Bette is Boomer Hot, Check it Out Bette Midler Store                                             Bette is Boomer Hot, Check it Out Bette Midler Store

Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On                                 

I have no clue where she gets all her energy. Just let me say, she is non-stop entertainment and when she runs out of things to do, she takes trips across the stage just to kick the equipment at either end, and says, I just love doing that.

Outrageous and Scandalous

Midler’s alter egos were at Caesar's, too. Dolores Delago, the dancing, singing, loveable mermaid in a wheel chair and the always outrageous Soph, the ‘Oldest Showgirl in the World’. Plus, she still tells the scandulous jokes we have loved and laughed to since the very beginning of her career.

Midler says “You know what’s funny? I’ve been tellin’ these jokes for 30 years and you’ve been laughing at ‘em for 30 years.” And, it’s true.  My husband, Dan, and I laughed so hard we were in tears.  For example:

Soph wanted to join the Hell’s Angels.  The reluctant biker tells her, well, you have to drink.  Soph immediately downs six shots.

The biker says, you have to smoke, Soph says, does marijuana count?

Now the biker is worried, so he asks, have you ever been picked up by the fuzz? Soph says, no, but I’ve been swung around by my tits a couple of times.  

In the Beginning

The show opens with a twister on a massive video screen that sweeps up everything in its path including a cow and a big rig. Out of the whirlwind lands a gigantic pile of Louis Vuitton luggage on the enormous stage. 

Midler emerges from the pile wearing a sassy silver pant suit. The band, led by Bette Sussman, begins and the show is off with a bang.

Midler's first number is an energetic tune specifically written for the show titled, The Showgirl Must Go On, and features a spectacular chorus line of 20 talented dancers. Midler’s infamous backup singers, The Staggering Harlettes, also join in and the roller coaster ride begins.

A spirited In The Mood is next and when Bette is finished singing she reclines on a lip shaped couch and exclaims, “I’m exhausted. That’s what happens when you do your own singing.”

Bewitching and Beautiful

When the lights dim and The Divine Miss M appears alone on the stage she prepares the audience for her incredible ballad The Rose. She tells the audience "I know you know all the words, but let me sing the first verse by myself, then the next verse you can hold-up your cell phones. She laments, "In the old days it was lighters, now days it’s electronics.  The last verse everyone can sing."  But, she sang it so bewitchingly very few audience members sang. The splendor of her delivery was overwhelming and I shed a few tears, sniff.

Midler's comedic timing is perfect.  Just as the tears started, she lightened the atmosphere with some hilarious ancedotes.  She said, "Thirty years ago my audience was on drugs. Now they're on medication.”

Our Scandalous Soph

When Soph, 'The Oldest Showgirl in the World,' graces the stage, the laughter turns to hilarity. The octagenarian burlesque queen sported a headdress that was "half the size of Tennessee," and she spurts out risque stories of her adventures with her boyfriend, Ernie.

Ba-da-dum!

Dynamic, Stunning, Sensational

And so the ride continued, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy was bangin'. The Glory of Love was  accompanied by Midler's delightful strum on her ukelele. She appeared barefoot in a long flowy dress to lift up her voice in From A Distance, then brought the audience to its feet when she belted a dynamic When a Man Loves a Woman.

Hello In There, a haunting song about aging, showcased multi-layered  projections of an oldtime New York neighborhood. And, Do You Want to Dance lead to a rhythmic number with exquisite parasols that show off the stunning choreography created by world reknown Toni Basil.

Sensational  outfits, including reversible clothing, which gives the illusion that The Harlettes who are dressed in black have instantly bust into brilliant floral colors. The gold coin stage curtains become part of  the show, forming objects such as trees, clouds, and rain for several numbers.

Midler concludes the show with a song she has delivered all over the world, Wind Beneath My Wings.  It is here you can see her Hawaiin roots in her lovely hand gestures as she creates the illusion of flight.

Delightful and Delicious

The show boasts beautiful sets, a huge theater screen, unique costumes, which all dazzle and exude the Las Vegas glitz.  Yet, the most divine thing about the whole show is Midler herself.  She could stand on the stage and sing with no one there; no band, no chorus and literally bring you to tears.  Her voice is so captivating, so strong, so moving.  This is why she is so loved.  She sings ‘stories’ that are dear to us. Stories which touch a nerve, bring back a memory or just envelope us with imagination and wonder.  This is her gift and thank God she shares it with the world. Midler is classy, charismatic, original. Her stage presence is bigger than Trump’s Tower. She's delightful and delicious, and this is a sinful treat not to be missed.

The show is so fabulous, my husband had absolutely no interest in going to show.  The gentleman in him wouldn't allow me to go alone, so he escorted me to the show.  We both laughed so hard we cried.  After the show, I heard him calling his buddies saying this was the best show he has ever seen.  I hate to say, I told you so! 

For more Bette check out the music profile in our music section.  It is FUNNY.

Tips: The tickets range in price from $95 to $250.00 for the premium seats.  Every seat at Caesar’s Palace Coliseum Theater is a great seat because you can see the stage well from any vantage point.  The programs for the show are $30.00.  Also, you cannot bring in your cameras; they do check your pockets and purses.  I had to check my camera in before I was allowed to enter the theater.

Lastly, the show is not for children and Midler will tell you this during the show.  There is a lot of adult humor and language that is not appropriate for kids.    

The show is 90 minutes with no intermission.  The doors open at 6:45 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. showing, so there is not a long wait to be seated.  We picked up our tickets at will call.  They had all the information in the computer, thus we were in and out in less than a minute.  

                              The Showgirl Must Go On

                              Soph Jokes from Diva Las Vegas                   

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