October 25
Barbara Cook's Birthday

Barbara Cook performs with the Wynton Marsalis Septet at Jazz at Lincoln Center's 2007 Spring Gala Concert Photo by Frank Stewart
The former Broadway musical star and Tony Award winner for her starring role as Marion Paroo opposite Robert Preston in Meredith Wilson's 1957 Broadway hit The Music Man, Barbara Cook is still a class act. Even in her eighties, she continues to perform at sold out concerts and cabaret performances. In addition to her Tony, Barbara has also earned a Grammy, a Drama Desk. and New York Drama Critics Circle Awards, was cited citation as a Living New York Landmark, and was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame. Barbara made her Broadway debut at age 23 as the ingénue lead in the musical Flahooley (1951). After a few other roles, she stared as Cunnegonda in Leonard Bernstein's Candide (1956), Broadway's most famous flop in history, But then she was a major hit as Amalia Balash in Jerry Bock-Sheldon Harnick's She Loves Me (1952). Her best song from She Loves Me is "Ice Cream" which remains as one of her signature songs in her concert and cabaret appearances. She also starred in two National tours as Molly Brown in The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) and as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl (1967). As great roles were becoming rare for an older actress, she began drinking and put on more than 80 pounds which in turn resulted in clinical depression. She thought that her career was over. But composer and pianist Wally Harper convinced her to put together a concert and on January 26, 1975, accompanied by Harper, she made her debut in a legendary solo concert at Carnegie Hall .Over the next three decades, the two performed together both nationally and internationally. In 1994, they performed a critically acclaimed concert series in London about which Alistair Macauley wrote in the Financial Times, "Barbara Cook is the greatest singer in the world...Ms. Cook is the only popular singer active today who should be taken seriously by lovers of classical music. Has any singer since Callas matched Cook's sense of musical architecture? I doubt it." In January 2006, Barbara became the first female pop singer to be presented by the Metropolitan Opera in the company's more than one hundred year history. Barbara was also a recipient of the 2011 Kennedy Center Honors, along with Neil Diamond, Yo-Yo Ma, Sonny Rollins, and Meryl Streep. To to celebrate her birthday, we suggest making a batch of Avocado Ice Cream as a tribute to her hit song from She Loves Me, and buying (not renting) the DVD Barbara Cook in Mostly Sondheim.
Avocado Ice Cream
Ingredients
12 oz avocado flesh, approximately 3 small to medium 1 TB freshly squeezed lime juice 1&1/2 cups whole milk 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup heavy cream	1/2 cup sugar 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Peel and pit the avocados. Add the avocados, lime juice, milk, and sugar to a blender and puree. Transfer the mixture to a medium mixing bowl, add the heavy cream and whisk to combine. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and chill until it reaches 40º F or below, approximately 4 to 6 hours. Process the mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. However, this mixture sets up very fast, so count on it taking only 5 to 10 minutes to process. For soft ice cream, serve immediately. If desired, place in freezer for 3 minutes.
© 2011 Gordon Nary and Tyler Stokes