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To commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the Broadway musical that launched one of our most luminous, legendary entertainers into orbit, you’d think Capitol would go the all-out, super-deluxe route. And you’d be right, as they have pulled out all the stops for this anniversary release of its original-cast album. Composer Jule Styne, lyricist Bob Merrill and librettist Isobel Lennart collaborated to bring this musical portrait of Franny Brice to life. In just her second Broadway role, Barbra Streisand stole the show as Fanny; she’d go on to win an Oscar when reprising the role in her 1968 big-screen debut. Streisand, Sydney Chaplin, Danny Meehan and the rest of the original cast took just one session to record this 1964 LP, but the rewards were lasting: a #2 smash LP, 51 weeks on the Billboard charts and a Grammy. So what’s inside this beautiful-looking box? First, you get the original 17-track LP on both CD and vinyl: that electrifying overture and Streisand’s iconic performance of People plus Don’t Rain on My Parade; I’m the Greatest Star; Cornet Man; Who Are You Now?, and more. Inside the 48-page book are an illuminating new essay by Barbra’s longtime A&R executive Jay Landers and a wealth of photos from the original production of the Broadway triumph that lifted Streisand to stardom! Capitol.