Bette Midler touring in 2019?

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 12:57am

I was just online and came across some search phrases that Bette Midler would be touring in 2019. Now while I dont know if this is a rumour or online bot work or truth. Im just curious if anyone thinks that we will get one more tour from Bette or a farewell. Or have we seen the last of Miss M live in concert. I realize a lot of her counterparts like Elton John and Cher will be embarking through their farewell tours. Do you think Bette would/is doing the same?

I would love to see her live in concert so when I saw this tonight my interests were peaked.

Thanks

[gregnyc2]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 7:02am

We can hope.

You never know what youre going to get. Ive seen her brilliant and Ive seen her terrible. I had, like, 15th row aisle at MSG her last tour and actively hated the show so much I left early. Interminable set and costume changes, horrible computer graphics throughout, the same jokes from 20 years earlier. The whole thing felt like a middling rehash rather than from the heart. Bette sang the great Leonard Cohen song Everybody Knows; well, sang because she essentially shouted the entire thing. Theres no subtlety in arenas and the whole thing was uninspired. Obviously the mindset was, oh, its an arena, so it has to be BIG and flashy. The truth is everyone would be far happier with just a good band, Bette and a microphone.

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 9:09am

gregnyc2...same thing when i saw Bette at  Staples in LA a few years back...too much shouting and no way in the huge arena could she be subtle and nuanced...

Hopefully she tours, if at all,  in nice size theatre that are for musical productions...when Bette can be heard singing from the heart no one can top her.

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 10:22am

broadwaybabywannabe2 said: "gregnyc2...same thing when i saw Bette at Staples in LA a few years back...too much shouting and no way in the huge arena could she be subtle and nuanced...

Hopefully she tours, if at all, in nice size theatre that are for musical productions...when Bette can be heard singing from the heart no one can top her."

 

See I know a few years back she had talked about doing smaller more intimate shows which I would love Yes I agree  there is nothing better than watching Bette sing from the heart  

 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 10:37am

I agree with the others that not all her recent shows are fabulous.  

I've been seeing her shows since childhood (saw CLAMS ON A HALF SHELL at the Minskoff in 1975 when I was 10) thru the 70s and 80s.  Her stage return in 1994 with EXPERIENCE THE DIVINE was INSANE!  Its was not only her greatest hits tour but production level was mind-blowing, including her tribute to burlesque as her CBS TV movie had just aired so she also gave us her live "Rose's Turn."  

My last tour of hers was 2003's KISS MY BRASS and what a disappointment.  Rehashing her old Sophie Tucker jokes and half-assed production values.  It felt exhausted and all the material was not up to her previous concert shows.  

I think she needs to rethink things now and do a more intimate concert show like Streisand does.  Stories and songs.  No flashy production.  

[haterobics]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 11:04am

BrodyFosse123 said: "Rehashing her old Sophie Tucker jokes"

Isn't that the point of the Sophie Tucker jokes, though? That they're old, well-worn bawdy vaudeville jokes?

[DAME]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 11:33am

BrodyFosse123 said: "I agree with the others that not all her recent shows are fabulous.

I've been seeing her shows since childhood (saw CLAMS ON A HALF SHELL at the Minskoff in 1975 when I was 10) thru the 70s and 80s. Her stage return in 1994 with EXPERIENCE THE DIVINE was INSANE! Its was not only her greatest hits tour but production level was mind-blowing, including her tribute to burlesque as her CBS TV movie had just aired so she also gave us her live "Rose's Turn."

My last tour of hers was 2003's KISS MY BRASS and what a disappointment. Rehashing her old Sophie Tucker jokes and half-assed production values. It felt exhausted and all the material was not up to her previous concert shows.

I think she needs to rethink things now and do a more intimate concert show like Streisand does. Stories and songs. No flashy production. "

That’s what she has said she is going to do. But I did love her very last tour as well as Kiss My Brass.  I hated her Vegas show which was a weird hybrid of both.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 11:35am

Isn't that the point of the Sophie Tucker jokes, though? That they're old, well-worn bawdy vaudeville jokes?

Midler has admitted in interviews and on stage that her Sophie Tucker jokes aren't original but one's she and her writers have written 'in the style of Sophie Tucker", which is why she's always had new and fresh jokes in her shows.  Her fans know ALL the jokes she's used so reusing old jokes is equivalent to a stand-up comedian repeating jokes they did years earlier.  Once funny; not funny once you know the punchline.  

[ChgoTheatreGuy]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 4:26pm

I wanted to see Bette Midler live in concert ever since I saw "The Rose", when it first came out in 1979.  I discovered the "Live at Last" album and wore it out.  My first tour was "De Tour" and was very fortunate that she sat on the man's lap in the row in front of me and gave me the closet look at her that I could have ever imagined.  Saw the "Experience The Divine" tour four times over two years and immensely enjoyed that tour.  "Kiss My Brass" was fun, but the highlights for me were her perfomances of "Stuff Like That There", (which I never thought she would considering the failure of "For The Boys" and the Dolores De Lago career revival through Broadway medley.  I am in agreement that "The Showgirl Must Go On", Vegas engagement was definitely "Bette Lite", no real cursing and none of the grittiness that she was formerly known for.  Didn't get to see "Divine Intervention" live, but watched a version on YouTube, the whole thing seemed somewhat recycled and also somewhat pandering to "giving people what they know and like".  I would definitely see her one last time, if for no other reason than to take my partner who has never seen her perform live.

Updated On: 1/18/19 at 04:26 PM

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 8:08pm

Midler's issue is that she tends to get very bored, very fast.  Vegas was an absolute nightmare for her in the end and as audiences dwindled, so did her commitment to giving a great show. 

Divine Intervention felt a little clunky.  I think it was mainly because of the size of the venues she toured to.  Something smaller, more intimate and connected, might be the answer.

[ArtMan]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 9:38pm

Brody, I had a friend (he has passed away now) who always told the story that he saw Bette when  she first started doing shows (after the Baths) and she would strip bare naked on the stage.  I always doubted this story, but is there any truth to it?

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 12/25/18 at 4:13pm

I couldnt agree more. The thing is id go see her either way. But I would hope its either an extravaganza or subtle nothing in between. I would just love to see her perform some of my favorite songs. Ive loved her since I was a child back two decades ago and my parents showed me The Rose. My fingers are crossed that 2019 tour is true

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 12/25/18 at 4:57pm

ArtMan said: "Brody, I had a friend (he has passed away now) who always told the story that he saw Bette whenshe first started doing shows (after the Baths) and she would strip bare naked on the stage. I always doubted this story, but is there any truth to it?"

No truth whatsoever.  She's never exposed herself ever in any of her shows.  

I'm sure his memory is blurred with his imagination based on listening to her 1977 live album LIVE AT LAST, which was recorded during her 1976 Cleveland, Ohio stop of her THE DEPRESSION TOUR.   This tour stop was also filmed and aired on HBO.  

The dialogue is obviously the section when she's introducing her Vickie Eydie sequence of the show and where you can audibly hear her peel the velcro of her costume as she's describing she's exposing herself to Cleveland and showing her famous breasts.  

Here is the actual footage of what is on the live album where you can clearly see she is just simply doing a costume change and revealing her long Bob Mackie gown.  The moment begins about 1 minute 30 seconds into the footage and many still assume she's showing her breasts to the audience having never seen the filmed HBO concert as it was quite rare back in the 1970s to have cable.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVx6EqxGZ-4



 

 

 

Updated On: 5/6/19 at 04:57 PM

[DAME]

Posted: 12/25/18 at 5:28pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "ArtMan said: "Brody, I had a friend (he has passed away now) who always told the story that he saw Bette whenshe first started doing shows (after the Baths) and she would strip bare naked on the stage. I always doubted this story, but is there any truth to it?"

No truth whatsoever. She's never exposed herself ever in any of her shows.

I'm sure his memory is blurred with his imagination based on listening to her1977 live album LIVE AT LAST, which was recordedduring her 1976 Cleveland, Ohio stop of her THE DEPRESSION TOUR. This tour stop was also filmed and aired on HBO.

The dialogue is obviously the section when she's introducing her Vickie Eydie sequenceof the show and where you can audibly hear her peel the velcro of her costume as she's describing she's exposing herself to Cleveland and showing her famous breasts.

Here is the actual footage of what is on the live album where you can clearly see she is just simply doing a costume change and revealing her long Bob Mackie gown. The moment begins about 1 minute 30 seconds into the footage and many still assume she's showing her breasts to the audience having never seen the filmed HBO concert as it was quite rare back in the 1970s to have cable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVx6EqxGZ-4







"

I own two versions of this special.  One the HBO edit and another slightly longer one with some different  edits.  This special is back  from the days when to view HBO you had to have a descrambling box on the top of your tv .  

Updated On: 5/6/19 at 05:28 PM

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 12/25/18 at 6:02pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "I'm sure his memory is blurred with his imagination based on listening to her1977 live album LIVE AT LAST, which was recordedduring her 1976 Cleveland, Ohio stop of her THE DEPRESSION TOUR. This tour stop was also filmed and aired on HBO."

 

O...M...G this brought back some wonderful memories. This HBO airing and album were my first ever experiences with the fabulous Bette Midler. I was 18 years old and going into the US Navy the year the album was released. I still have it in storage back home in NC. It had a huge impact on me. Man, those were the days. 

[DAME]

Posted: 12/30/18 at 10:56am

dmwnc1959 said: "BrodyFosse123 said: "I'm sure his memory is blurred with his imagination based on listening to her1977 live album LIVE AT LAST, which was recordedduring her 1976 Cleveland, Ohio stop of her THE DEPRESSION TOUR. This tour stop was also filmed and aired on HBO."
O...M...G this brought back some wonderful memories.ThisHBO airing and album were my firstever experienceswith the fabulous Bette Midler. I was 18years old and going into the US Navy the year the album was released. I still have itin storage back home in NC. It had a huge impact on me. Man, those were the days."

So divine .  A master class in being a entertainer.  I hope she brings one of her concert shows for a broadway run.  

[artscallion]

Posted: 12/30/18 at 1:38pm

I saw her at the Universal Amphitheater in LA. It was early 80s, so it must have been her Art or Bust tour. At midnight, Bette came out as Baby New Year with Father Time at the piano. Midler unmasked him and it turned out to be Barry Manilow, reuniting for their first time together after many years of not speaking. Twas magical frosting on a magical cake. I think that was one of her more interesting shows.

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 1/17/19 at 11:05pm

I guess with the confirmation now that Bette will not be doing dolly in the westend. It does leave it open for her to actually be touring. I would just hope that her plan was for the summer that some announcement would be made shortly