(Sunday: 02/17/08)
There has been some talk about my trip to Vegas and here’s how it played out - I was very lucky. For weeks I bitched and moaned about not being there on opening night or any night for that matter. At the last minute Ms. Midler’s camp came through and invited me to a free preview. It’s like the first run through for industry big wigs, family, friends, hotel staff, etc. What I talk about below was from a preview Sunday night before the official opening on Wednesday the 20th of February.
I’m just going to throw out the song list to you guys…..I had wanted to write about my experience in diary style and I’m just too tired to do it…so this was the set list on Sunday. It changed on Monday. And it will change again.
First, the opening sequence is fabulous. It’s hard to describe but when you walk in the concert hall…the whole back of the stage is a video screen. And on that screen is a giant billboard of Bette (the one on the cover of her new CD, Jackpot!….hey, that’s a plug!) When the show starts the billboard of Bette moves a little and you begin seeing wildlife here and there….buzzards, a donkey….then a tornado, a truck driving up the road towards you…..the theatre almost rattles from the fabu sound system they have going….the tornado is picking up everything and destroying anything in it’s path…it reaches Vegas, people, Wayne Newton, Elvis impersonators…all destroyed and flying around….then you see the heloport for BETTE MIDLER….the stage starts filling up with smoke as the Harlettes and the Caesar Salad Girls (20 dancers “with 42 perfect tits”) come dancing in….then Bette arrives side stage on a donkey of all things (the donkey makes its final appearance Friday, I believe, and a new entrance will prevail….more on that later)….she’s helped down and she starts singing the first of 2 new songs…(the film was shot by Troy Miller who does those great inserts of Billy Crystal into the movies at the Oscars…he will be doing one for this years Oscars as well….)
1. The Show Girl Must Go On (Eric Kornfeld, Bette Sussman, Bette Midler) - Bette wears a silver type pantsuit with a gold top (remember I’m color blind)
2. In The Mood - great version - Bette does her thang with the audience. Starts her rap about all the people who love her…the gays, the Jews, those front row people….
3. She tires out and asks for her transporter…a bright red Lips Chair…the Harlettes push her anywhere she wants to go…She begins singig “I’ve Still Got My Health” and she raps about the bad behaviour and ill health of all the stars lately…Lohan, Hilton, Britney. etc…..then a pic comes up of her Hasty Puddings Acceptance where she twirls and reveals her butt…”I was dressing like a ho before hoes even knew how to dress…
4. She calms down and begins singing one of my favorites - “Some People’s Lives” by Janis Ian. (I’ve been told this song will be cut from the show). She delivers a dead on performance….just gorgeous. Note perfect.
5. Next a big production number of “Do You Wanna Dance?” with the Harlettes and The Caesar Salad Girls in the rain with their umbrellas….when the song is over, Bette disappears behing a wall of umbrellas…the music continues and all the girls continue to dance until the music for the next number comes….
6. From A Distance - a sheer curtain opens and Bette is at the top of a spiraling staircase dressed in a long orange (some yellow) floor length dress. At our preview, she starts walking down the stairs singing and then you see a little stumble and Bette starts howling laughing; and you realize she has walked right out of her shoes…..she can’t stop laughing…makes joke about the budget of show….and the shoes. She decides to start all over again and runs up to the top of the stairs and proceeds to do a knock out version of the song. She exits
7. Harlettes and dancers do a little dance wearing skimpy outfits…their black hats turn into a beautful array of colored flowers….
8. Delores DeLago segment. The American Idol judges take to the big screen while Delores sleeps in her bed….she’s auditioning, they hate her, and she has some kind of acid dream and the judges heads start making all these contortions til they explode….she wakes up, calls Wayne Newton….tells her she should go to Vegas. She doesn’t do quite well. She sings “My Kind Of Town” with the Harlettes…but they end up at this grimey place called the “Daze Inn - Sunque De So Low” We get to hear parodies or rewrites to “Flipper” “Hooked On A Feeling” “Play That Funky Music White Boy” and “Bad Girls” Bad reviews come in, of course, Delores freaks, freakishly hit by lightning and sees Elvis. He tells her what to do….so we get a combo “Elvis/Delores” thing going….songs sung are It’s Now Or Never, Viva Las Vegas, Luck Be A Lady Tonight, Blue Hawaii, and “My Way” 25 mermaids leave the stage and we’re left to watch the American Idol Judges fight it out as seahorses….very bizarre, but quite funny.
***I have to say that during this performance Bette got a little winded and pulled out of the wheelchair line-up….rolling her eyes in exasperation….like Lord give me the strength. After gaining her composure she gets back in line very smoothly….then she had trouble with her headset, and later took a semi-nasty fall that left her bleeding from the knee til the end of the show…HOWEVER, during all these trying moments she kept you laughing. At the end of the Delores bit she got a rousing standing ovation…..**********
9. Hello In There - a beatiful dark sketch of a city is the backdrop…one of the best songs ever written in my opinion….glad to hear her sing this again.
10. When A Man Loves A Woman….what can I say….better than in KMB….you can see her body trembling and she gives this one all she’s got. Of course there was a standing ovation…
11. Soph/The Oldest Living Showgirl….yeah this is where Bette “wears” those 20 foot feathers on her hand. This part of the show is PINK!!!!! And GLlITTERY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pretty Legs is sung (some new lyrics added…thank you Mr, Kornfeld) Bette wears very little….pink bustier with a long silver cape with about an 18 foot train to it…LOL High heels and sexy legs!!!! A new song is added…”It’s Getting Hot In Here” written by Kornfeld, Sussman, and Midler….interspersed with Soph jokes….Later Bette sits on the front steps of the stage and sings “Glory of Love” while playing the ukelele. She did great and it was a really beautiful moment…can’t describe it. She does flub up one chord and uses the F word, but she gets right back on track….she talks about “finding your light”….she ends singing the rest of Glory Of Love climbing up a ship’s hull … as it floats off side stage…(could not figure why there was a ship’s hull, but it was pretty!)
12 The Rose
13, BWBB….all the dancers come out and are dressed like her singing in unison to the old Bacharach footage (this will change I’ve heard)
14. WBMW’s - Putting more energy into this song, but accidentally messes up at the end and has a less than smooth recovery. You can see she’s bleeding at the knee. She goes into one of her tirades (to be funny) about how big the stage is, nothing working…like her podium which is supposed to lift her up 6 feet, but would only budge to one foot. Very, very funny Ms. Midler. Then she gets back to the song and sings the shit out of it. I haven’t heard her sing it like that before….but I liked it….when finished she walked off the stage….the audience gave her another standing ovation….
She went over 90 minutes so editing will be done. I have the changes that will be made between now and the 29th…nothing major. But in the casino business, I learned, timing is everything and so is money flowing in the casino….
If there’s one thing hurting Bette…it is the shortening of her show….I think it would be tremendously hard to go from 21/2 to 3 hour shows and then whittling it down to 90 minutes….but that’s what she has to do….and she will…..and the critics will Rave!
Love, Mister D
Here are the changes I was told would happen by Saturday, 23, Feb:
- The donkey (burro, ass) or whatever you want to call it will be making his last appearance. Too much trouble and he couldn’t learn his lines!
- Bette, instead, will be entering on a curved staircase composed of Louis Vuitton luggage. Now that’s more fitting for a Diva!
- “In The Mood” will be cut and BWBB will be the second song with only Bette and the Harlettes. The video, costumes, and showgirls will be cut.
- “I’ve Still Got My Health” and the tabloid bit will remain
- “Some People’s Lives” is out (too bad, one of my favorites) and “The Rose” will be put in it’s place.
- “From A Distance” will be performed barefoot. Also expect a few hula moves in it…
- “Bouly-A-Jada” remains.
- Delores remains, of course, with a few judicious choreography and line cuts.
- “Hello In There” and “WAMLAW” stay put
- Miss Sophie will remain…she’s a trooper!
- “Wind Beneath My Wings” will remain the sole encore. I think we should press for “Friends” as the encore…it’s a much more positive note to me.
Guest Blogger: Bill J.: Las Vegas Getaway To Bettesville
Mister D: I’d like to thank Bill for taking the time to write such a detailed and interesting story on his Las Vegas trip. I, for one, truly felt I was there with he and his friends. I hope you guys and girlie poos enjoyed it, too. Sorry I have not been present much in the comments…just going through a down time, but fighting hard to get back up. Thanks to Bill and all the readers who make this a special place! Oh, at the end of this essay, there are links to more Bette products. Now read this story!:
When I stepped off the plane to enter Las Vegas for the very first time, I almost immediately felt welcomed by the voice of an old friend “A Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy from company B” resonated from the speakers inside of the airport, accompanied by video and ticket information. Yes, the main reason for my visit to Las Vegas, my all-time favorite singer, Bette Midler, was even at the airport. I knew from then on that Vegas was going to be my kind of town and this a wonderful and memorable trip.
Photo: Looking Good, Bill!
After checking into my hotel room at Caesar’s Palace I decided to go into the casino and explore a little, while awaiting the arrival of my friend and Vegas roommate, Rick, to fly in from New York. From what I had read previously on Bootleg Betty’s website is that Bette Midler paraphernalia was being sold at a store in Caesar’s to tie in with her show. What I didn’t understand until I got there was that there was a whole damn store with nothing but Bette Midler merchandise in it! I seriously thought I had died and gone to heaven! I swear I had to change my underwear twice I was so excited! You name it and Bette’s photo and/or name was on it: t-shirts, mugs, shot glasses, sweat shirts, champagne glasses, diamond jewelry, crystal, key chains, $200 limited edition signed posters, The Saga of Baby Divine book, Baby Divine snow globes and jewelry cases, chocolate bars, hoodies, jackets, refrigerator magnets, playing cards, CDs – you name it and The Bette Midler Store had it! I could not take this excitement alone, so I called my friend Carrie from New York, who wanted to be there and could not make it, and I just wondered around for about forty-five minutes giving her detailed descriptions on all the merchandise, while both of us repeating several “ooohs” while I found something new and exciting. I didn’t want to go crazy and spend all of my money in there right then and there, so I bought a fabulous deck of Bette playing cards ($5) and a The Showgirl Must Go On program ($7.42).
Several hours later, after Rick had arrived, I took him back down to the store and he too was in awe of everything that was Bette. But we were both good boys and did not buy anything – yet.
The following day Rick and I were meeting three friends of ours who live in Las Vegas at the Caesar’s buffet (not all that cheap and mediocre food). The temperature was pretty cool that day so we decided to stay in Caesar’s Palace since there was plenty to do. The first thing on the agenda, after the buffet, was to walk over to the box office to inquire about two extra show tickets Rick was sent a few weeks earlier. Rick and I through his AMEX, ordered our tickets the very day they went on sale (I think it was this past November?) and we were extremely happy to have gotten our two seventh row seats. I had seen Bette in concert seven times prior, and had NEVER had seats that close. The only time I was actually close to her was when I got to briefly meet her as she signed my Peggy Lee CD and Kiss My Brass t-shirt (while I was still wearing it) in NYC in 2005. So Rick and I figured it must have been some kind of computer glitch or something that sent us, months later, THIRD ROW tickets to the same performance! It’s a damn good thing we did not give away or tried selling the original tickets because what had happened was they had upgraded us! The upgrade was from seventh to third row because since our original order, they had added one hundred seats to the theater and didn’t want to punish us obsessive “gotta get those tickets right away” fans by making us sit back further from the stage. A very nice gesture, but a note probably should have been included in order to cut down all the confusion that we had had.
After spending several more hours with the friends we had not seen in about five years, (and seeing Bette’s music accompanist Bette Sussman near the Bette store, right outside of the Coliseum; I am still kicking myself for not introducing myself!) we went back up to the hotel room and each took a short nap so we would be fully rested for the show, which was only a few hours away. At about seven O’clock, we took the elevator downstairs and got in the very long line at The Coliseum for the show, which thankfully went very quickly. I didn’t want to be carrying a bunch of crap into the show, so I had only brought my Pennsylvania driver’s license in my pocket, my ticket, and nothing else. Much to my shock there was a shitload of additional Bette merchandise in the lobby that was not available in the Bette store. Although the majority of stuff at the Bette store was somewhat reasonably priced compared to the prices of stuff on her tours, the stuff inside The Coliseum tended to be even a little cheaper. I was freaking out because I had no money on me (remember it was all up in the hotel room), but thankfully Rick was kind enough to lend me some money, so I bought a mug for myself ($15), a Venus de Midler t-shirt ($22) and the same things for a mutual friend’s upcoming birthday. I was extremely temped to buy a photo that they take of you in the lobby, next to show showgirls, before the show, and it’s put into a small album with some great pictures of Bette, but I thought the forty dollar asking price was a little steep. Maybe next time.
We entered the theatre and the usherette (a word I love to use since Bette used it on the old Bing Crosby special) accompanied us to our seats. I loved that she said, “Keep going Keep going” as our seats were that close to the stage! We finally get to our seats (about ten feet away from the stage!!!) and Rick and I begin talking to two men who were a couple from Long Island, who were sitting right in front of us. The one guy was a wedding photographer who loved Bette and was in town on business, and his partner came along with him. His company had tried getting tickets to Bette to no avail and finally earlier that afternoon (eight minutes before) there had been a cancellation for three second row seats! They took the two seats (another woman bought the third) and there they were! We were laughing about how many of us homos were there, especially in that section alone. A very nice straight couple from Texas eventually sat down next to Rick and I, and the wife told me that they too were upgraded, but they did not find out until earlier that day when Caesar’s contacted them, informing them that their tickets had been cancelled. This scared the shit out of them, as it would me, but they finished by telling them that they had been upgraded. Apparently the ticket people at Caesar’s like to play little jokes like this on us patrons.
And now…The Showgirl Must Go On…
As I had already read about in most of the reviews of the show, the IMAX-like screen at the back of the stage explodes with images of the Vegas desert, with various pictures of Miss M flying around, and a seemingly lost donkey appearing at various times. The stage itself then began to blow and Bette herself eventually rose up on top of several suitcases to Big Noise from Winnetka/ The Showgirl Must Go On. She looked beyond fabulous for a forty-year-old woman, but for a woman who was already sixty-two? Forget about it! Simply unbelievable! Her voice was in top form, she was funny, the aforementioned gorgeous, and the excitement from the crowd was overwhelming. Now, as typical with me, I cannot remember every single thing from the entire show. There are usually two reasons for this. Number one, I am too much in awe and it seems otherworldly. And number two, we were so fuckin’ close that I was shell shocked and that seems to do a lot for my memory I remember that Bette did go into In The Mood, which was a wonderful surprise for me since she does not perform that song live so much anymore, followed by The Rose. I was personally extremely happy to hear her sing The Rose because I had read in one of the articles that before opening they were not sure if they could fit that song into the show. They did, and once again she brought the house down. Since not many of us carry around cigarette lighters anymore, Bette told us we could hold up our lit cell phones during the show and wave them over our heads. And that is exactly what we did.
Other songs she sang included From a Distance, which had a beautiful autumnal background, Do You Wanna Dance, the standing ovation finale of Wind Beneath My Wings, and Hello in There. Every concert I have been to of hers she sings Hello in There and I have to admit that this was the most beautiful version of it that I had ever heard. The stage was decorated with screens that had silhouettes of old city buildings, and they were all surrounding her as she sang her heart out about having had that apartment in the city. Even more than usual with this song, tears rolled down my face.
I had always loved her version of When a Man Loves a Woman from the film, The Rose and after all of the reviews I had read about this performance I was particularly excited. Although it was an excellent job on her part and she did indeed receive a standing ovation, I felt it was a far cry from what she could usually do to that song. Her voice didn’t quite have the edge it usually does on that song. An edge she had the last time I had seen her sing it when I saw Kiss My Brass three times. I don’t know if she was tired and anxious to get back to New York (this was her very last show until June) but I was admittingly a little disappointed.
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, as usual was lots of fun. As she had in Kiss My Brass, she danced on the stage accompanied by the three Bette’s from yesteryear on the screen behind her. This time her new Harlettes dressed in matching outfits and red wigs to match the Bettes on the screens mimicked her dancing and all did an excellent job. These were three of the best Harlettes I think there ever were. Not to mention her countless number of Caesar Salad Showgirls. These ladies wore some gorgeous costumes, and did amazing work supporting the legend that is Bette.
Bette did her famous Delores Delago: The Toast of Chicago about halfway through the show and I love that gal. On the giant screen, the three judges from American Idol were shown judging Delores and of course Simon was particularly nasty. I am probably the only person in this country who never watches American Idol, so I imagine if I had been a fan of the show I would have enjoyed this skit even more, but knowing what little I know about the show, I thought it was still great.
As Delores, Bette sings a slew of Vegas medleys (my favorite being Viva Las Vegas) but of course Delores’ reviews stank (“fin-ished”) and she thought she would have to leave the desert town. Until, also up on the screen, the ghost of Elvis visited Delores telling her that it was her duty to be there and to entertain the Vegas folk. Admittingly the Delores routine ran a little long, but it was still a lot of fun.
Soph was not absent from the festivities either. All of the jokes I had heard Bette tell before (the seeing eye dog, the naked man telling time by his penis, etc.) but she chose some of the very best from her repertoire. I laughed all over again at the tales of Soph, her friend Clemintine and her boyfriend Ernie.
What I thought was special about Soph in this particular show is that she showed another side, a more sensitive part of her being. As Soph, Bette sang The Glory of Love, while sitting on the step of the stage while playing the ukulele. No one who has not seen this could fathom how beautiful this rendition of that song was. The song finished with the usual luscious background orchestration, but the ukulele gave a whole new meaning to the song. Again, I was in tears.
As usual, Bette herself told lots of jokes. There was one about the New York governor Spitzer and she asked the front row people how the fuck they got those seats. “Even I can’t get those seats!” At the beginning of the show she asked where all of her Jews and gays were. She said that her Jews were usually on her right, so she went to the right of the stage and said, “I knew this is where most of my Jews were! I heard someone over here before the show complaining that it was too cold in here!” Bette then went to the left of the stage, where we were sitting, and said usually all her gays are over there and we were cheering and screaming. It was hysterical.
The sweet straight woman from Texas nervously asked me after the show why Bette had such a huge gay following. I replied with something along the lines of “Oh, because she is fabulous. She was never the prettiest one around and could have been an outsider, but she has always had her own voice (both literally and figuratively) and I think a lot of once oppressed gay men probably identify with that.” I continued to say that she was also a one of a kind legend and so ahead of her time. After all, I have been a huge Bette fan ever since I was ten in 1990. I know I am younger than the majority of her fans (although I know quite a few around my own age), but there is just something magical about this woman. Something I could not put into words for this woman sitting next to me and cannot for you readers today. But I am sure that most of you reading this know what that “something” is and feel it in the depths of your souls. I felt that long after I left the theater, while repeating to myself “I must see this show again!”
The following day was my last full day in Vegas. A friend who we met with from the day before was off from work that day and took us to various Vegas landmarks both on and off the strip. After we returned I still had to buy all of my Bette crap from the store. I was buying for friends, as well as myself. I wound up buying the “Bette Midler” album cover t-shirt (A LOT of money at $45, but I figured “fuck it” and bought it anyway), as well as a turquoise The Showgirl Must Go On t-shirt ($30), a shot glass ($8) more programs for friends, an army camouflage shirt for a friend ($28) a Divinity for Dummies t-shirt for another friend ($22), a picture frame ($12) and a metal key chain for seven dollars because the plastic ones I usually buy always fall apart. I was listening to the not-yet-released Jackpot! album on the headphones because I wanted to hear the un-released song. I admit that I could barely hear it because both the quality of the audio stunk and the three plasma TVs that they had in the store blasting various scenes from Kiss My Brass kind of made it difficult. I asked where they got such a good copy of Kiss My Brass since it was light years away in picture quality from the bootleg I bought taken from Madison Square Garden in 2004. The one young lady told me it had been released in Europe and not here, but I think she got it mixed up with Diva Las Vegas.
I had asked earlier if it would be ok for me to take pictures of the various items in the store to show to my friends back East. The very nice employee said they had gotten that request and that it would be fine as long as I did not photograph any of the jewelry. I said none of my friends would be able to afford any of that anyway, so that was fine and that I’d be back later. Several hours later, when I came back with my camera, I asked the young woman who was not working behind the counter if it would be all right. She said the same thing about the jewelry and I again said that would be no problem. I got maybe two or three photos taken when she stopped me and told me I would have to put my camera away. She told me that the people in the back room of the store were looking at me on the security camera and thought it weird that I was taking pictures of the merchandise. They said it would be fine if I wanted to pose with the merchandise but that I had to be in the picture. I thought, and still do think, that this rationale is ludicrous. I politely told the woman that the only reason I was taking the photos was to show friends back home the merchandise so they would call and order some stuff thus giving them more money. I told her it was stupid that they did not sell the stuff anywhere on the web (I asked) and did not have photo catalogs of any of it. I informed her that there are a lot of fans who cannot make it to Vegas who would still love to buy the stuff and of course see it first! There was no point as I was not going to win this argument and I knew that it was not her fault anyway. If anyone is interested in buying anything from there, they do ship and can be reached by phone at 702-866-1091. But a little tip: please do not think of buying any of the CDs there (Cool Yule was almost forty dollars!) and the one DVD they have, The Bette A&E Biography, was a whopping forty-five dollars! Some very sweet women were about to buy the DVD and I told them not to waste their money, that they could buy it online for usually fifteen to twenty dollars. They thanked for several times profusely and bought some store-exclusive stuff instead.
Later on, on my last night in Las Vegas, I came down to the lobby and next to The Colesium where only hours earlier a giant poster of Bette hung, was now a poster of Elton John. And since the Cher and Bette stores will be alternating from the one store location, the Bette stuff was coming down and the Cher going up. Although I think Cher is fabulous I must admit that I was a bit melancholy about seeing the Bette stuff being temporarily torn down, but come June the showgirl will again go on…
Thanks for taking the time to read this. And for those of you who haven’t seen the show yet…GO!!!
- Bill J
Store Items: Click Here
Store Items: Click Here
Store Items: Click Here
Store Items: Click Here
March 7th Show
Prior to Bette entering .…..
The curtain lifted and the theater music was still playing background music, but Bette Sussman and the band were in place just killing time. Bette Sussman was stretching her fingers, shaking her hands, and arranging her sheet music. She continued to fidget with her chair, tape some of her music together, and continued to warm up her hands. I would say they were in place about 2 minutes before the video of the tornado, donkey, and Vegas stuff started.
The other thing we noticed was in the back of the theater, that only Bette can see, is a TV screen with just Bette Sussman on it-nothing else.
Bette Sussman has a video screen right in front of her that only has Bette Midler on it. This must help both of them keep the music in sync with the signing. Just thought it was interesting.
1. The Show Girl Must Go On
No donkey, but does arrive on the luggage as already stated. If you look carefully you can see her behind the luggage-or rather her hair! She is very cautious as she walks down the luggage.
2. In The Mood - Bette does her thang with the audience…
She of course, picked on the front and center people asking them how they got the tickets and then stated that even she can’t get those seats. She wants the Jews to clap so they do, and then she asked how many of them came only because it was named the Coliseum and thought the Christians were going to be thrown to the lions. Then she asks where the Christians are, and then tells them that 8 of the 10 commandments will be broken during the show. It was really funny.
Her speaking voice was a little raspy sounding and I was concerned that her singing would be affected, but it wasn’t and in fact was great as everyone has said.
3. She tires out and asks for her transporter…a bright red Lips Chair…the Harlettes push her anywhere she wants to go…
She does not sing I’ve Still Got My Health (best I can remember!) as reported before but talks about bad behavior and ill health of all the stars lately…Lohan, Hilton, Britney. etc…..then a pic comes up of her Hasty Puddings Acceptance where she twirls and reveals her butt.
She comments about how nice her butt looked and that it was so tight you could bounce a quarter off it! Then she says that she hoped the whole audience had a photo of their butt at their ideal weight. Too funny.
4. Some People’s Lives is cut and The Rose is sung.
She asks everyone in the audience to open their cell phones and wave them around instead of lighters like days of old. It actually looked really neat, and she shields her eyes against the lights and looks around and smiles. Very nice…
5. Next a big production number of Do You Wanna Dance? with the Harlettes and The Caesar Salad Girls in the rain with their umbrellas….when the song is over, Bette disappears behind a wall of umbrellas…the music continues and all the girls continue to dance until the music for the next number comes….
That stayed and was performed very nicely.
6. From A Distance
I could be mistaken, as I was so excited and didn’t write things down, but I don’t think she was on a stairway. She does have the orange dress on and I am pretty sure she is wearing shoes because some other people have said she was barefoot. I just can’t remember.
7. Harlettes and dancers do a little dance wearing skimpy outfits…their black hats turn into a beautful array of colored flowers….
8. Delores DeLago segment-
I know there has been lots of discussion about whether Delores should stay or go, but the whole thing was pretty funny. I do think the hopping around and getting up and down is tiring for her, in fact she wobbled once and a Ceasear Salad girl put a hand on her back to stabilize her and then she was fine. She had problems with her balls- she got them twirling and then came back and klunked her in the noggin, but she laughed and threw them in the audience.
9. Hello In There –
She starts to walk forward and her heel gets stuck in the stage or something and momentarily stumbles-not bad at all but I was concerned that she would twist an ankle. I kind of held my breath for her to take another step to see if her heel broke or something, but there was no issues. Her voice didn’t even waver while she was singing!
Absolutely breathtaking is all I can say. Her voice was just perfect and sung with emotion and was very special.
10. When A Man Loves A Woman-
Not sung with the emotion I have seen her before, but still a great job. The house was standing and clapping, but being a greedy Bettehead I had really hoped for the shaking, crying version, but I will have to get that when I return!
11. Soph/The Oldest Living Showgirl…. …”It’s Getting Hot In Here”
Her cape is so long that she gets it wrapped around her legs and is kind of ‘stuck’. She keeps telling her Soph joke, and keeps messing with it and I thought it could lead to disaster, but she was very smooth and got out of it without an issue.
She does have a new joke about Clementine joining the Hell’s Angels. I don’t remember the whole thing, but it was new to me.
Oh, the funniest thing happened while she was in her Soph outfit. The low V-neck bustline is pretty revealing already and then she starts kind of dancing sideways across the stage with her arms straight out. Well, the ‘girls’ get a little bouncy and right when she gets in front of us she quickly grabs her chest to impede an escape!! She doesn’t say anything, but the expression on her face was priceless. Vegas might be all about exposure for some, but not for the Divine! We were in the 7th row, so we could see what most people had missed. It was hilarious although probably not what she had in mind!!
She does go by the steps and tells everyone that she has to sit down because her dogs are barkin’. Then she sings the Glory of Love accompanied by the ukulele and played it well-no mix ups.
12. BWBB….
The dancers are out all dressed like Bette and the old footage is on the screen. I thought it was nice and a fun thing to watch.
14. WBMW’s –
She does flub a note at the end and her expression that we saw was that she was pissed that she messed up, but it was no big deal. That happens every once in a while when you sing your own songs!!
I agree with everyone that has seen any of her other shows that this one seems ‘rushed’. She can’t banter with the crowd like we all like to hear because she is on a set time schedule.
I did talk with one person on the plane going home that had never seen her live before and she thought it was spectacular-I think we are just spoiled! The show is fun and there is not a bad seat in the house. If you can swing it you need to go and see the Divine One in Vegas!!
K~
OH MY BETTE!!! I saw the show on March 7th!! I just had to let you know what a trooper you are that you were able to give updates and reviews so soon after experiencing the Divine. I’ve been speechless for three days.
Each number was the best rendition of that song I’ve ever heard, live or recorded, by Bette or anyone else. I wept openly during “Hello in There”. And I do mean “wept”…..I was a mess. The emotion and depth she’s able to pack into such a simple musical arrangment is nothing short of awe inspiring. “When a Man Loves a Woman” blew me away….and even “From a Distance” managed to get me a little choked up. She truly looks and sounds as good as she ever has.
Thanks again for your blog….as we were counting down the days to our trip, checking your site daily really was the perfect way for me and my crew of Betteheads to get psyched up for the show.
~Amy
Don,
10 f’ing years later (=
So, the show……
I was there opening night. The anticipation was like an out of body experience. Remember how I was trying to get in touch with Crystal and Katrin? They freakin ended up being in the seats right in front of us! It was like this intense Bette-Head explosion. The whole opening with the tornado blowing through Vegas was perfect for the mad rush of anticipation! I thought they did a great job on that whole episode. Bette came trudding out on this donkey, that was pretty funny, but come on? The arrival on opening night of the greatest legend in entertainment? That in itself deserved a dropping out of the ceiling or cloud of smoke effect! I must say, “The Showgirl Must Go On” song was brilliant and perfect for Bette.
Not only did Bette look ageless and perfect, but her voice sounded epic! How on God’s green earth does her voice just get more and more powerful and creative?
I must agree with a lot of the other reviews…too much Delores and not enough of Bette rockin’ out and giving us that pure insatiable soul that people line up to see. I love Delores, but with only an hour and a half…I would rather sacrifice Delores for more “Bette”. 10 minutes would have been sufficient….. anymore takes away the rawness Bette has above any other performer.
“Hello in There” brought me to absolute tears….that backdrop of NYC in black and white pierced me with that haunting way she sings that song.
I was a little confused when Bette did “Do you Wanna Dance” in her Boogie Woogie costume….that song is usually so much more powerful when she is covered in a sexy gown or dress.
From a Distance and WBMW was performed as some of the best I have ever seen her do!
The whole night was magical! I think the issue everyone has, is not getting enough of Bette in that hour and a half…because the show is BRILLIANT!
I just crave more of her old stuff and linger on every last second she is on that stage. She has truly revolutionized the entertainment world, and anyone that can get their hands on her tickets should JUMP!
Benny
Hello Mister D,
How are you ?
I just wanted to send you a few of the things i thought about Bette’s show on Saturday. I started liking Bette about 14 years ago, and followed here in the manner i could over there in the post communistic Romania. There was a period where they showed a lot of her movies on tv and then all of a sudden they stopped. The first movie that i saw was Big Business. And it is still one of my favs, and definitely the one i saw most.
So you can just imagine how i felt last May when I found out about her show in Vegas. I waited a while though to get the tickets because my student visa was pending at that time. But then i finally got the ticket in October. I felt it was going to take forever till the first of March. But it didn’t, so there i was in the Collosseum trying to wake myself up from that dream. Was looking at the people coming, thinking about Bette getting ready.
And then a little after 7.30 pm on the big screen that had the picture of Bette on, some crazy birds started flying and making noises, a donkey appeared too and then the big hurricane that cleaned all up in it’s way to the Collosseum in Vegas. My heart was raising to the sky.
I will never forget the first glimpse of her… She was on the top of a pile of luggage with her back to the stage, but i could still see her hair. It was the greatest feeling to see her.
She started the show with “The Showgirl Must Go On” and them followed “In The Mood”. Afterwards she made some jokes ( i wont tell you all cos im sure u’ll see it and still want some mystery ). I will just tell you the song list i remember, cos i saw u asked us to tell. I forgot my notebook at my friends house. So maybe some of them will not be in the exact order she sang them, but here they are. Then she sang The Rose, Do You Want To Dance, From A Distance. Then Delores came with her flashy mermaid tail. She sang a song about her being a stinky fish, Luck Be a Lady Tonight, Viva Las Vegas.
And then she changed clothes and sang Hello In There, When A Man Loves A Woman. Then Sophie came and sang The Glory Of Love. At the end she sang Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and the closing song was Wind Beneath My Wings.
All the songs were great. Her voice was in better shape than ever. She was so sweet dancing on From A Distance. And i got the chills when she sang When a Man Loves a Woman. All in all everysong was great. I dont think anyone fan or not will ever forget Do You Want to Dance or Hello In There. Or the Glory Of Love, where she said before she sang to find out light, because “They can’t love you, if they don’t see you!”.
She is the greatest. And even though it will never be enough for me, i know that in that hour and a half she concentrated the best of her performances and shows.
I am looking forward to going back there.
Keep in touch
Love,
Mihai
Hi Don!
Firstly i’d like to say what a fantastic website you run and on behalf of all the fans thank you, it must take up a lot of your time. But it’s great, I’m on it every day. Shame the “official” site isn’t kept as up-to-date and interactive. Anyway i’m just e-mailing after getting back from Las Vegas this weekend. I’ve been a huge Bette fan since i was 13 years old and on my 30th in December I had tickets bought for me to see Bette in concert last tuesday the 26th. I’d been so excited for weeks, months! We all flew out from Manchester UK on the Sunday to Las Vegas and the flight couldn’t go fast enough.
When I finally got into the theatre a few days later, sitting only 8 rows from the front right in the middle of the front orchestra, my heart was racing! The concert was amazing!! To see bette perform live after so many years was a dream come true. She was as fantastic as i’d heard, and looking fabulous! absolutely gorgeous!
I was there with my partner and my mum who weren’t really Bette fans but there for me, however when we left the concert, they were converts! My mum raided The Bette Shop as I had done the day earlier, which is also great. I mean a bette shop How perfect. Wish they had sold posters though, but the shop girl told me more was to come?!
I had to go again, so the wednesday I bought tickets to see Bette for a 2nd time but this time to watch it from the first mezzanine so i could see it from another angle. And what I hadn’t noticed the first time was exactly how much Bette does dance around the stage. the energy in the concert is nothing like i’ve ever seen in any concert before and Bette exceeded any expectations that I had. My only regret is that i haven’t been able to see her in earlier concerts and I wish this concert was longer than 90 mins. But there are reasons why it is 90 mins and i really hope this is not her last tour!
I will fly out again and see her next year and I’ll definitley see the last concert at Caesers no matter what the tickets cost. I’ve heard that people are concerned about the price but its worth every penny (cent sorry) and the seating is really good in that theatre so you’d get a decent seat even if you could only afford the cheaper seats.
My only advice on that one is don’t buy them from ebay or worry if the ticket master ones available weeks in advance aren’t very good because on the day you can still get great front orchestra seats as the hotel releases them. The tickets we bid on and won through ebay cost almost £200 a ticket and when i looked on the day, (WHY!?! just for torture!) we saw tickets pretty much in the same place for the set theatre price! But hey as i said well worth it!
And Vegas is fab, really lovely people there too. It was also so exciting to see all the Bette articles and billboards everywhere in Vegas, we don’t get enough Bette stuff over here in the UK. I wish we did and i really wish she’d do a tour that came to England, I don’t know any other really huge bette fans in the uk but there are plenty and we’d love to see her here!!
Ok, well thanks for letting me rattle on and once again thanks for keeping us all informed with everything that’s happening since i found your website it’s been so much easier for me to find out what’s going on and feel a part of the bette midler fan cirlce!
Rik
March 3, 2008
Don,
I have just returned from Las Vegas. Words cannot describe how amazing The Showgirl Must Go on was on March 01, 2008. I sat in awe at how truly DIVINE Miss Midler is on stage. I have seen her three times in the past, and none of them compare to this show. The fact that she packed SO MUCH into ninety minutes is awesome! I went with my girlfriend, who had never seen a Bette Midler show, and my best friend, who accompanied me to one of the Kiss My Brass shows that I saw. All three of us LOVED it! My girlfriend has been converted to a Bettehead now!
Before I get into the actual show, I wanted to tell you that the Betteheads shirt is $40. (I’m assuming that that is the same price when you were there.) I, of course, purchased it! I don’t know if it was there when you were in Las Vegas, but Miss Midler’s new C.D., ‘Jackpot!: The Best Bette’ was available to buy, so I bought that, as well. It has nineteen tracks, including “Cool Yule” for the last song. Fantastic! I have to include that my girlfriend and my best friend ended up buying me so much stuff that I can’t even believe it to this moment. I knew that I couldn’t afford all that I actually wanted; however, with their help, I was able to get more than I ever imagined. HaHa!
Onto the show… I absolutely loved her entrance on the luggage, and she looked absolutely amazing throughout the entire night! She sounded in top form on every song and received standing ovations after “When a Man Loves a Woman” and “Wind Beneath My Wings”.
Here was the set list from the show:
“Big Noise From Winnetka”/”The Showgirl Must Go on”
“In The Mood”
“The Rose”
“Do You Want to Dance?”
“From a Distance”
Delores DeLago:
“My Kind of Town”
“Flipper”
“Hooked on a Feeling”
“Play That Funky Music, White Boy”
“Bad Girls”
“It’s Now or Never”
“Viva Las Vegas”
“Luck Be a Lady Tonight”
“Blue Hawaii”
“My Way”
“Hello in There”
“When a Man Loves a Woman”
Soph/The Oldest Living Showgirl:
“Pretty Legs and Great, Big Knockers”
“It’s Getting Hot in Here”
“The Glory of Love”
“Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”
“Wind Beneath My Wings”
It’s so hard for me to pick my favorite part of the show. I loved everything about it and am really hoping to go back towards the end of her two-year run to see if the show has changed from now. I’m sure that it will, and that will certainly be interesting to see.
I am also desperately hoping that this is released on DVD or C.D. or both, especially after her stint has ended. People who cannot afford to go should be able to see it somehow. It’s an absolutely amazing show, and I am so glad and so lucky that I was able to go. I will never forget it… You know?!
Thanks for taking my “review”, even though I can never say anything negative about Miss Midler. So… It’s not so much of a review, but more of a play-by-play. HaHa!
I hope that all is well with you. Thanks again!
Kyle
HI Don-
Long time no emails! I hope you are doing well. I just back from a whirlwind 24 hours in Vegas. I took a redeye and am at work, so can’t write much yet. But I did see your write-up of Sunday’s dress rehearsal and can let you know the following:
1) They did cut Some People’s Lives. Bummer!!! Love that song…
2) They didn’t touch BWBB, from what I can tell. Each Harlette dressed as one of the Bette’s in the montage (in red, yellow, and blue, with different wigs to match Bette’s hair in each!)
3) The Rose was much earlier. I’m not sure, but maybe it’s in the Some People’s Lives slot.
4) She had a little mishap w/ her poi balls last night – but in typical Bette style she laughed it off and threw them into the audience. I was so bummed I didn’t catch one!!! A guy caught one, and I didn’t realize the other landed at the edge of the stage. Someone ran up after the show to snag it!
5) No shoe mishaps or stage mishaps that I saw last night!
6) Celebs at opening night: I saw Joey Fatone, Lance Bass, and Bruce Vilanch in the audience. Apparently Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel, Jennifer Coolidge, Alan Thicke, Robin Leach, and Sigfried & Roy were also there, but I didn’t see…
7) Bette said she had “a little speech” right after she introduced the band, noting she had something to say “before I sing the only hit I have left to sing”. She thanked the entire team/crew profusely for all the hard work, noting everyone had worked extremely hard and that there were “no duds” in the group. My friend went to the afterparty at Pure (which went on despite the earlier issues). Apparently Bette gave a gracious speech, but I don’t have details.
I agree w/ what you wrote- she does so much, it’s really hard to condense to 90 minutes (though last night ran over too). My favorite moments by far was when Bette was onstage, alone, belting it out. From a Distance, Hello In There (did you note she changed it to “we lost Davy, in the last war” – I expected that, but was glad she did) WBMW, WAMLAW, etc. She was just amazing during each of those numbers. I wish there were more of them – she doesn’t need 20 Caesar Salad girls!!!!!
By the way, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her do a show without singing Friends!
Oh in terms of merchandise, something for folks to know – there are 5 or 6 teeshirts, and maybe some other stuff, ONLY available in the Coliseum (during/after the show). The boutique has a ton (and I bought more than I should admit!!) but so folks know, there are other items at the theatre, only.
(by Anonymous)
Mister D
Review
Cyclone Video
Showgirl Must Go On (Silver Pant Suit-rides in on donkey, which I dont think suits our DIVA)
In the Mood
The Rose
Do You Want to Dance
From a Distance (Orange Dress-does shoe bit at the beginning)
Delores Segment-same as you described
Hello in There (Black short dress with cityscape, very nicely done)
When A Man Loves a Woman (powerful as ever, but not crazy about placement in show)
Sophie Segment (As described, best part of the entire show…. CLASSIC AND LOVED IT)
Boogie Woogie (enters stage half way through song, black pants up to bust line with white shirt, very nice)
Wind Beneath My Wings (rising stage at end, very very nice)
Loved the show. I figure like Celine’s it will be perfected as it goes. Celines was good the first time I saw it two months after it opened and AMAZING by the time I saw it two months before it closed.
Thanks. I pray they release the older shows, although Ive heard her say she doesn’t like to do that.
John
Hey Don…just back from Vegas and thought I’d give you the latest:
We saw the show Wednesday night…the donkey is definitely gone from the opening number, replaced by a GIANT stack of Louis Vuitton
suitcases which rotate to reveal a staircase with Miss M at the top. Her opening quip: ‘And, this is just the carry on!”
“The Rose” was moved up and comes right after “In The Mood.” “Some People’s Lives” was cut, but other than that, everything seems to be the same.
The only thing that’s different is the balance of my bank account after 3 visits to the Bette store!
Hope you’re well…
Jeff