TRACK SIX of Back to Broadway is “Children Will Listen” from Into the Woods (1987) by Stephen Sondheim. This is a powerful moralistic song that explores the double-entendres of its title. It's a theme that Barbra Streisand has always favored: “Actions have consequences, even for future generations.” She sings it with an irony that recalls her 1985 recording of "Pretty Women/The Ladies Who Lunch” from The Broadway Album. Like that song, this one is a splendid performance.
I enjoyed re-imaging the “song pictorial” above. The musical intertwines various fairy tales in the woods, so I colorized a photograph of a forest to make it look fantastical, lights and shadows and all. Ms. Streisand's shot is from a 1991 fashion pictorial for Vanity Fair by the late Herb Ritts. I created a witch's hat to complement Isaac Mizrahi's gorgeous satin cloak. This is the most fun photomontage I've done for this series.
The song was released as a single. Listen to the track, with Ms. Streisand's spoken intro that is not available on the CD:
