Barbra Streisand sings, waxes political at US Airways Center

Actress, director, singer and all-around diva Barbra Streisand doesn't tour very often, so it is ironic that the story surrounding Streisand's 2006 tour isn't about her music, but about a certain controversial skit featuring a President George W. Bush impersonator camping it up and playing the fool.

So here it the lowdown on the skit: It is pretty funny. Hilarious even.

Bush impersonator Steve Bridges is able to get off some new one-liners in the wake of the Nov. 7 election, with "Bush" trumpeting "Man, we took a thumping!" and, speaking about the nation's capitol, "Man, I had to get out of there — that place is a real buzzkill right now!"

Despite a nearly inaudible chant Thursday night from the back of the US Airways Center that sounded negative — it was hard to tell — the sell-out crowd appeared to enjoy the skit, laughing and applauding at the wry one-liners.

"It was actually pretty funny," said Susan Lee, who traveled from the Bay Area — where Streisand tour tickets were $700 to $2,000 — with her cousin, Janet Lee, to see the Phoenix show. "There was nothing wrong with it."

"I think (Streisand's politics preachings) are OK in moderation," said Janet Lee, "but that's not why we're here. We already knew her political views — we were here to hear her sing."

And sing beautifully is what Streisand, 64, did on Thursday night.

Emerging on a riser centerstage and dressed in a flowing, glittery black gown, Streisand, backed by a fantastic, full orchestra that was sunken in and around the three catwalks surrounding an enormous stage, began her set with "Starting Here, Starting Now" and afterwards received the first of what would be many standing ovations during the show.

"Wow, Phoenix! What a crowd," Streisand said. "The last time I was here was in 1976 when I filmed "A Star is Born" at Sun Devil Stadium."

Streisand pointed out her co-star in that film, country singer Kris Kristofferson, was playing his own show up the street at the Celebrity Theatre on this same night.

Notorious for her legendary bouts with stage fright, Streisand was bouyed by a huge teleprompter that helped her out with lyrics and with her pithy stage banter — Streisand admitted to using it, seeing as it was in full view of half of the crowd — but she ad-libbed a little when she spoke about her day in the Valley, driving up to Camelback Mountain, stopping in at Scottsdale honky tonk Handlebar J and downing a Southwest Signature pizza and pizza cookie dessert at Oreganos, saying she "definitely got a taste of Phoenix."

Highlights of the show included "The Way We Were," then Streisand sitting down at the piano to play "Ma Premier Chanson," which she said is only one of 10 songs she's ever written, and then another song she wrote, the beautiful "Evergreen," as well as a medley of tunes from "Funny Girl," during which she regaled the crowd with tales of the differences in the film and the stage version.

The concert had the feel of a Broadway show, with guest stars Il Divo — a Simon Cowell creation consisting of four operatic men from four different countries (the U.S., France, Italy and Switzerland) joining Streisand intermittently during the festivities to back the singer on such tunes as "Evergreen," "Music of the Night" and "Somewhere," as well as performing a few tunes on their own, such as "Unchained Melody," "Unbreak My Heart" and "My Way," all performed with the band's separate, native tongues.

After a 20-minute intermission, the second half of the show saw Streisand including more post-election political banter (such as telling the crowd that a Nov. 8 edition of a London paper said "Thank You America," and saying, "No matter what era, hate accomplishes nothing," as well as "my hat is off to this state for not accepting bigotry into its constitution,") in between songs.

Streisand, whose voice is still a tremendous instrument — probably due, in part, to her rare concert appearances over the years — concluded her show with the encore number "Don't Rain on My Parade" before disappearing backstage. When she returned, Kris Kristofferson was with her, and the two shared a wave and a quick smooch to a standing ovation before Kristofferson ducked backstage and Streisand closed with — in may have been another nod to the victorious Democrats — "Happy Days Are Here Again."

"I loved it!" said Linda Armstrong, 64, of Scottsdale, who shares a birthday with Streisand. "I've been a fan since 1962 and she sounded just like she did 40 years ago."