Hey Don,
How are you? This is Kim from Michigan. We have met briefly a few times. The last was when I brought you much needed nourishment while at The Venue in Indiana. What an armpit of a place, but how can you NOT go when Bette is there? Anyway, just wanted to drop you a note letting you know that Troy, my husband, and I just got back from Vegas and seeing Bette of course.
We had wonderful seats, third row right where she sits and sings at the end of the show. The show has changed slightly from the beginning. She had a few costume differences from when she first started Showgirl, but mostly they are the same. In the beginning she doesnt carry on as much on how large the stage is, and doesnt have as much political comments as before. She does pick on Jon and Kate and how we could all afford health care if we didnt waste so much money on watching them. It was pretty funny. She does sing Stuff Like That There, and kicked her right leg in the begining of the song. She wasnt satisfied with the height she got on that one and the next time you could see she really grunted it out and got her leg up to her head and had a big satisfied smile! Yep, I can still do that. Oh, at the end of the first part when the Harlettes are walking out they do that cute chant and strut they did at the Venue. She says, ‘Harlettes walkin’ out, and then Miss M walkin’ out….that is really fun.
I think others have made comments that her voice has been affected by singing so much and I would agree-somewhat. In the beginning of the show we could visibly see she was struggling a bit-she kept clearing her throat and was swallowing alot. Her voice cracked a few times while trying to hit difficult notes and she seemed upset about it. BUT, once she came out and sang Hello in There she was absolutely flawless, and due to her voice being a bit more ‘smokey’ and more mature than when she was younger it was beautiful and so heartfelt. It was now time for When a Man Loves a Woman and I wasnt sure if she could do it……well I was wrong. She was shaking with emotion and almost crying as she sang and hit every difficult note in that song. I sprung up like a jack-in-the-box and applauded her awesome ability. It was truly wonderful. That was a highlight for me. While she was doing the poi balls as Delores she had some problems keeping them going-big surprise-and said ‘Oh fuck’ and threw them in the audience. It was really funny. No new Soph jokes and no mess ups while saying the jokes. As always the show was over too fast. We saw the Smug Muthas getting escorted out at the end of the show. I sure hope they had a fun time-I am sure they did. Troy asked me prior to going if I would want to buy a Smug Mutha ticket and I declined. It was too expensive for both of us to buy tickets and I was too nervous to go myself. I enjoy reading everyone’s stories and maybe sometime I will be able to meet her, but until then I am satisfied enjoying her wonderful ability to entertain all of us as she does.
