Is Bette Midler's show a mess?
February 20, 2008 | 11:28
am
On Sunday and Monday, select press were invited to a dress rehearsal of Bette Midler's show at Caesars.
The show has its red carpet opening tonight.
I was pointedly not one of those selected to see the show previews. Fair enough. Apparently, there was very limited space for press among the more than 4,000 seats in the venue.
While tickets are for sale to the public, critics are being told to wait to review the show until February 29.
And there may be another reason to restrict the access of those of us known to be opinionated. Though he agreed not to review the dress rehearsal, the Sun's Joe Brown wrote this morning:
Photo: Bette Midler smiles during a news conference at the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, in this May 3, 2007, file photo. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, file)
The show has its red carpet opening tonight.I was pointedly not one of those selected to see the show previews. Fair enough. Apparently, there was very limited space for press among the more than 4,000 seats in the venue.
While tickets are for sale to the public, critics are being told to wait to review the show until February 29.
And there may be another reason to restrict the access of those of us known to be opinionated. Though he agreed not to review the dress rehearsal, the Sun's Joe Brown wrote this morning:
Sounds like it could be a disaster. On the other hand, I can't believe as experienced a performer as Midler is capable of botching her Vegas show. But I will have to wait for a chance to see it on February 29 to find out."I can say Midler and her crew are going to need every minute of the next 10 days to make it work. And maybe a miracle. And maybe even Barry Manilow. Very much a work in progress...may even require that most Vegas of renovations--demolition and reconstruction."
Photo: Bette Midler smiles during a news conference at the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, in this May 3, 2007, file photo. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, file)
As a crew-member who watched Ms. Midler single-handedly self-sabotage her CBS TV show in 2000--complaining on-air to David Letterman that as producer/star she felt like a Dung Beetle rolling a turd up a hill, for instance-- I can asure you that if anyone can screw up her new show at Caesars Palace, Bette can.
Posted by: ravingdave | February 20, 2008 at 12:53 PM
I thought the show lacked everything! Bette missed lighting queues, messed up transitional joke lines and her voice was rough. I like Bette and was looking forward to a great show. I was so disappointed with the entire production. The stage is huge and she, nor the dancers can fill the stage. They need twice the dancers. The show was choppy and Bette referred to the fact this was a 10 million dollar show several times, it really looked like a filenes basement show to me.
Posted by: caryn | February 26, 2008 at 10:03 AM
I saw Ms midler on July 20, 2008 at Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas. I wholeheartedly agree with the above review. Why she sang "When a Man Loves a Woman" is beyond my understanding. When she sang that song it was if I was at a Karoke Bar. I went to the show to her sing, not use the "F" word. She sang a total of 7 songs in 90 minutes, only 3 hers. The display of 24 showgirls dressed like Mermaids and riding around the stage in electric wheel chairs put the nail in the coffin of her show. I trully felt sorry for her. The worst show I have ever seen.
Posted by: Earl Vassar | July 21, 2008 at 05:29 PM