Steven Brinberg in <i>Simply Barbra</i>.

Steven Brinberg in Simply Barbra.

Reviewer rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Chapel off Chapel, Prahran
Until June 30

WHAT you see on the box is not necessarily what's in the packet - Steven Brinberg looks nothing like Barbra Streisand, which is probably why he starts his Barbra tribute/impersonation show with his back to the audience so you hear the voice first then see the middle-aged man in a wig and frock second.

And it's a pretty dowdy frock at that. Admittedly his top notes mimic the nasally vibrato of Streisand but it's a one-gag show - once you've heard the voice that's about it.

Given Brinberg has been doing the show for a couple of decades, the jokes - told in the first person and sending up her career, husband and famous perfectionism - could have been funnier and his movement freer. It's all very static, unlike Streisand, who gestures and bops quite freely.

The show had funny moments though when taking the piss with stylistic flourishes and goofing with the lyrics, and more of this would have brightened and lightened proceedings, which were a little too reverential towards the songs.

It must be a hard slog to make a 20-year-old show seem fresh and lively week on week, but the audience lapped it up and left smiling.