Streisand's 'Yentl' hits a landmark

"My
face has two very different sides," Streisand says. "As a girl, I
prefer the left side. But I used the right side as a boy, so that I
would look different."

Fans can review her strategy Tuesday, when Yentl,
which Streisand also directed and co-wrote, becomes available in a new
two-disc set, loosely pegged to its 25th anniversary. The director's
edition of the musical movie about a Jewish woman seeking to study
religion in a patriarchal culture includes previously unreleased
rehearsal footage, musical montages and deleted scenes.

"There
are fun things, like where we put the rehearsal tapes and the final
film versions" of several numbers side by side. Streisand "had only
nine days to rehearse" before leaving for the U.K., where Yentl was shot. "So I just dressed up in a schleppy little costume and tried
out my scenes, with my friends playing the other parts, at my house and
their houses."

She points out that a number of American studios had passed on Yentl.
"There was this notion that you can't be an actress who directs." In
England, "they had a queen and a female prime minister, so they had no
problem with my being a woman."

Perhaps
it's no coincidence that Streisand has chosen another woman to shepherd
her latest project. She is working on a new album produced by jazz
singer/pianist Diana Krall, with musicians from Krall's band, due this
year.

"This
is (Krall's) first time producing," says Streisand, 66, who is
executive producer. "She's so good at what she does, and I like her so
much as a person. We're working with a small group, like I did when I
was a young performer." Tracks in progress include standards such as Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most and In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning.

Her
recording schedule prevented Streisand from appearing at President
Obama's inauguration in January, she says. "I just couldn't be away for
four days to rehearse and sing. But it was great watching it on
television, from my warm bed."

And, predictably, Streisand isn't reluctant to opine on Obama's initial progress.

"He's
doing great," she says. "He's done more in eight days than (the
previous administration) did in eight years — and constructively,
rather than destructively. It's great for our country and great for the
world."