It seems to me that those who make comments in reviews or elsewhere like "Bette Midler's voice is gone" or "the voice is not what it was" probably have never seen Bette in concert or listened to her recordings. Bette has NEVER had a big beautiful voice like Streisand, or Broadway-style chops like Bernadette or Patti. What she has ALWAYS had is deep understanding of style (40's, rock, ballads) and peerless performance joy and energy, AND comic brilliance! All of which, in my opinion, are on display in Bette's portrayal, undiminished. Seeing the show a second time I was thrilled by how her performance had already deepened and the radiant warmth and joy in her presence onstage has grown even stronger! And comic genius? She's up there with Fanny Brice and Sophie Tucker and the like... :)
BTW - I saw the show on Saturday night and the red dress looked different than what's in this picture. At the very least, the jewelry was this bulky necklace which looked less diamond, more collar. She still looked stunning, but I was surprised since I was expecting this work from all the pictures which had showed up.
I thought that Before The Parade Passes By number was a bit underproduced, and that it could have used not only a bigger cast, but also a lot more props. It's possible that it paled in comparison to what I was expecting so seemed smaller, but I think it might have been technical failure. I say that because I could hear a lot of plank noises and technicians screaming from behind the curtain during the intermission.
Caption: Every so often there was a rare moment of perfect balance when I soared above him.
BTW - I saw the show on Saturday night and the red dress looked different than what's in this picture. At the very least, the jewelry was this bulky necklace which looked less diamond, more collar. She still looked stunning, but I was surprised since I was expecting this work from all the pictures which had showed up.
I thought that Before The Parade Passes By number was a bit underproduced, and that it could have used not only a bigger cast, but also a lot more props. It's possible that it paled in comparison to what I was expecting so seemed smaller, but I think it might have been technical failure. I say that because I could hear a lot of plank noises and technicians screaming from behind the curtain during the intermission.
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"Anything you do, let it it come from you--then it will be new."
Sunday in the Park with George
TNick926 said: "It seems to me that those who make comments in reviews or elsewhere like "Bette Midler's voice is gone" or "the voice is not what it was" probably have never seen Bette in concert or listened to her recordings. Bette has NEVER had a big beautiful voice like Streisand, or Broadway-style chops like Bernadette or Patti. What she has ALWAYS had is deep understanding of style (40's, rock, ballads) and peerless performance joy and energy, AND comic brilliance! All of which, in my opinion, are on display in Bette's portrayal, undiminished. Seeing the show a second time I was thrilled by how her performance had already deepened and the radiant warmth and joy in her presence onstage has grown even stronger! And comic genius? She's up there with Fanny Brice and Sophie Tucker and the like... :)
Valentina3 said: "BTW - I saw the show on Saturday night and the red dress looked different than what's in this picture. At the very least, the jewelry was this bulky necklace which looked less diamond, more collar..."
Can you elaborate at all about the changes to the dress? Im fascinated... thanks for sharing...
I focused on Pearl Bailey's Dolly for today's comic. I was looking for a definitive list of famous Dolly's and found a fascinating website collecting testimonials on each of their performances.