A play opening in Santa Barbara this week has a wild premise: An out-of-work actor lands a bizarre job, running a private shopping mall in the basement of superstar Barbra Streisand’s Malibu home, which serves just one customer: Barbra Streisand.
Brian McDonald stars in Buyer and Cellar. He plays Alex, the actor working in the mall; he also plays Streisand and, in fact, all the roles in the play.
It’s a challenging role for McDonald, who has to perform both roles in a conversation between the shopkeeper and Streisand.
"I'm playing both sides of that conversation," said McDonald. "I'm taking the audience on this ride with me. It's me telling the story, and embodying those characters."
The director of the Ensemble Theater Company production talks about the story's origins.
"Jonathan Tolins got Barbra Streisand's book of design, read it, and thought it would be fun to use the book, and that's the part of the story that's true," said Buyer and Cellar Director James Torcellini. "It's so funny and so outrageous, because obviously, it could never have happened. But, in his writing, it sort of sneaks up on you on how touching it is. The humanity of Barbara and Alex together is really sweet."
An off-Broadway production premiered in 2013, and it was also staged in London. This is the second time Brian McDonald has starred in the one-man show.
What does McDonald think that Streisand would think of the show?
"I have asked people that know her. She does know about it. I would like to believe that she would come and just enjoy it, because it really is a love letter to her."
Buyer and Cellar has Thursday (10/8) and Friday night (10/9) previews, and premieres Saturday night. The Ensemble Theater Company production runs through October 25 at Santa Barbara’s New Vic Theater.
