I uploaded the National Anthem by Bette to the Jukebox for the July 4th Holidays for those who are interested….such a beautiful version, too….Click Here

Love, Mister D

Putting Mermaids On The Map
By Mike Weatherford
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Forget the hot dogs, apple pie and hand-cranked ice cream. Fourth of July weekend with Kathy Griffin could mean fried Twinkies with Bette Midler at Mermaids.

“I’m telling you, Bette Midler and I have put Mermaids on the map,” she says of the trip to the Fremont Street slot joint, documented in this season’s first episode of Griffin’s Bravo reality show “My Life on the D-List.”

“You have no idea how many people have e-mailed … ‘How did you get Bette to go?’ ” says the comedian, who does her stand-up today at Mandalay Bay. “It did take a little persuasion. This is the type of delicacy you have to eat till you’re sick. For some people, that’s one bite.”

If all went to plan, Griffin was the guest of honor at a Thursday night party to unveil her wax figure at Madame Tussauds at The Venetian.

“D-List” cameras recorded the day the Tussauds craftsmen measured her for the figure, and the unveiling was likewise to be filmed for the show.

Cher opened her big mouth and told Griffin, “I think they put it in storage if you’re not hot.” Now the comedian worries “that I’m so D-list, the Madame Tussauds people are gonna put me in the storeroom.”

Having her very own wax figure is a far cry from the July 4 weekends of Griffin’s childhood in Chicago: “A lot of drunken micks sitting around in the yard swearing at each other and starting fights. A lot of knocked over beer bottles.

“My brother John used to get these things called snakes, and they would ruin the sidewalk and my mom and dad would be furious.”

This year, she says, “I plan to celebrate in the warmth and comfort of a nice, decadent bay of slots.”

Mister D: Just a reminder that “The Rose,” the musical, starring Spencer Brown will have it’s theatrical opening in Kansas City on July 24th. The last day, August 11. For tickets: Click Here

To read the interview: Click Here

This should be a wild ride kids…if anyone outside Kansas City can make it, try your best. I think it will be a great experience. I’ll be going August 8th and I know I’ll have a great time.

Love, Mister D

“The Showgirl Must Go On” In A NutCase Shell
by Robert J.

Don,

I just returned from Vegas and thought I’d tell you a bit about my experience with “The Showgirl Must Go On.”

I bought my tickets months ago using the Travelzoo code on Ticketmaster. I was able to get 8th row seats this time. Not dead center but close enough. I was stage left, Bette’s “good side.” Keep in mind that I saw the show last summer for the first time, this was my 2nd time. I know, I know… not fair to the people who’ve never seen it but what can I say? Become a fanatic and just do it. Anyhow, I really didn’t pay too much… actually, I paid more to see “Kiss My Brass” in Dallas.

I arrived in Vegas on Monday, June 22nd. I wasted no time heading to Caesars to visit the gift shop. There were several new items that weren’t there last year. Some new shirts and mugs. I asked the clerk about the video playing on the screen. It was KMB and she told me there were no plans to release it. I playfully punched her on the arm and told her to make it happen. Sometimes I think we need to petition to get Bette’s people to release a boxed set of all of her concerts. I’d give my left &*#@ to have a DVD of “The Divine Miss Millennium.” Anyhow, I didn’t buy too many items because I remembered from the previous year that after the show there were more items for sale in the lobby that weren’t in the gift shop.

Tuesday arrived and I headed to the forum shops connected to Caesars in search of the perfect shirt for the show that night. Now I do a pretty good job of being gay but when it comes to shopping, I hate to say that I didn’t really get that gene. I have this bad habit of picturing the shirt I want in my mind and then I spend hours trying to find it. Well, it didn’t exist. Or maybe it did and I was just too cheap to pay for it or even perhaps, I found it but it didn’t fit. Damn if I’m going to pay over $100 for a smart blouse and will someone please explain to the Europeans that their XL shirts aren’t really extra large… maybe a husky 4th grader could get into it but nothing was working for me. I opted for a shirt I brought from Dallas. While it wasn’t new, Bette had never seen me in it before!

Soon it was time to meet up with my travel buddy for dinner. I won’t go into a lot of detail here because I’d have to explain his sick gambling habits and we’d get off topic. You’ll just have to understand that my friend went to Vegas a week before I arrived and already saw the show. So while we were having dinner together, I was going to the show alone that evening. I really didn’t mind… it would give me a chance to meet new people at the show. We had a great dinner at Trevi Italian Restaurant… I tried not to eat a lot because I didn’t want to feel like a blob during the show and I’m secretly hoping to wear a European XL one day.

I headed to the Colosseum around seven. I wanted the chance to get to know my neighbors and make sure they knew it was perfectly o.k. to act like an idiot whenever Bette looked in our direction. On my left were two ladies in their 50s who had never seen Bette in concert and on my right were two ladies who had. Naturally, I leaned toward the virgins. One of the ladies made it clear that she didn’t want me to confuse Bette-concert-virgin with true virgin. They were both great ladies and a lot of fun. I made sure to tell them that Bette doesn’t use a teleprompter and that she sings every word.

At this point, something amazing happened. I was flapping my jaw telling the ladies how one of my massage clients got to actually go to one of Bette’s Dallas rehearsals for TDMM when all of the sudden she perked up and said, “Who is that famous person sitting on the front row?” I immediately did a head snap and tried to focus on this chestnut brown haired girl. My new friend went on to say, “people keep going down to talk to her and she’s signing autographs.” I turned to the ladies on my right and asked them if they could tell who it was and one of them said, “It’s probably Susan Lucci because we saw her in the lobby. Well, that did it… I knew I wasn’t going to get to meet Bette but I knew I could meet Erica Kane! I told the girls I was going to go down and talk to her and off I went. There was one lady speaking with her so I waited patiently and then I crouched down on one knee and put out my hand. I figured she had had so many proposals that this position would make her feel comfortable. Plus her tiny frame just disappeared in my XL shadow. Anyhow, she took my hand as I introduced myself. I told her that my mother had watched “All My Children” for years and that I would watch with her when I was on summer break in grade school. I told her that I remembered when she, Tara, Phillip, and Chuck were in high-school! This made her giggle and her husband, Helmut found it humorous as well. I told her to enjoy the show and thanked her for talking to me. She then thanked me for coming down to talk to her. She was very nice and sincere. I returned to my seat and my new friends wanted to know everything she said. I also sent my travel buddy a text message that read, “I just talked to Susan Lucci” to which he replied, “shut up.”

(Robert in his non-European XL shirt)

Very soon after that the lights began to fade and the large screen began to move starting the video that opens the show. Once again I got that silly feeling I get everytime I’ve seen Bette in concert (ten times now). It’s hard to explain. It’s a strange relationship. The reality of it all is that she’s this amazing person who I’m sure is quite different from the characters she has created for these shows. I know those characters well, they entertain me, they make me laugh, they make me cry. I get excited when she begins and sad when it ends. I know so much about her career and about her life yet she doesn’t really know I even exsist! There’s one thing I always do when I see her in concert. Right before it begins I look around at all the people. The thousands of people who fill up auditoriums and stadiums to see her perform and I’m in awe. What must it feel like to have this many people interested in your craft? How must she feel each night when she’s crawls out of a clam, pops out of a globe, flies in on a horse, or spins around on a pile of Louis Vuitton luggage? Do you ever really get used to it? I don’t know, it just amazes me. The great thing about seeing her live is watching her take it all in. If she is tired or bored from the repitition of doing the same show night after night, you would never know. She is in the moment every second she’s on the stage. No one half her age does what she does…. OK, enough praise. You get the idea.

The show ended and she started on stage right and began to shake hands with those lucky enough to sit close to the stage. By the time she got to center stage I was about to walk up so I could at least shake her hand but alas, Bubba the security guard beat me to his post. You could only walk up to the edge of the stage if you were on the 4th row or closer. My 8th row seat allowed me just to wave and applaud… and applaud we did. My new friends were big fans now. They couldn’t believe what they had seen that evening. The curtain closed for a final time and Bette was gone. The house lights came on and we all turned to leave. I gave my friends a hug and told one of them that she had a paper gold coin on her left tit and we smiled and parted ways. You’ll be glad to know that I told her about www.bootlegbetty.com

By the way, 3 hours after I arrived in Vegas, I hit a $900 jackpot. After telling my buddy about the people who got to shake Bette’s hand he told me to get a ticket for the next night. I have to admit I thought about it. I actually went to the box office to ask about tickets and they had several single seats on the front row. For $250, I could shake Bette’s hand. Hmmmmm With my jackpot, the money wasn’t an issue but I stepped away from the counter and came to my senses. I told my buddy that I would put that $250 toward a dream trip to Hulaween or the garden party someday. It actually went on the roulette table the next day.

Speaking of the next day, we headed downtown and found our way to Mermaids. We got in line for fried oreos and twinkies. We got to meet one of the guys who was there that night. We also talked to another employee who wasn’t working that night but she was more than happy to tell us all about it. She said once they knew they were coming in they cleared out the casino. It’s actually a very small place… No table games, just slot machines. It’s a very greasy place but the girl told us that ever since the Kathy Griffin show aired, they sell out of oreos and twinkies every night. She said on weekends, the line is out the door. The power of TV is a scary thing!

So there you have it… My trip to Vegas and Bette’s show… not quite in a nut shell… more like a nut case shell. Enjoy the pics.

Robert

If you’re in Las Vegas and you want to visit that place where Bette ate a fried oreo twink, then have I got the address for you!:

Mermaids Casino

32 Fremont St.

Las Vegas, NV

702.382.5777

Don’t be obnoxious and call them up about Bette. She said hello and ordered. End of story.

Mister D: Thanks Katrin for sending this to me. This sexy little ditty came from the show Rouge, written by Eric Kornfeld (KMB, TSMGO) and performed by Bette Midler’s Showgirls, aka the Caesar’s Salad girls. This number is hot, hot, hot.

1. Coachella
2. Stagecoach Festival
3. Simon and Garfunkel
4. George Strait, Reba, Blake Shelton, Lee Ann Womack
5. Kenny Chesney, Sugarland, Montgomery Gentry, and Others
6. Elton John and Billy Joel
7. Rock On The Range
8. Andre Bocelli
9. Elton John and Billy Joel
10. Dave Matthews Band
11. Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood
12. Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood
13. Il Divo
14. Bette Midler
15. Phish

Showbiz Spy
Pink: ‘Britney Spears Shouldn’t Mime’
Jul 01 2009. Posted by Adam

Pop punk Pink is furious that rival Britney Spears mimes during her performances.

The Sober hitmaker is angry that Britney is lip-syncing to her hits on her Circus tour and has called on her to sing up for her fans.

“For me, personally, if I go to a live show I want to see someome sing,” says Pink, who is currently on a 50-date tour of Australia. “I don’t want to see miming. Live shows are live show. You gotta do live.

“You gotta be spontaneous. That’s why I love Bette Midler and Tina Turner — they’re funny, they talk. You have to do that.”

Pink, real name Alecia Moore, and her ex-husband Carey Hart recently visited Australia in attempt to get their romance back on track.

“It took us seven years to work it out,” the singer told Australia’s Down Under newspaper.

“We got married and I went on the road for two years. That’s about as long as we were married. It’s definitely hard.”

Mister D: Well, I couldn’t miss this event, so I already got my tickets. If anybody else is interested, the production will be performed from July 24 thru August 11th. Tickets are general admission and can be bought HERE

To read the rest of Spencer’s blog: Click Here

Subject: “The Rose” Blog Update

Well this is the week is where the marketing campaign really kicks off. After the amazing photo shoot a few weeks ago, I went to California to do a few performances with the Kinsey Sicks. Afterwards, my boyfriend and I drove to Las Vegas where we went to see “The Showgirl Must Go On” for our birthdays. We saw it on Wednesday, June 24th just off to the right in the fourth row (right by the stairs where Bette comes down to play the ukelele!). Having seen it in March last year, it was great to see how the show has evolved and has become a much tighter production, a pro side when being a Vegas show. Somewhat of a downside for someone who longs for another epic show like “Kiss My Brass“. It’s safe to assume that my boyfriend and I were the only ones in the first ten rows under the age of thirty. My only complaint: last year when I saw it, Bette would go into “Glory of Love” during the Soph segment and then give a cute antecdote about Ernie passing away and old burlesque and about ‘finding your light -they can’t love ya if they can’t see ya.” That whole bit was gone. It went from Bette playing the first half of “The Glory of Love” on uke then the band joining her for the finish of it. So my main complaint isn’t with anything particular about Bette (it never would be!) -my main complaint is that they cut what I thought was a very good moment in the show!

After the show, my boyfriend and I purchased a few t-shirts only available inside the Colosseum and not in the boutique shop. I was sad to find that “The Rose” rocker t-shirt that they had last year has since been discontinued. Big bummer!!! So as we’re shopping, who pops right up in front of us but Kamilah Marshall and Shayna Steele! Brian and I probably looked completely stupified for a moment. Kamilah spoke first saying, “we just wanted to say how much fun it was watching you guys!” Apparently we were as entertaining to them as they were to us! So I then brought up that I had actually e-mailed both of them from their websites (courtesy of Bootleg Betty, ya know) that I was going to be at the Wednesday show fourth row and couldn’t wait and wished them break-a-legs. Once I said this, Shayna asked, “Are you Spencer?” and I thought this was just getting cooler by the second. Now one of them I messaged was through MySpace, and my MySpace is a publicity strategy for my drag character, Daisy, so I had to tell them I was also a drag queen. Shayna nudged Kamilah and said, “He’s the one who does drag!” And then they go into a story about when they were leaving the theatre, they saw a very tall man wearing women’s clothes (my guess is transgendered) leaving. They stopped him and asked if he was Spencer and in a low voice he said, “No, I’m Andrew.” Just the very idea of this had me laughing real good. So Kamilah said Jordan was outside of the shop waiting for them and we could meet her too if we wanted (uhm, duh! I dropped whatever I was going to buy and decided I’d go back later). We all got to talking -Shayna mentioned her new album will be out in September and available on iTunes and Kamilah mentioned that she’s looking at venues to tour with in the near future and asked me a little bit about Kansas City, which I think would be a great place for her to visit for a few nights of performing. Jordan asked if I went up to shake Bette’s hand at the end (Bette goes down the stage shaking everyone’s hand who goes up to stage). I told her I got closer but didn’t think it was right to push all the middle-aged women aside that I was surrounded by. I think maybe ten/fifteen minutes went by and Jordan had to go take care of her dog, so we got in a couple photos with them courtesy of my iPhone (I didn’t dare bring my camera to the Colosseum!).

I ended up buying the big program book (which they didn’t have yet when I went last year), a Delores DeLago handicap magnet, some postcards, two 4×6 Bette frames (for our pictures with the Harlettes of course!), and one of the giclee posters signed by Bette (I bought #83 of the 550 or so that are being sold…so there’s plenty still available!). Small note worth mentioning: the program book is beautiful, some of the photoshopped elements are done quite well, but the worst part is the filmography page. It only uses a few photos from all of her films and it has “That Old Feeling” listed as being released in 2000. It also completely omits the TV movie, “Gypsy” and most shocking is that it doesn’t include “The First Wives Club” on the list. Wtf!?

Yesterday, “The Rose” producer Chadwick Brooks, myself, and the photographer Dusti Cunningham met together to discuss the options for club flyers, sizes, how many, and which photos to use. Online ticket sales have already begun and I just did an interview for our local LGBT magazine, CAMP, which is running a cover story for their July issue coming out Wednesday or Thursday this week.

Our first read-through is Monday, July 6th. The entire cast will be joining to read the script together and we’ll also follow that by watching the film! So it’ll be quite a fun night and I’m very much looking forward to it!

Spence!

From CAMP KC:

The Rose opens July 24

Spencer Brown (a.k.a. Daisy Bucket) is elated about being able to star in what looks to be a great new musical involving some former Late Night Theatre talent. Here’s what Spencer sent me from his Facebook page:

“It’s quite common these days to see a musical based on a movie or a jukebox musical that recycles an entire catalogue of one artist’s music. The Rose: The 30th Anniversary Rock Musical, premiering at the end of July at La Esquina, is nothing of the sort. Based on the 1979 film that got Bette Midler her first Oscar nomination, the story of a Janis Joplin-like character whose success skyrockets and crashes is one that can still ring true with today’s society and celebrity gossip. Thirty years before Britney Spears would rise and fall and rise again and Amy Winehouse would be singing “no, no, no” to rehab, The Rose is an authentic rock musical unlike anything brought to the stage. Produced by Chadwick Brooks through the Urban Culture Project and directed by one of Kansas City’s most prestigious theatre personas, Ron Megee, this will be the hottest ticket of the summer that doesn’t involve ABBA or eating a meal while watching a former ’80s TV star do farce in a Neil Simon play. Right now, information can only be found through the Facebook Group “The Rose: The 30th Anniversary Rock Musical,” where the cast has been announced, including Spencer Brown as The Rose, David Wayne Reed as Rose’s manager Rudge, Kipp Simmons as Houston, and Cody Wyoming as the band leader.”

Kinsey Sicks debut in Kansas City

Spencer Brown’s other gig is the national Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet, The Kinsey Sicks. That group will make its Kansas City debut Oct. 10 at the Country Club Congregational United Church of Christ in Brookside. This will be a must-see production, and tickets should sell out quickly when they go on sale in mid-July. For more information, see www.kinseysicks.com.