I was only 15, so I couldn't go to the baths (that had to wait till I was 17!), but I saw her in '71 at the Bottom Line, the Bitter End, a strip mall in New Jersey and an auditorium at the old NYU Uptown Campus in the Bronx.
This is what she and Barry Manilow were like then. At 15, I though the Divine Miss M and Follies were as good as it gets.
Thanks Sondheimhboy2! She was fab and this clip confirms that the daughters really did that weird mop sliding thing. I thought that was so strange in the revival tour.
" ...the happiness in the tune convinces me that I'm not afraid."
Yes, the mop dance is Jerome Robbins' original choreography.
It looked cramped on that Tony Awards clip. I've seen the mops sliding a much greater distance in actual productions.
By the way, Manilow did some amazing arrangements and piano playing on Midler's first two albums, "The Divine Miss M." and "Bette Midler". I particularly like the arrangements on "Skylark" and "Surabaya Johnny".