"First of all, I want to thank you all for coming. Before we begin, there are a few things I have to say. I am not Barbra Streisand. I don't do her. I don’t think anybody should do her. She’s too specific. Even when people do her brilliantly, it's not her, it's an interpretation. So if you're looking for an impersonation, that’s not what this is.
You have to play multiple characters throughout the show, and this opening establishes your baseline charisma. buyer and cellar playbill
The script explicitly requires the actor to speak directly to the audience, drop character entirely, and address them with charm and conversational wit. "First of all, I want to thank you all for coming