Rachel and Kurt, Barbra and Judy

I really enjoyed the duets on Glee last night, especially Rachel (Lea Michele) and Kurt (Chris Colfer) singing "Happy Days Are Here Again" and "Get Happy." It was so beautiful. You can watch their performance here.

But clueless me, I had no idea they were paying tribute to an iconic duet by Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland, from Garland's short-lived TV show.

The program was taped on Oct. 4, 1963, and CBS executives were so impressed they edited it quickly and broadcast it two days later. Streisand ended up receiving an Emmy nomination.

In 1991, she recalled:

"Extraordinary talent went into the making of this show. The director was Norman Jewison, the musical director was Mort Lindsey and Mel Torme did special musical material. There's also a brief visit by the wonderful Ethel Merman — but most of all there was Judy Garland. Miraculous ... soulful ... divine ... Singing these duets with her was sheer bliss. I was 21 years old."

Born on the 3rd of July!

Happy birthday to George M. Cohan, father of American musical comedy who was born on July 3, 1878, on Wickenden Street in Providence, R.I., where I snapped this photo. (Not July 4th, as the song goes.)

Here are Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade singing one of Cohan's most famous tunes, "Give My Regards to Broadway." It's one of my favorites.

Some thoughts on the 2010 Tony Awards

This is going to be a little like the Tony Awards: nothing too edgy or innovative, nothing that other people haven't already said and with more panache. You can find the winners here.

As host, Sean Hayes was charming and funny, terrific at the piano (did anyone else tear up at the first strains of "Give My Regards to Broadway?") and not afraid to put on silly costumes. His drawn-out kiss with Promises, Promises costar Kristin Chenoweth was perfect.

With so many styles of music represented on Broadway: rhythm and blues, pop, rock 'n' roll, Afrobeat, to name a few, why did American Idiot get to perform so many times? And people do realize that Green Day's not in the show, right?

As presenters, Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane from The Addams Family made me laugh. Yes, the Passover line has been used before but what can I say? Perhaps it's programmed in my genetic code but I will laugh every single time.

I thought Catherine Zeta-Jones did a much better job with "Send in the Clowns" when I saw A Little Night Music than she did on the Tonys. Steve on Broadway, as usual, had the perfect quip on Twitter: "Catherine Zeta-Jones inexplicably became a bobble-head."

How glamorous was Scarlett Johansson! I was moved by her acceptance speech: "Ever since I was a little girl, I've wanted to be on Broadway." Sadly, A View From the Bridge closed in April. Johansson is a singer, too. So the 25-year-old may well have an EGOT in her future.

I think Glee is hit or miss, but I loved hearing Lea Michele sing "Don't Rain on My Parade." Although I know it's not likely to happen, I would buy a ticket to see her in a Broadway revival of Funny Girl. I just would.

I wish people would stop ragging on Best Musical winner Memphis. It's an energetic show with terrific performances from Chad Kimball and Montego Glover. At a time when we're still fighting for marriage equality, the story of the romance between a black singer and a white disc jockey in the 1950s resonated with me.

(And Michael Riedel, if you liked Fela! better, that's fine. But please, you're not an expert on what's "authentically black.")

A dream role for Lea Michele

Now this is one bit of Jewish-related musical theatre trivia that I did not know.

Lea Michele, formerly of Spring Awakening on Broadway and currently in Glee, talks to The Washington Post about the Fox series and her ideal musical role:

"I want to be in Funny Girl. And I want [Glee creator] Ryan Murphy to direct it."

Would she do it on Broadway?

"I would do it in a basement in Brooklyn, if somebody would let me do it! It's the best role ever -- any Jewish girl would want to play Fanny Brice!"

Best role ever? Wow! Although I guess it makes sense - what other musicals are there with a Jewish woman in the lead role?

I don't think I've ever seen Funny Girl, based on the life of comedienne, singer and actress Fanny Brice. (Okay, maybe snippets here and there on tv.) Rest assured I'll be putting the movie in my Netflix queue right away.

The musical ran for three years on Broadway between 1964 and 1967, with Barbra Streisand in the title role, amassing 1,348 performances. Streisand reprised the role for the 1968 movie and won an Oscar, sharing the Best Actress prize with Katharine Hepburn for The Lion in Winter.

And Funny Girl has never been revived on Broadway, although there was a special one-night benefit performance for The Actors Fund in 2002.

With the musical Ragtime and two Neil Simon plays - Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound - on the Great White Way this fall, there'll be more Jewish characters than I can remember. Maybe it's time for a Funny Girl revival?

Here's a great program from 1964 about Funny Girl's opening night on Broadway, featuring interviews with Streisand and others. It's so poignant to hear people talk about her when she was just on the cusp of fame: