Bette Midler's Show Is Going Into The Booth Theatre

[themysteriousgrowl]

Is she thought of as a legend, Gav, broadly? I guess for the “Project Runway” audience, the reception you describe makes sense, but outside of circles with significant male homosexual fan bases beyond a certain age… I honestly don’t think she’s thought seen that way. I’d guess that if I were to ask my coworkers or, say, my mom or sister, they’d think of her as a sort-of washed-up ‘80s actress/singer.

And I wouldn’t necessarily defend that perception. I’m just saying I think reverence for her is reserved by minority segments, demographically speaking.

Or maybe I’m totally off-base! I usually am!

[ljay889]

If someone from 16-25 doesn't know the name Barbra Streisand, they are a moron.

[Wynbish]

And Lea Michele has permission to slap them

[ljay889]

Man, It's depressing that today's tweens know Lea Michele, and possibly not Streisand.

[Wynbish]

Or worse: think Lea sings some songs better than Barbra

[ljay889]

Stop.

[Wynbish]

I mean... maybe...

Sidenote: We need a Real Housewives OT thread to talk about all the crazy that Kenya Moore is.

[ljay889]

I know! Would probably just be the two of us. I honestly find her entertaining now. What she did there is one of the best Housewives stunts ever. But she is totally CRAY!

[kadu335]

I guess this has a lot to do with people's interests as well... a lot of my friends are not into arts at all. They could probably name all soccer players that took part in the 1970 World Cup before being able to tell Bette and Barbra apart.

[ljay889]

^ But I'm sure many of them have seen MEET THE FOCKERS.

[Wynbish]

I do bar trivia in a team where everyone else is in their early 30's. The guys can tell you so many names of quarterbacks and World Series of Poker questions, and then they would try to argue that the Tonys are in February.

But those guys wouldn't see Babs or Miss M in a show anyway.

[GavestonPS]

You're probably right, mysterious growl, about the general public, but I think the crowd that knows Midler is a little broader than just gay people. It also includes theater aficionados, the cultural elite and educated people in general.

I don't think performers like Midler, Cher, Lily Tomlin or Bob Newhart descend to a "B list" (though I suppose they do in terms of their ability to get a film financed). I think they age into a "beloved" category outside the ABCD levels. (In an earlier time, the same was true of Merman and Garland.)

And Midler is no fool. She probably knows exactly what she wants to do with the part and how big she wants to play it. The Booth was chosen accordingly.

[suestorm]

its kinda why i thought Chaplin wasnt long for this world, before it even came out... no one my age really cares about him.... on the other hand, its why ive thought from the beginning that cinderella will be BIG!!!(edited). HUGE BUZZ

Let me stress that im not saying that everything has to be youthcentric, just telling you how these things are reacted to in my little world.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

I'm in the 20-25 age bracket, and I know perfectly well who Bette Midler is. Same for my entire circle of friends, straight and gay alike.

I don't believe a word suestorm says, I think "she" is a fictional creation.

[kadu335]

There's a good probability they did, ljay889... but knowing her name and how iconic she is, is different story. For them, she's unfortunately just Ben Stiller's mom LOL

[themysteriousgrowl]

I'm with you on the status of all those other people you named, Gav. Perhaps it's just that, for me, Bette Midler just ain't in the category of a Bob Newhart or a Judy Garland. Despite the force of her personality, I see her as much more of a blip on the pop-culture radar of her lifetime than those folks. As I say, it’s likely I’m the one who’s off-base in this estimation of her, but it is genuinely surprising to me that people see her that way.

[GavestonPS]

I'm afraid suestorm is right about Chaplin. I'm on the verge of collecting Social Security and even *I* don't care about him. I know I'm supposed to cherish that scene where he ate his own boot (THE GOLD RUSH, I think), but I just don't.

Silent movies were seriously before my time even.

(ETA But, yes, when I was a kid and Chaplin was still alive, I would say he was a "legend", not "B list".)

[suestorm]

this is why im so happy about the new breed of Broadway stars. Sierra, Laura Osnes etc, and shows like Once, Bring it On, Newsies and Spiderman. they have buzz and introduce a new breed into the theater!

[Wynbish]

City Lights would be a pretty musical. The end scene makes me teary.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

I only know Bob Newhart from his Desperate Housewives appearances...I guess in time, even the great Bette will be forgotten.

Also, didn't Bradley Cooper say on Charlie Rose last night that he was doing The Elephant Man at the Booth for a sixteen-week run in the spring?

[frogs_fan85]

Spring 2014.

[GavestonPS]

mysteriousgrowl, if we are going to rate legends, then, yes, Garland and Newhart enjoyed broader popular success in their heydays than did Midler. But you're making Midler sound like Debra Harry.

I think Midler's place in American culture is broader than that of Harry or Cindy Lauper or Pat Benatar or Chrissie Hinde (all of whom I appreciate and respect). You don't fill 5,000 seats at Caesar's Palace for two years without a bit of a following, particularly not after touring the same basic show all over the country for the two previous years.

(And to be clear, for gay men Bette Midler kind of WAS Judy Garland in the decade following Stonewall. But I recognize that was--and is--a niche audience.)

[newintown]

Is Midler's appeal greater than that of Vanessa Redgrave, who did another recent one-woman play at the Booth? Or Lily Tomlin or Bea Arthur, who did theirs there as well?

(I don;t have an answer, just wonder what others think.)

[oasisjeff]

The problem is that a lot of people are viewing Bette Midler within the general population, but the majority of the general population doesn't regularly attend Broadway shows. So, yes, the large pocket of people unlikely to attend a Broadway show anyway might not be swayed by Bette being in one.

But among the people most likely to attend a Broadway show, she's huge, and seeing as they are the people who will actually be buying the tickets, that's all that matters.

[GavestonPS]

^^^True. But the question will be whether those who know her will want to pay $100 bucks to see her NOT sing and dance. Gay men? No problem. We'll have to see about the others.

But a lot of us who have been Midler fans for four decades ALSO remember who Sue Mengers was. That may help. (Of course, in my mind, I picture Mengers as Dyan Cannon in THE LAST OF SHEILA.)

[Jordan Catalano]

I think the real problem here is that some of you who are saying* you're in your mid 20s, I always thought were in your mid 50s, so it's like a mindfvck right now.