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Streisand opens tour with ridiculing Bush onstage

By Stone Martindale Oct 5, 2006, 15:37 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - Chanteuse Barbra Streisand opened her first U.S. tour in 12 years on Wednesday with a stage show that sniped at President George W. Bush. Barbra Streisand is no funny girl when it comes to Bush...
REUTERS/Steve Marcus

Barbra Streisand is no funny girl when it comes to Bush... REUTERS/Steve MarcusBefore a crowd of some 16,000 people in South Philadelphia's Wachovia Center, Streisand sang renditions of standards from her long career as a singer and actress including "Funny Girl," "Come Rain or Come Shine," "Love Soft as an Easy Chair," and "Somewhere."During her show a skit was played out onstage where an actor playing Bush uttered such lines as, "I'm concerned about the national debt, so I'm selling Canada," and "If I cared about the polls I would have run for president of Poland."Streisand, 64, a liberal "actorvist" said she was raising money for her foundation, which supports a range of causes related to the environment, education, health care and other issues.Streisand was wearing a black sequin outfit and a black gown and shawl with gold trim after the interval.Using a teleprompter for lyrics, she recalled a traumatic event in the past when she forgot the words to three songs at a 1967 concert in New York.Streisand had stopped giving live concerts for more than 20 years. She declared six years ago that she would not play live anymore."Her voice is just as good as it was in the early '60s. She is godly," said one fan, who paid $750 for two tickets and was happy the money was going to the foundation.