Posted: 5/31/17 at 8:41pm
Scott Rudin is an A S S H O L E.
Period. End of story.
Posted: 5/31/17 at 9:07pm
I like deadlines point of view on the story. I didn't realize that this was also the 50th anniversary of the first live tony telecast from the Shubert theater. Is this correct?
http://deadline.com/2017/05/bette-midler-tony-awards-hello-dolly-1202104811/
Posted: 5/31/17 at 9:17pm
Bette doesn't want to sing in a bigger theater without control over the sound board, mix--and any auto tuning going on. She. Cannot. Sing.
Posted: 5/31/17 at 9:29pm
Bette Midler is no stranger to Radio City Music Hall. I saw her "Experience the Divine" tour in September 1993. I understand that as a performer gets older their voice can change. I saw Barbra Streisand on tour last year for the first time, and at 74 years old, her voice is also not what it once was. It was the excitement of seeing that made me go see her. The same thing should be said of Bette Midler in this historic revival of a classic Broadway musical.
Posted: 5/31/17 at 9:33pm
I would love to see Rudin film the title number from a performance one night and then buy out an entire commercial break and show it during the ceremony.
Posted: 5/31/17 at 9:41pm
I really was rooting for them to snag a few tonys, but not anymore. This is just plain rude. I honestly hope it loses them a few votes, if its not too late.
Posted: 5/31/17 at 10:54pm
JaglinSays said: "Bette doesn't want to sing in a bigger theater without control over the sound board, mix--and any auto tuning going on. She. Cannot. Sing.
"
As someone who apparently 'cannot sing', she certainly has done a good job faking it for the last 50 years...
Posted: 5/31/17 at 11:02pm
JaglinSays said: "She. Cannot. Sing."
Don't be ridiculous. She's older now, and her voice is rougher, and I'm sure that doing a full Broadway schedule is only making it harder. I saw Hello Dolly, and her vocals weren't perfect. (Not that it affected my enjoyment of the show - she owned that stage and I loved every second of it.) But to say about Bette Midler "she. can't. sing" .... gtfo! The woman has literally decades of being an international superstar performer under her belt. If you had ever seen her in concert, you'd know that she was an unbelievable singer - her heartfelt belted ballads were often the highlight of any performance, and she has more musicality in her thumb than most people could ever dream of having in their life. Credit where credit is due, please.
That said... yes, I'm sure she would love to have control over the sound if she was going to perform at the Tonys. Any headliner would.
Posted: 5/31/17 at 11:43pm
I hate most award shows and rarely tune in to any of them. The Tonys were the exception for an opportunity to get a glimpse of shows to see if they might spark some interest for me. But these awards have gotten more political and ridiculous then ever. Will she/wont she sing BS... temper tantrums... "we want to do it like this" "you can't" - please. Spare me. If we're going for pure drama, lets just hope Christine Ebersole pulls an upset and wins best Actress while Falsettos wins Best Revival just to really piss people off.
Posted: 5/31/17 at 11:54pm
JaglinSays said: "Bette doesn't want to sing in a bigger theater without control over the sound board, mix--and any auto tuning going on. She. Cannot. Sing."
I think she sounded fine in the theater, though a little tired throughout. But as others have mentioned, maybe they aren't having her a do a solo number like "So Long Dearie" in attempt to avoid a CZJ moment. That would be especially embarrassing when LuPone and Ebersole (nearly Bette's age) are going to be singing their asses off on the same telecast.
Posted: 6/1/17 at 12:03am
Chernjam said
"lets just hope Christine Ebersole pulls an upset and wins best Actress while Falsettos wins Best Revival just to really piss people off."
YOU can hope Falsettos wins Best Revival for the oh-so-noble reason you state. But please do not ask or expect the rest of us here to join you in that hope. For I will certainly hope nothing of the kind for that rotten show.
Posted: 6/1/17 at 12:27am
Somewhat independent of this drama, the sound on last year's broadcast was pretty bad. I would gladly welcome performances from the show's home theaters, if it improved the sound quality.
Updated On: 6/1/17 at 12:27 AM
Posted: 6/1/17 at 1:35am
I don't think any of these decisions have anything to do with Bettes voice.
Posted: 6/1/17 at 6:25am
I'm confused, she will not sing but she will attend? Will they show her watching DHP's performance from the audience? "I'm here to sob about winning, praise the cast and the Broadway community but I won't perform for you", kinda thing?
It will be so strange to see her show up and win without doing something. All while the other nominees show up to perform and lose to the lady who wouldn't do a thing.
Bizarre.
Posted: 6/1/17 at 7:00am
blaxx said: "I'm confused, she will not sing but she will attend? Will they show her watching DHP's performance from the audience? "I'm here to sob about winning, praise the cast and the Broadway community but I won't perform for you", kinda thing?
It will be so strange to see her show up and win without doing something. All while the other nominees show up to perform and lose to the lady who wouldn't do a thing.
Bizarre.
Good Point!!! This is an interesting view on such a strange situation. Secretly hoping somehow this is all resolved and we get the performance we are waiting for.... Seems like there are many involved behaving like spoiled children..... No surprise there I guess...
"
Posted: 6/1/17 at 7:18am
I wonder what kind of host Spacey will be. Most hosts would have a field day with this; doesn't get much easier.
If she's not performing, she may as well not show up at all.
Posted: 6/1/17 at 7:29am
Posted: 6/1/17 at 8:11am
I remembered Hairspray's performance on the Tonys where it had to be restaged on a much bigger stage. All of the actors seemed to be out of breath with the singing not even close to what it was in the actual show. I don't see Rudin's request as that big of a deal. I blame the Tony producers.
Posted: 6/1/17 at 8:29am
Wait, she might get an award for "not doing anything"? What about 7 times a week? THAT'S what the award is for...not having anything to do with her performance on that particular evening. So many of you are acting like entitled children. Waaaaaah.
Would I LIKE to see her perform? Sure....but it's none of my business if she doesn't want to.
Posted: 6/1/17 at 9:19am
djoko84 said: "I remembered Hairspray's performance on the Tonys where it had to be restaged on a much bigger stage. All of the actors seemed to be out of breath with the singing not even close to what it was in the actual show. I don't see Rudin's request as that big of a deal. I blame the Tony producers.
"
It's funny that so many on the message board and even some in the YouTube comments talk about how bad that performance was, but as a young person who wasn't quite as experienced with knowing what to expect out of a great Broadway performance, I became super interested in the show and score based on that Tony performance. I think that may be a testament to the strength of the song and being blinded by the sheer energy of the performance. Plus, I was more exposed to the Billboard top 200 and club music at the time, so seeing a Broadway-level performance even if it wasn't close to reaching the standard it should was something new and exciting for me.
Posted: 6/1/17 at 1:42pm
All of this noise is certainly loud online and in here but I went to the matinee (again) yesterday and believe me, there is no evidence of anything but unbounded joy and love from the audience and again, I have so much admiration for Bette and the production. The cast have grown into their characters, nuances and winks and they are only more endearing. Gavin Creel has immersed himself in Cornelius (and now, he's a real threat to Lucas Steele); but I've always loved him and if he wins that's great too.
Bette remains a tour de force. At the start of Harmonia Gardens, the fork on the platter was not secured and the waiter dropped it on the stage. He picked it up, handed to her, she shrugged and mugged looking at the fork and said, "What are you going to do?" and continued to use it. Then, there were more prop squeakers with the turkey leg almost falling from the fork to the platter to the stage floor. Just her actions and facial expressions had the audience in super stitches. Say what you will about the messed up politics of Broadway and the Tonys, but it's hard to ignore how exquisite this production is. DHP and GC are inside Bette's "stage mojo" even more now. Beanie has mastered a stand out performance.
The incredible cast, ensemble, waiters and those gorgeous costumes really deserve to be seen on the broadcast.
Updated On: 6/1/17 at 01:42 PM
Posted: 6/1/17 at 2:48pm
I saw the CJZ video, still not sure what the moment was... Was it the last note?
Anyway, go Falsettos and SJB!!!
Posted: 6/1/17 at 3:04pm
Steve C. said: "All of this noise is certainly loud online and in here but I went to the matinee (again) yesterday and believe me, there is no evidence of anything but unbounded joy and love from the audience and again, I have so much admiration for Bette and the production. The cast have grown into there characters, nuances and winks and they are only more endearing. Gavin Creel has immersed himself in Cornelius (and now, he's a real threat to Lucas Steele); but I've always loved him and if he wins that's great too.
Bette remains a tour de force. At the start of Harmonia Gardens, the fork on the platter was not secured and the waiter dropped it on the stage. He picked it up, handed to her, she shrugged and mugged looking at the fork and said, "What are you going to do?" and continued to use it. Then, there were more prop squeakers with the turkey leg almost falling from the fork to the platter to the stage floor. Just her actions and facial expressions had the audience in super stitches. Say what you will about the messed up politics of Broadway and the Tonys, but it's hard to ignore how exquisite this production is. DHP and GC are inside Bette's "stage mojo" even more now. Beanie has mastered a stand out performance.
The incredible cast, ensemble, waiters and those gorgeous costumes really deserve to be seen on the broadcast.
"
Yes Steve. The show is stunning and Bette is glorious in it. No one outside of here and a few other chat boards is really aware of any of whats going on with the Tony number. Most people don't even know the Tonys are next week. But for us the hardcore broadway lovers it is a huge disappointment that we won't get a Bette broadcast number out of this show. The other disappointment ( but no surprise) is how fast people used this to fabricate tales about Bette's voice, soundboard control, and a variety of things that are just not true or they know nothing about.
Posted: 6/1/17 at 4:07pm
ken8631 said: "I saw the CJZ video, still not sure what the moment was... Was it the last note?
Anyway, go Falsettos and SJB!!!
"
She had to perform the song outside of the context of the show and without her scene partner. It was awkward with odd head movements, etc and did not reflect her actual performance in the show.
Posted: 6/1/17 at 4:38pm
Wasn't she also sick and on heavy duty meds to get through it?
