Ask Barbara Cook how she keeps her voice in such crystalline shape, and the 84-year-old responds with silvery peals of laughter. “I got good genes, honey,” she says. “I was given a really good technique, too, so if it hurts, I don’t do it. The rest is a mystery.” One thing that isn’t a mystery is why the Georgia native’s being honored at the Kennedy Center tonight. Not only was she the original Marian the librarian of Broadway’s “The Music Man,” but she’s considered the gold standard of cabaret singers and the foremost interpreter of Stephen Sondheim. Fresh off a four-hour rehearsal for her new show at Feinstein’s, she happily spoke about a few of her favorite books.
Jean Christophe
by Romain Rolland
I had a spoken English class in high school and I was so thrilled with this book, I stood up and talked about it in class. The principal wanted me to do a book report for the whole school, but they wanted a biography of Abigail Adams, and I wasn’t interested. “Jean Christophe” made me realize I could act.
A Stillness at Appomattox
by Bruce Catton
I’m not particularly drawn to historical dramas; if I read a book, I like to know what really happened. But “Stillness” is the whole story of the Civil War, and everything in it was taken from journals and letters — there’s nothing in it that was made up. Everything in this book really happened.
Nostalgia Isn’t What It Used to Be
by Simone Signoret
I’m drawn to celebrity autobiographies, and I think this might be the best. When [Signoret’s husband] Yves Montand and Marilyn Monroe did a film, they were having an affair. Signoret found a way to talk about that and her feelings without trashing either one of them.
Somebody: The Reckless Life
and Remarkable Career of
Marlon Brando
by Stefan Kanfer
I never did meet him, but I admire his work so much! I used to think everybody got the same kick out of a sunset, but Brando convinced me that that’s not true — some of us have a higher sensibility, actors particularly. I used to think acting was frivolous. He changed that.