BWW Reviews: Lucy is Tops in STEALING THE SHOW: BETTE MIDLER – but the Show Views Bette 'From a Distance'

There is a sense of complacency that infiltrates almost every aspect of STEALING THE SHOW: BETTE MIDLER. What is perhaps worse than that, is that STEALING THE SHOW packages its complacency and attempts to sell it as artistry. "Look! Look at our minimalist approach to the material!" the show shrieks, as though minimalism in itself is justifiable as an artistic approach. "Look at our single costume! See us using the audience to augment our numbers! We're focusing on the music, you see, because that's what really counts." To be fair, it is true that the music counts a great deal in a show like this. But is there any point in paying tribute to a performer like Bette Midler, whose catalogue spans some 80 years' worth of material, and ignoring almost everything that makes her distinctive in the first place?

STEALING THE SHOW: BETTE MIDLER takes a greatest hits approach in its song stack. Many of the songs are drawn from Midler's complication albums, with numbers from EXPERIENCE THE DIVINE and THE BEST BETTE making up the bulk of the material. Individual albums that get a look in are THE DIVINE MISS M and the soundtrack of BEACHES, with three songs apiece making the cut. Perennial favourites like "The Rose" and "The Wind Beneath My Wings" are all there, as are many of Midler's popular cover versions of other artist's songs, ranging from Cole Porter's "Miss Otis Regrets" to "In My Life" by The Beatles.

It is precisely because of the variety of material that Midler has recorded during her career that paying tribute to her approach to the music is as important as the music itself. Midler's stage persona takes matches strong vocals with a fair deal of bawdy comedy, an outrageously camp presence and an edgy sense of transgression. STEALING THE SHOW: BETTE MIDLER manages only to capture the first of those elements, with Lucy Tops once again confirming her remarkable ability to put across a number, anything from the sultry "Do You Wanna Dance?" to the introspective "From a Distance".

When it comes to the other three essential elements of Midler's persona, STEALING THE SHOW: BETTE MIDLER gives audiences a short shrift. The humour in STEALING THE SHOW consists of a few tired jokes by Jon Keevy, whose recent script for DIRTY WORDS make his apparent inability to connect with the tone of Midler's comedy seem at odds with his talent. Midler's trademark camp is similarly reduced to a single feather boa and the closest that STEALING THE SHOW: BETTE MIDLER gets to Midler's edginess is one f-bomb. Any true Midler fan will know that her transgressive approach extends far beyond than a couple of cuss words. Midler's career took flight in the Continental Baths, and it was more than a superficial nod to her audiences there that made her a superstar. As a performer, social activist and human being, Midler is a great deal more complex than that. It truly feels as if nobody involved in the show, including director and onstage pianist Garth Tavares, understands that is because Midler is an extraordinary woman that she is an extraordinary artist.

In her most recent concert, THE SHOWGIRL MUST GO ON, Midler cracked a joke about her fans. "30 years ago my audiences were on drugs," she quipped. "Now they're on medication." One of the remarkable things about Midler is that she has retained her original fans while collecting new admirers throughout her career. STEALING THE SHOW: BETTE MIDLER never gets to grips with the reasons why Midler's music has the power to move audiences in the way it has, nor does it capture her charismatic personality. It is satisfied with capitalising on only the most commercial of Midler's endeavours, attempting to cover up its shortcomings with a smug rationale based on its stripped down approach to the tribute show genre.

STEALING THE SHOW: BETTE MIDLER runs until 16 November at the Kalk Bay Theatre. Tickets cost R120. Guests can enjoy a delicious supper, coffee and dessert at the new Kalk Bay Theatre and Restaurant. Restaurant patrons get first choice of the unreserved seating in the theatre. Doors for the restaurant open at 6:30pm for dinner and 12:30pm for lunch on Sundays. Ticket bookings can be made at www.kalkbaytheatre.co.za and ticket and dinner reservations can be made on 079 361 8275.

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