Anyone see Bette Midler's first show?- Page 4

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 11:54am

Does anyone else think this would have been really cool as an immersive/environmental production? Like if they had taken the Circle in the Square and turned it into her Hollywood mansion. And as an audience member you were invited to attend her party, and Bette, in character, was walking around talking to her guests and being the life of the party much like Menger was in real life. I think that would have been more interesting than her just sitting on the couch.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 11:56am

Thanks for the reply. Guess I'll sit a little back.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 12:12pm

"I am truly sorry you didnt enjoy it as much as I did. I enjoyed lots of the stories and will see it again in May after Bette has learned her lines"

Hands down the most unintentionally bitchy comment I've ever read on bww.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 12:33pm

Maureen Dowd's interview with Bette about the play.

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2013/04/bette-midler-sue-mengers-broadway

It was well known that Mengers, terribly obese, didn't move much. She did most of her business from her bed which is probably why there's no blocking. There was a movie ages ago that I can't recall the title of, but Shelley Winters played an agent based on Mengers and spent the entire film in bed. At the end she's revealed with her black female lover.

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 12:51pm

Sounds like the Elaine Stritch cabaret I saw last week... although she moved around a bit.

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 12:59pm

Wilmingtom, the film you're thinking of is Blake Edwards' S.O.B.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 12:59pm

Look. I get it. She's older. It's 90 minutes of material. All alone up there. It's scary. But she's a pro. And if she wasn't up for it, she shouldn't have signed up.

There are people in these audiences paying around $150 a pop. She should know her lines, previews or not. There is no excuse for that. And if it were an Off-Off-Broadway production with non-union actors, the ridicule would be heavy.

I found the entire thing a big let-down, and an eye-opener to a star I've always loved.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 2:47pm

Maybe she should wear an earpiece.

[Phillytheatreguy10]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 2:54pm

I agree with the earlier post about selling the previews at full price- it is a preview and all of you so called "theatre lovers" should get that things change in previews, sometimes without more than an hour or two notice! Get over it! Get a ticket after the official opening if you want to see perfection! She's not lazy, she's paying homage to a Hollywood great and probably a friend, I'm sure she wants to do a good job, but as others have said she is blocked to be in one place, as the real Mengers was known to be. I like the Circle in the Square idea of the immersive experience! Perhaps, even the Booth being a small house, is even too big for the intimate piece. I will reserve judgement on the experience until after I have seen it...which is after the official opening night!

[Playbilly]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 3:02pm

Elizabeth Taylor played a Mengers-esque agent in THOSE OLD BROADS.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 4:27pm

I get that maybe the actual person didn't move around much, but this is a play. It's a theatrical retelling. There's some room for embellishment. And if you aren't going to move then you better get ready to tell an amazing story that's going to pull everyone into you.

[Patash]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 4:47pm

"There was a movie ages ago that I can't recall the title of, but Shelley Winters played an agent based on Mengers and spent the entire film in bed. At the end she's revealed with her black female lover."

"Sounds like the Elaine Stritch cabaret I saw last week... although she moved around a bit."

An unfortunate following of posts!

[logan2]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 8:34pm

Thank you, Whizzer, for the Dunaway story. Sounds delish...

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 9:37pm

I think the problem lies in the fact that most people don't know who the f@#k Mengers was. Nor do they know she was morbidly obese and sat in her bed. If you have to explain that much, she's probably not the most accessible subject.

People are going because the title is bitchy and sounds like something Bette would say. People are going in expecting Bette especially with that "warning" outside the theatre.

Im sure international tourists will think it is just Bette talking and have no idea she's playing a character.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 9:47pm

She tweeted earlier today about "memorizing her lines." She's probably all too aware of not necessarily being up to snuff at this point.

If I can get a rush ticket, I'd go, but no way I'm paying full price for it.

[Damiensta]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 10:14pm

She asked for lines four times tonight so it seems she has improved from asking nine times. She got tongue tied a couple of times but saved it. She did laugh once saying Barbra . Not a bad show but I wouldn't pay full price

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 10:30pm

I saw the show tonight and, as Mengers would probably say, let's dish.

Let's get this out of the way first. I wanted to be fair and I waited until I saw the show to voice my opinion about Midler not knowing her lines. She asked for her lines SEVEN times this evening. Not four. I counted and it was, with 100% certainty, SEVEN. So now, I have this to say: There is really no excuse for it. I understand the script may be under revisions, but most of her lines could be cut up into shorter monologues, as she is mostly telling stories or quick anecdotes about Hollywood/her life. It's not as if this is one, long, flowing 90 minute monologue that is hard to lose track of. For some odd reason, Midler would lose her train of thought mid-story and forget her lines. And she would blank on her lines when the audience would laugh or applaud loudly, as if we threw her off track. There were also plenty of lines that she stumbled on and would start over. I'm not sure if Phyllis was being serious about the earpiece idea, but it would be a hell of a lot better than having her snap out of character to screech "LINE" into the wings as someone barks the line at her. It made for a very disjointed and choppy theatergoing experience.

Now that that is over, I have to say that I enjoyed the show tonight quite a bit. I wish I had bought tickets for later in the run, because once Midler gets her footing and takes the time to cultivate a fully-realized character, she will be ferocious. This is not to say the performance she is currently giving is bad by any stretch of the imagination. When she got rolling and was on point, she was electrically funny, sarcastic, catty, and utterly captivating. Anything and everyone anyone could want from Ms. Midler. The script has no real dramatic arc (it tries to squeeze one dramatic twist in at the end, but it doesn't really work) but it's a gleefully obscenity-laden, frothy text packed with a lot of pretty funny jokes. If you're looking for something with dramatic heft and pull, look elsewhere.

I actually didn't really have much of a problem with the staging (or lackthereof). I did think, however, that it immediately raised the stakes for the caliber that Midler's performance needs to be at. If we are going to watch her sit there the entire time, shifting around every so often, she needs to be completely and totally captivating and dynamic. There is nothing to be distracted by here. It is Midler, a few cigarettes, and a phone. That's it. She is under the microscope from the second the lights come up and she has nothing to hide behind, which makes her ability to know her lines and develop a strong character all the more crucial. The set is nice, though it does look a bit like an OTHER DESERT CITIES rehash, and I liked the subtle but effective lighting.

Overall, it's a very enjoyable evening at the theater, no doubt. And as I said, when Midler is on, she is ON. And she is fantastic. I imagine audiences who get to see this in the coming weeks are in for a really phenomenal performance from The Divine Miss M. As of now however, she is a bit too concerned with what her next line is to maintain that caliber for the entire 90 minute running time. But she is a legend and to see her live on Broadway is a pretty amazing experience, period.

Complete side note: Midler's vocal inflections sounded so much like Kristen Wiig's Suze Orman impersonation on SNL. Just saying. Updated On: 4/10/13 at 10:30 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 11:41pm

Not to get hated upon, but is there a show curtain ?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 11:53pm

"It's not as if this is one, long, flowing 90 minute monologue that is hard to lose track of."

If it were, it would have been written by somebody other than John Logan.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 11:55pm

Namo, I'm starting to think you don't like John Logan.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/9/13 at 11:57pm

Show curtain:



And RippedMan, I love your idea of having the show be a more "immersive" experience and gussying up the theater, as if you are really sitting in her living room gossiping.

One lucky audience member, does, however, get to go onstage and briefly interact with Midler. Updated On: 4/10/13 at 11:57 PM

[logan2]

Posted: 4/10/13 at 6:32pm

I'm loving this thread. Since this show is mainly about dishing on the Hollywood famous, and hearing some of the unflattering references made, do you think this will stop those famous people from attending? I think I heard there's a phone conversation with Streisand in the play. Does this mean Barbra dare not attend?

I know Mengers and Midler were friends at some point, but did their friendship happen after the time period in which the play took place, or do they just avoid a Midler reference since she's playing Mengers?



Updated On: 4/10/13 at 06:32 PM

[egghumor]

Posted: 4/10/13 at 6:41pm

There's an entire section where she [Mengers] trashes Midler, but those are the lines she [Midler] keeps forgetting.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/10/13 at 6:44pm

She calls Barbra a c*nt in the show, so I doubt she'll be attending...

[logan2]

Posted: 4/10/13 at 6:50pm

Good one, egghumor.

Wow, WiCkEDrOcKS. I guess the star wattage of opening night won't be as bright since Ross, Dunaway, and Streisand won't be there. I'm assuming that in 90 minutes of bitchy gossip, even more huge stars will avoid it like the plague. I guess their lucky Mengers was a Hollywood agent, and not a Broadway agent.



Updated On: 4/10/13 at 06:50 PM