Missed opportunities.

There are lots of commonly held beliefs that I don't think are true. One of the most prevalent is that gay men are wild about Barbara Streisand. I have never found this to be true. At least not among gay men today who have their own contemporary idols. Personally speaking, I think Streisand is a great talent who wasted her singing and acting skills on crap or at least second-rate material.  When she first came on the scene, she did some brilliant tv specials like My Name Is Barbra. Then it was all downhill on such mediocre films as For the Love of Pete, The Main Event, A Star is Born, and The Owl and the Pussycat. Frankly, I think her praised films are also boring: Funny Girl, Yentl, and the tedious Hello Dolly. At one point she could have played the life of Sarah Bernhardt, a role only she could have done justice. But she didn't. She took a towering talent and turned it into a popular one. Still she's been successful, reasonably well-adjusted, wildly popular and wealthy. These are not traits that win over the gay community who seem to favor tragic, self-destructive superstars like Judy Garland,who did make the most of her prodigious abilities. So, no, I'm not a Streisand fan, and would never think of buying one of her albums. With one exception. If she made the one album which she should have made years ago. An album that would be a huge seller and one which would employ her unique vocal talent and all her till-now squandered skills as a great actress, and one which I am sure would astonish the entertainment world: Streisand Sings Sondheim.