Anyone see Bette Midler's first show?- Page 2

[Kad]

Posted: 4/6/13 at 3:33pm

...and she's not even singing.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/6/13 at 4:00pm

Don't worry PJ! After8 deemed it acceptable.

I think Logan is overated for what he is (and I say this based on only seeing a good production of Red which was really well acted and his movie work,) but having his name attached to this did raise my expectation levels.

[April Saul]

Posted: 4/6/13 at 11:44pm

Just to be clear...When I posted here about being more interested in seeing Bette play herself, it wasn't a comment on the playwright, who--though I haven't seen his other work--may well be terrific! Nor was it a serious suggestion that she dump this project, which I'm sure folks have worked hard on, and which might turn out to be great.

It's only that on the surface, at least, I'd have a lot more interest in seeing Midler as Midler than I have in seeing her portray a bitchy Hollywood super-agent.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 4/6/13 at 11:50pm

She had a multi-year run in Vegas doing that a few years ago. Probably wanting to do something different.

[darreyl102]

Posted: 4/7/13 at 1:52am

I know that this is a stupid question, but does Bette stage door at all? I mean, I assume not, I mean I can only imagine the chaos of it if she did LOL

[SweetLips]

Posted: 4/7/13 at 2:30am

Perhaps she could just 'hum' a little

[logan2]

Posted: 4/7/13 at 2:47am

Would one of you who have seen the show be a lamb and tell us the joke in the show about Sue walking the red carpet with Diana Ross that gave Midler the giggles the other night. Thanks in advance, kittens.

[jayinchelsea]

Posted: 4/7/13 at 9:22am

Whizzer, where are you? I am eagerly waiting to hear what you think!

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 4/7/13 at 9:59am

Ha, I'm not seeing this until Monday as there were two first previews on Friday night (this and J&H). I'll be sure to share my thoughts then, but it does dishearten me a bit to hear that Midler sits on a sofa the whole evening and never gets up!

[jayinchelsea]

Posted: 4/7/13 at 10:10am

What also disheartens me is that I rushed to buy a full price ticket, and now it's offering discounts. I guess the Midler audience wants to see her in a wheelchair with a fishtail singing in Vegas, and not on Broadway sitting still on a couch. And where did that title come from? I keep forgetting it when asked...

[Papacusco]

Posted: 4/7/13 at 4:36pm

I will be there too Where are you sitting ?? Read your comments all the time Would like to meet you

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 4/7/13 at 7:27pm

Hi John Logan!

[TaraN80]

Posted: 4/8/13 at 11:41am

We got rush tickets to the Sunday Matinee yesterday. Got in line at the box office at 11 am and was 3rd in line. There was around 20 people in line by the time the box office opened at noon. Before they started selling the rush tickets they let us know all the tickets would be in the last row of the mezzanine. I think everyone in line got tickets. The seats had a clear view of the entire stage but a little farther then I would normally like to sit...but can't complain for $35! I loved the show and thought it was hilarious. There was lots of laughter throughout the show. She did have to ask for her line about 5 times but I thought that was pretty good considering she talks for pretty much 90 minutes non stop. There was no intermission. After the show there was probably 100 people surrounding the barricades and her car waiting for Bette. She signed for only around 10 people before getting in her car and posed for no pictures. I was lucky enough to be one of those who got their playbill signed. Great time!

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/8/13 at 12:01pm

Saw it yesterday as well and had a very different reaction. She does not know her lines. Called for one at least 8 times in 90 minutes, and is clearly paraphrasing a great deal of it, often repeating lines and getting lost. At these prices, the preview excuse doesn't hold up.

The play is a note. I've liked Logan's other work, but this is practically a non-entity. Nothing happens. What the point was remains beyond me. I really WANTED to like it, and sure I chuckled a bit, but the sum of the parts add up to zilch.

One last gripe: if you are going to have a set that expansive, USE it. Get her off the goddamn couch for Pete's sake.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/8/13 at 12:02pm

Meant to say "the play is a non-entity". Apologies.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 4/8/13 at 12:11pm

The entire run isn't sold-out?! She's a legend!

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/8/13 at 12:44pm

Oy! So many typos. Sorry about that, guys. Was writing from my phone.

[logan2]

Posted: 4/8/13 at 3:52pm

I guess PhyllisRogersStone thinks I'm John Logan because of my profile name and the fact that I asked about a joke in the play. I wish. My name is Todd, middle name Logan, and I live in Texas. I read a review on a blog site that mentioned the Diana Ross joke that cracked Midler up, so I wanted to know what it was.

So Whizzer, looking forward to your review - fan of your posts, if you could fill me in I would appreciate it.

BTW, also longtime fan of PhyllisRogersStone's posts. Living so far away from the Broadway scene, I find this message board invaluable and highly entertaining. I still have terrific memories of the Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown preview thread. That was legendary!



Updated On: 4/8/13 at 03:52 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/8/13 at 3:57pm

Remember me? I liked that show and I still do.

[LesMiz24601]

Posted: 4/8/13 at 4:09pm

Can someone talk about what happens when an actor "calls" for a line? What is the process? Does Bette (or actor x) stop in the middle of a sentence and shout "line?" Or is it more natural? Does the reader shout it back from backstage or the front row??? Does the actor do it in character? I've heard of this with other actors before-but always wondered how it "worked" or if it was awkward, ect.

[logan2]

Posted: 4/8/13 at 4:09pm

Yes, fan of you too, FindingNamo. I loved that show. So glad someone provided a link to an audio recording done during previews, I still listen to it more than the actual cast recording. Once I saw an "unauthorized" video of the show, loved it even more.

But, please, someone, I'm dying to know the Diana Ross red carpet joke from I'll Eat You Last!







Updated On: 4/8/13 at 04:09 PM

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 4/8/13 at 5:15pm

LesMiz, I personally haven't seen it happen on Broadway, which only means I haven't been to enough previews. (Well, the exception is FOLLIES, where Ben is supposed to forget his lines so he can be cued by the conductor.)

There's a stage manager off-left or right who is following the lines in the script in order to call lighting, set and sound cues. The actor on stage simply says "line" (as much in character as possible, but there's really no way to disguise it) and the stage manager gives the first few words of the next line. Unless one is very close to the stage, one may not even hear the prompt being given.

How much of a distraction it proves depends on the individual audience member, as you can see from the posts above.

[logan2]

Posted: 4/8/13 at 5:30pm

LesMiz,
I saw Lily Tomlin in Houston in February. The show was a mix of old and new material. Towards the end of the show she got lost in the script. She was in the middle of Tess' monologue about reality and the development of human speech from Search for Signs. She paused, then looked at the audience and said something to the effect that she can't believe she's forgetting the lines in this particular monologue because it was one of her favorites, then made a joke about age and dementia.

She said to offstage left "What's the line, David?". She got back on track, but then lost her place again, sat down, put her head in her hands for a moment, then started talking to the audience about the perils of live theater. She went off script for about ten minutes and it was joyous. She then asked the unseen David again for a line and continued. I never did hear David's voice responding to her, but I was further than midway back on the lower level.

Tomlin is so naturally funny that I was glad she lost her place and we got a ten minute ad-libbed comedy routine. It made the evening more memorable than if she had never messed up.







Updated On: 4/8/13 at 05:30 PM

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 4/8/13 at 5:44pm

It happens. Particularly with older actors. (I once directed an off-off-Broadway play with four ladies, aged 76 to 84. It was really interesting, but every night was something of an adventure!)

Obviously Midler and Tomlin are pros and there's nothing wrong with their memories in the usual sense, as far as I know. But learning 90 minutes of material when one is 70 is quite a feat. (I realize Tomlin has been doing that play for decades, so no wonder she was embarrassed! But I'm sure I would have enjoyed it as much as you did.)

(This is not to quarrel with the poster above who resented paying full price for material Midler hadn't learned. That's a different issue.)

[Luv2goToShows]

Posted: 4/8/13 at 6:09pm

LesMiz24601, I went to an early preview of Carson McCullers Talks about Love at the Rattlestick, Suzanne Vega played Carson McCullers. She asked for a line several times, there was someone sitting in the front row with the script, who fed her the lines. She pretty much stayed in character the whole time so it was not much of a distraction (probably because Carson McCullers was sort of a peculiar character). BTW, an announcement was made before the start of the show that they were still working the show and there may be stops and line calls.