Bette Midler - Mame?

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 10:26am

Thoughts? Will some producer jump on it and make it happen? I know back 6-7 years ago talk was that Scott Rudin was wanting to produce with Cher.  

[thatdarnzach]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 10:28am

Well then it's a good thing that the deal for a revival was just inked.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 10:32am

I think this seems unlikely. 

Updated On: 7/31/24 at 10:32 AM

[nealb1]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 10:40am

Bette would have been a fabulous Gooch, way back when.  No big surprise that she would like to have played Mame.  It's a fantastic role, with wonderful songs!

Jerry Herman said many times that he thought Catherine Zeta-Jones would be a great Mame.  He was right.  She'd be perfect.  

Updated On: 7/31/24 at 10:40 AM

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 10:46am

Isn't Gooch supposed to be...fertile at this point in the story? 

I think the musical is seriously flawed and the Southern stuff may be unfixable, but I've always thought Megan Mullaley would be the ideal Mame. Funny, madcap but with a real warmth. She has 'fun auntie' energy in spades. Probably not a big enough star, but she'd be great. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 11:01am

Bette has never been a Mame. She is an ideal Vera, but obviously would never take a role that small on stage. If she actually wants to do it then perhaps it will happen, but I'd be surprised to see her in a musical without the backing of Scott Rudin.

IMHO, the show needs a full rewrite. Act 1 almost works because Mame and Young Patrick have the strongest interpersonal relationship of the show. There are some fixable problems mainly related to race, class/domestic workers, and endangering a child by putting him in a nudist school.

Act 2 is a mess with no real momentum: too episodic, jumps ahead in time, it's hard for the audience to focus on a character who is adrift (Mame), Beau is killed in montage for convenience (after barely being introduced), Mame's mourning feels superficial and she quickly gets over it, we hear about Mame and Vera being close but don't see it, there's one too many Upson party scenes, there are too many secondary characters, who tf cares about Pegeen Ryan, and then it jumps forward AGAIN at the end of the show.

A rewrite centered around Bette would obviously also have to address the character being in her 70s-80s instead of in her 40s.

It could perhaps do well with the right leading lady (Hannah Waddingham is ideal but probably doesn't mean enough at the b.o.) and director (Casey Nicholaw? Susan Stroman? George Wolfe? Jessica Stone?) and someone like Harvey Fierstein or David Lindsay-Abaire or Paul Rudnick doing a rewrite with the full encouragement of the estates. And remember, most stars who you would suggest for Vera wouldn't want to take it because they'd prefer to play Mame.

Here are some other threads about MAME:

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1159470

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1155381

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1158088

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=975152

Updated On: 7/31/24 at 11:01 AM

[MysteriousLady]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 11:02am

I think Bette is just running her mouth. Twenty years ago she would have been a smashing Mame. 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 12:02pm

Bette is WAY TOO OLD to play Mame, especially given that it spans at least 15 - 20 years from young Patrick to married Patrick with an 8 year old son.

I know it has issues, but the first time I saw Mame represents my absolute favorite theatergoing experience ever.  I was 16, the show was in its third week, I always loved Auntie Mame, the cast was incredible, the music was joyful, the production was lavish, the choreography was spectacular.  I cannot believe that it can't be tweaked to make it more politically correct.

The real issue with a revival of Mame will be casting the leading lady.  Unless the role is 'lessened', Mame has to be played by a terrific actress who is comfortable with comedy (some slapstick), can sing really well and can dance up a storm.  It must be one of the toughest leading roles there is.  The last time I saw it, in DC was very disappointing.  Christine Baranski, a perfect Vera, was a miscast Mame; Harriet Harris was a terrible Vera, the production looked cheap (all I remember is a lot of black), and the Eisenhower stage was too small for the title number in particular. 

I love Bette Midler, but she is just wrong for the role.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 12:04pm

If she really wants to do it producers should be throwing money at her. I agree the book will need some rewrites, and I imagine they’d turn to Shaman and Wittman to fix up some of the lyrics as they did with Music Man.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 12:48pm

I swear Bette said she wouldn’t do another big musical on Broadway because it was so exhausting (even though she says it was the pinnacle of her career) so the fact she’s now saying she wants to do it again should have producers rushing to the phone. Even if “Mame” doesn’t happen for her, just the fact she’s open to doing it again is EXCITING.

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 1:59pm

MAME is happiest as a theater chat topic and not as a revival. The thing that its fans don't understand is that it is set in the 1920's to the 1940's and Mame's political and artistic passions are both a parody of and an homage to the spirit of those eras. Audiences for the most part would not understand what is being parodied anymore so you would have to update the entire thing (home for refugee Jewish children becomes home for refugee Palestinian children) and then it would no longer be MAME which was always a nostalgic look back. 

Updated On: 7/31/24 at 01:59 PM

[binau]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 2:08pm

Well if history can repeat itself and they get Bernadette as Bette’s replacement, I’m in. Mostly joking I do realise she is probably too old. 

[pmensky]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 3:12pm

If she believes she can handle it and the producers have faith in her, then she should do it. They can get a matinee Mame with a name, and revise the book which, among some other alterations, would have her be Patrick’s great aunt. Considering the recent revivals of Sunset Boulevard and Cats, nothings off limits when it comes to revivals. 

[joevitus]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 3:43pm

sinister teashop said: "MAME is happiest as a theater chat topic and not as a revival. The thing that its fans don't understand is that it is set in the 1920's to the 1940's and Mame's political and artistic passions are both a parody of and an homage to the spirit of those eras. Audiences for the most part would not understand whatis being parodied anymore so you would have to update the entire thing (home for refugee Jewish children becomes home for refugee Palestinian children) and then it would nolonger be MAME which was always a nostalgic look back."

I think this is nonsense. The movie Auntie Made still really attracts a lot of people--I'm surprised how many young gay men still gravitate towards it (I say as gay man in his 50's who knows how long it had been around before he himself was ever born). The musical would do just fine with no updating for current audiences. Yes, there are aspects that will be kicked around on sites like this when it comes to any revival, but I don't think that really speaks to the overall audience.

[MysteriousLady]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 3:53pm

joevitus said: "sinister teashop said: "MAME is happiest as a theater chat topic and not as a revival. The thing that its fans don't understand is that it is set in the 1920's to the 1940's and Mame's political and artistic passions are both a parody of and an homage to the spirit of those eras. Audiences for the most part would not understand whatis being parodied anymore so you would have to update the entire thing (home for refugee Jewish children becomes home for refugee Palestinian children) and then it would nolonger be MAME which was always a nostalgic look back."

I think this is nonsense. The movie Auntie Made still really attracts a lot of people--I'm surprised how many young gay men still gravitate towards it (I say as gay man in his 50's who knows how long it had been around before he himself was ever born). The musical would do just fine with no updating for current audiences. Yes, there are aspects that will be kicked around on sites like this when it comes to any revival, but I don't think that really speaks to the overall audience."

Indeed. Maybe I'm not the best person to ask because I enjoy all sorts of old movies and shows, but Auntie Mame is a movie I could watch over and over. I think a light revision would be all it needed. The best thing to do would be a concert with Donna Murphy or Jane Krakowski. See how the audience reacts to the book, and see if a revival in the 2020s makes sense.

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 3:55pm

I’d rather see Glenn do this.  I’ve never been excited by Bette, we’ve seen her shtick a million times, she’s always the same. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 3:57pm

Let's be clear, Bette Midler in MAME (or any musical) could sell with no trouble even if it was done with just a bare stage, worklights, and a piano. If she actually wants to do it, finances are not the issue. She's had many offers to do musicals before and after Dolly (including Mame, and 25 years of Dolly offers before Rudin actually made it happen). 

It's the quality of the overall material that is the issue. The so-called "PC" elements are a minuscule part of this book's problems. It has never been great and relies so heavily on a perfectly calibrated star performance (in both the play and the musical but especially in the musical). Citing anecdotal observations of its source material's impact on gay men is irrelevant.

The pearl-clutching by originalists surrounding Mame, Follies, Dolly, and some other revered shows is so exhausting. Go watch the bootleg of Angela in 1983 if you want to simply relive the past.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 4:43pm

I am not sure how to interpret your last paragraph.  I think you are dismissing the book a little hard.  Mame is a very funny show.  

You are right that — more than even Hello, Dolly — the show requires are great Mame.  I may be wrong here, but it has always seemed to me that Mame is a much bigger role than Dolly, at least without the Merman add-ins.

Admittedly, I have a bias, but with the right leading lady and a little tweaking for political correctness, it would be a hit.

[binau]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 6:26pm

I saw the show live recently with Tracie Bennett circa 2020 and tbh I don’t really understand why people say it wouldn’t work. I’m not sure if they changed the text - although I will admit there were some lines if I recall such as the south thing that I didn’t fully get or know how a US audience would respond today or even then. But as a whole I didn’t feel the material was so ‘problematic’ that it couldn’t be revived? The main issue is they just need someone in the role of Mame. I don’t really see Bette in the role but at least she has a bit of charisma and can sing the role. 
 

I think they should have revived the show with Bernadette in the late 90s or early 00s. My dream always alongside Patti. 

[Kad]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 6:27pm

I've never had the opportunity to see a production of Mame- it's so seldom produced. Has anybody here seen a very good production that was not the original staging? The impression I've had is that the original was lighting in a bottle and that has never really been duplicated. This honestly seems like an ideal Encores show.

[nealb1]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 6:32pm

Kad, I saw Juliet Prowse in the show several times in the early 90's.  She was just fantastic!  So regal and so elegant.  And, when she danced, she was a swan.  Her versions were very faithful to the original staging.  

Have done the show several times - including Jo Anne Worley & Carol Lawrence.  Both of these productions had some of the original staging incorporated into the show.  

Updated On: 7/31/24 at 06:32 PM

[denali.fire]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 6:33pm

Jarethan said: "Bette is WAY TOO OLD to play Mame, especially given that it spans at least 15 - 20 years from young Patrick to married Patrick with an 8 year old son.

I know it has issues, but the first time I saw Mame represents my absolute favorite theatergoing experience ever. I was 16, the show was in its third week, I always loved Auntie Mame, the cast was incredible, the music was joyful, the production was lavish, the choreography was spectacular. I cannot believe that it can't be tweaked to make it more politically correct.

The real issue with a revival of Mame will be casting the leading lady. Unless the role is 'lessened', Mame has to be played by a terrific actress who is comfortable with comedy (some slapstick), can sing really well and can dance up a storm. It must be one of the toughest leading roles there is. The last time I saw it, in DC was very disappointing. Christine Baranski, a perfect Vera, was a miscast Mame; Harriet Harris was a terrible Vera, the production looked cheap (all I remember is a lot of black), and the Eisenhower stage was too small for the title number in particular.

I love Bette Midler, but she is just wrong for the role."

 

Make is an aunt . Not a great grandmother  .

[inception]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 6:52pm

Firget Mame, Bette should just bring Rochelle, Rochelle to Broadway. 

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 7:02pm

If any Jerry Herman musical is going to be revived, it needs to be DEAR WORLD.  Donna Murphy was SENSATIONAL in that role, it’s a perfect musical that should be on broadway. 

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 7/31/24 at 7:11pm

Theatrefanboy1 said: "Thoughts?"

Bette Midler as Mame?  OF COURSE Bette Midler as Mame.