known for her voice when i think her real talent lies in her acting ability, and really lacks in vocal tone and sometimes even interpretation.

[paulotomaso]

i don't think ive ever seen an audra album or appearance that wasn't at least half barbra music. shes made a career out of loving barbra. id be the richest person in the world if i could paid for loving barba.

[carpediemyo]

With the great voice and stage presence, she has great humor, too! I love her!

[chrismecham]

Sing the phone book. Totally. I'm thrilled to see her working in TV, knowing she's raking in some big paychecks but any time I see her and she's not singing my heart breaks a little.

[paulmiranda]

one of my all time favorite songs....thanks for posting!

[Chocras]

This is one of my favorite selections from that concert. Thanks for putting this on YouTube.

[jeffreycarder]

I really think I could listen to Audra McDonald sing the phone book. "Oh My God! She's singing the T's!!! I'm sooo excited! Do you think she'll do R's?"