What, No Bette? — Page 5
#102
Posted: 5/31/17 at 11:49am
Exactly. Rudin has a longstanding reputation as a jerk, but he produces good shows that tend to do well critically and financially, hence why other producers sign on.
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
#103
Posted: 5/31/17 at 11:58am
willrolandsframes said: "Rudin wins. Broadway loses."
I'm seeing Dolly the night before the Tonys, in October, and for Bette's "last?" show in January. How am I losing if she doesn't sing on the Tonys?
"However, there is always a moral argument. And these kind of shenanigans belong nowhere near the Great White Way. I know it's probably not possible, but in my opinion, this is the kind of gamesmanship that could get Scott Rudin removed from the Broadway League and banned from producing at all on Broadway."
Yeah, none of that will happen.
"
#104
Posted: 5/31/17 at 12:05pm
Yes, Rudin is an infamous asshole, known for egotism and cruelty to those working for him. But nothing about what he is doing here is unethical or immoral.
I'd like to see Midler perform as much as anyone else, but come on.
And if you think the Great White Way is truly a place of gentility, then, dang are you naïve.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#105
Posted: 5/31/17 at 12:12pm
Thinking this is all Rudin may be a mistake. Maybe Midler doesn't want to perform. Maybe she's strictly sticking to her 7 shows/week schedule. Also surprised that Midler isn't trying to make the talk show rounds to help boost her Tony chances.
A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.
#106
Posted: 5/31/17 at 12:12pm
One of the things that bothers me about Rudin keeping this production under lock and key is that it's HELLO DOLLY. Unless Dolly is making an entrance flying in with a jet-pack, what is being done in this production that is so different from previous productions?
ETA: ACL2006, I presumed Midler wouldn't want to attend a rehearsal at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday morning, then do her show, then go back to Radio City for the actual awards and perform again. We've heard so many performers complain about the schedule before, and I can't imagine she'd want to go through it. (I also mentioned earlier in this thread that War Paint doesn't have a show that day, and I would bet that LuPone or Ebersole had it written into the contract so they didn't have to deal with that schedule.)
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
Updated On: 5/31/17 at 12:12 PM
#107
Posted: 5/31/17 at 12:24pm
givesmevoice said: "One of the things that bothers me about Rudin keeping this production under lock and key is that it's HELLO DOLLY. Unless Dolly is making an entrance flying in with a jet-pack, what is being done in this production that is so different from previous productions?"
You'll have to buy a ticket and find out!
#108
Posted: 5/31/17 at 12:26pm
So you're saying she DOES make an entrance flying in with a jet-pack, and that's the real reason they can't perform at Radio City?
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
#110
Posted: 5/31/17 at 12:27pm
givesmevoice said: "So you're saying she DOES make an entrance flying in with a jet-pack, and that's the real reason they can't perform at Radio City?"
I don't see the show until June 10, so I'm not able to say yet.
#111
Posted: 5/31/17 at 12:29pm
haterobics said: "givesmevoice said: "So you're saying she DOES make an entrance flying in with a jet-pack, and that's the real reason they can't perform at Radio City?"
I don't see the show until June 10, so I'm not able to say yet."
Don't you have to sign an NDA anyway?
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
#112
Posted: 5/31/17 at 12:33pm
They take away your bottle of water and thrust an NDA into your hand before you even get into the lobby.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#113
Posted: 5/31/17 at 12:35pm
I'll sign it, but isn't the joy of exclusivity that you don't have to tell anyone what you were lucky enough to witness?!
#114
Posted: 5/31/17 at 12:39pm
Kad said: "They take away your bottle of water and thrust an NDA into your hand before you even get into the lobby."
Knowing Rudin's record, I would've assumed they thrust it somewhere else...
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
#115
Posted: 5/31/17 at 12:48pm
No BETTE but WAR PAINT performs? It's like getting slapped across the face twice...
"See that poster on the wall? Rocky Marciano." - Andy Karl as Rocky in 'ROCKY'
#116
Posted: 5/31/17 at 1:08pm
givesmevoice said: "Knowing Rudin's record, I would've assumed they thrust it somewhere else..."
It's not like it's a phone.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#117
Posted: 5/31/17 at 1:15pm
They should let Rudin do the remote from the Shubert. The Tony producers should just concentrate on putting on a a great TV show. All the other award shows now do remotes. I actually think it would be fun for the television viewer to be taken inside the historic Shubert.. They really could make something special about it. Other than that.. maybe they could open the show with Bette descending from the Radio City lobby staircase in her Dolly regalia and sing the title number as she makes her way through the auditorium onto the stage. At least that would be something. No-one wants to see Penny in your pocket.
Updated On: 5/31/17 at 01:15 PM
#118
Posted: 5/31/17 at 4:53pm
SmokeyLady said: "They should let Rudin do the remote from the Shubert. The Tony producers should just concentrate on putting on a a great TV show. All the other award shows now do remotes. I actually think it would be fun for the television viewer to be taken inside the historic Shubert.. They really could make something special about it. Other than that.. maybe they could open the show with Bette descending from the Radio City lobby staircase in her Dolly regalia and sing the title number as she makes her way through the auditorium onto the stage. At least that would be something. No-one wants to see Penny in your pocket.
I LOVE this idea! Doubt if it will happen, but it would be so great! :)
"
#119
Posted: 5/31/17 at 4:53pm
SmokeyLady said: "They should let Rudin do the remote from the Shubert. The Tony producers should just concentrate on putting on a a great TV show. All the other award shows now do remotes. I actually think it would be fun for the television viewer to be taken inside the historic Shubert.. They really could make something special about it. Other than that.. maybe they could open the show with Bette descending from the Radio City lobby staircase in her Dolly regalia and sing the title number as she makes her way through the auditorium onto the stage. At least that would be something. No-one wants to see Penny in your pocket.
I LOVE this idea of Bette opening the show, coming down the Radio City stairs as Dolly!
Doubt if it will happen, but it would be so great! :)
"
Updated On: 5/31/17 at 04:53 PM
#120
Posted: 5/31/17 at 5:32pm
No one on here knows exactly why the production had to choose penny in your pocket as the song they performed. Maybe the moving scenery in other numbers had something to do with it, maybe they couldn't do the opening number because the host wanted to do his own thing? No one knows the ins and outs, and if you do please come forward and share, put pinning it all on one person is a bit drastic.
#121
Posted: 5/31/17 at 5:37pm
Oh, please. Loads of shows over the years with much more complicated scenery (think Wicked and the Defying Gravity lift) have performed at the Tonys with no issue. If Rudin had said no to the title number and yes to, say, Put On Your Sunday Clothes, I could buy the excuses. But offering up Penny in My Pocket is him clearly trying to force the hand of the Tony producers. DHP is perfectly charming when he sings it, but it isn't very interesting compared to the rest of the production.
Yes, Scott Rudin and the powers that be with this production can make their own choices in regards to performing. But all his actions have shown thus far is that he's just whiny because he didn't get his way.
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
#122
Posted: 5/31/17 at 5:39pm
millermil said: "No one on here knows exactly why the production had to choose penny in your pocket as the song they performed."
I assumed because it's the biggest slap in the face, and gives them some leverage. The song is charming in the context of Hello Dolly, but no one wants to see that representing the show at the Tonys, least of all the Tony producers. If Rudin & Co. had said, "we want to do the title number remotely, otherwise we're doing Put On Your Sunday Clothes at Radio City," no one would blink. If it really was about safety, or not showing off Bette, you'd think they'd do something like It Only Takes a Moment, since Gavin & Kate were both nominated anyway. Penny in My Pocket is 100% a "screw you" move. (Incidentally, in my head I can only ever hear it to the tune of "Poison in My Pocket" from Gentleman's Guide...)
Edited to add that I would totally pay to see Dolly enter in a jet pack. Andrea Martin raised the physical bar for "women of a certain age" in Pippin... your move, Bette!
Updated On: 5/31/17 at 05:39 PM
#123
Posted: 5/31/17 at 5:49pm
I have a prediction: they end up doing CALL ON DOLLY/I PUT MY HAND IN. Requires no special staging - nothing to haul over to Radio City but costumes and props. Everybody wins!! :)
#124
Posted: 5/31/17 at 6:20pm
If I were to believe this was all a big publicity stunt drummed up by Rudin and the Tony producers, I could see it be DHP starting out with "Penny in my Pocket" and then surprise segue into waiters coming on stage to welcome Bette as Dolly and thus the title number commences.
Updated On: 5/31/17 at 06:20 PM
#125
Posted: 5/31/17 at 6:23pm
I think that this is one of the biggest failures ever in the history of the Tonys. How do you have a show that is as big as this revival is and give it "second class citizen" treatment. Who gives a **** what Scott Rudin thinks. This show is almost entirely sold out, it has been basically critic-proof and is introducing more people to who Bette Midler is as an entertainer. The idea of her opening the show would be amazing and would make everyone in the audience wake up and pay attention...
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