What’s The Buzz On “The Showgirl”…

BLB Resting

I’m taking a brief hiatus to rest my weary, throbbing head….Shout out to 2011!!!! I wasn’t able to see “The Showgirl” since I was out making the rounds for total strangers, ya dig? So Mister Thang here will have to watch it when he awakes!!

I thought I’d give ya’ll a place to comment on the show if you wanted to…if not, no biggie. Just giving you the option. From what I could gather from Facebook snooping, a lot of you were disappointed by cuts made to the show, but found it Divine nonetheless. You can’t stop the “showgirl” and you certainly can’t stop the BetteHeads for loving their Diva!

So if you have anything to say, spill it. What was your favorite part? your favorite performance? where’s Delores? what about Soph? Anywho, you get my drifteroo….

Hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year…So long 2010, and G’day little 2011!!!

May this be the best year yet!

Love, Mister D

Share A little Divinity

23 thoughts on “What’s The Buzz On “The Showgirl”…

  1. did someone record the show? i would love to see it , too … 🙁

    but happy new divinely year to all betteheads!

  2. TSGMGO will air again Sunday 1/2/11 11:15 CST I believe on one of the HBO channels. I liked it!!! Wish it was a longer …. Oh well better than no Bette.

  3. I was so looking forward to this but was very disappointed because they cut 20 minutes from the original show which included Delores Delago and “When a Man Love’s a Woman.” The live show was only 90 mins long, HBO doesn’t need to make cuts for commercials, so why they decided to edit this show is beyond me? I’m so glad I got to see it in Vegas and I’m hoping a DVD release will be coming soon with the edits restored in it’s entirety.

  4. Hello, Dolls.

    Well, if I’m able to give my take on this show ANYWHERE and it be appreciated, (and UNDERSTOOD) this is it.

    I was one of the poor schmucks who was unable to make it to Vegas to see this show live. I’ve seen every show since “Experience The Divine” but had to miss this one because my father was sick and I was his caregiver… because I am such an amazing and remarkable effin’ human being. If anybody wants to give me a medal (or courage…or a heart or a brain) email me for my inmate number.

    Before I go any further, let me make it perfectly clear that I would have been content with the show if it had just consisted of Bette Midler twirling onto the Colosseum stage, lifting her autumnal orange “From a Distance” gown and mooning the front row. She could get me to walk a hundred miles barefoot over broken glass to see her pay somebody ELSE to sing “The Rose”, so my criticisms here are just one selfish drag queen’s take on the HBO imagining of her show. M-kay?

    I had been waiting on baited breath for a very long time to see this show mostly because of it’s size and the feeling that Bette was finally receiving the spectacle that her act deserves. What I got was…well, what I got was not what I had expected, but what I had feared: HBO had somehow managed to take the biggest and most elaborate of this woman’s big elaborate shows and strip it down to a greatest hits music video.

    I’m fully aware that the show was originally edited to a mere Vegas 90 minutes, and that there was another 20 minutes cut out (Delores was SORELY missed and left a noticeable hole in the show) because of royalty expenses, but it seems to me that they could have filled up more of this time with the witty banter that she’s so famous for.

    And while I know that there were certain restraints added to all of this because it had to be edited in such a manner that it looked like it was all filmed in one night, I also know that Bette had creative control. And sometimes, well, sometimes the things that Bette edits for whatever reason are exactly the things that we want to see. Her imperfections have always been what made her “The People’s Diva” because there was something to ground her audience with between her moments of fabulousness.

    I liked the show (and let’s face it: I’ll end up seeing it until I have memorized every kick, box-step and sweep of her arm) but it seemed like a lot of the heart had been ripped out.

    That said, the Soph routine had me in tears (as did “Hello in There) and the choreography, costumes, set and lighting were her most amazing yet. Eric Kornfeld’s material was incredible and Toni Basil really topped herself this time. Bette’s direction also made a lot of sense to me.

    Still, something was missing. Maybe it was just me.

    Whatever the case, nobody on the planet makes me more excited or happier, and I was just glad I got to see ANYTHING with Bette in it.

    That’s my take. “Just sayin’.

    Gracie

  5. I was really surprised to see When a Man loves a Woman edited out – not sure why that decision was made. As for the Dolores segment – Bette had said on Regis and Kelly that it was too expensive to aquire all the rights to the songs that Dolores sings – although HBO was able to do so for “Diva Las Vegas” – guess times are tough for all! Editing could have been better – you could tell where footage had been pieced together – the average viewer would likely not notice. Lots of jokes edited out – particularly the political ones. Would have loved to have In the Mood included – don’t have this in any other concert.

    Overall – I’m just grateful it has been released (as we Betteheads always are) – as it wasn’t expected. I’m not going to anticipate any extra features on the DVD (Mr. D has already received confirmation on this) – but you never know, we didn’t expect a DVD release at all afterall…

    Happy New Year Betteheads!!

  6. I loved Bette, but didn’t like the editing. At first I thought it was like a 80’s video with the camera’s jumping around too much. I would have preferred a single camera.

    Bette did great. Given the high caliber of the live show and her penchant for perfectionism, I was expecting more from the HBO special. I didn’t feel that it captured the enormous production that was the live show. Having said that, I’ve watched it 5 times already because ultimately it is Bette with all her talents, humor and beauty.

  7. I loved it. Of course there are things I wish were included (WAMLAW would have been a wonderful addition) but I’m just happy she recorded the show. Maybe the DVD release (will there be one?) will have deleted scenes? I particularly thought Hello In There was absolutely breathtaking. I literally didn’t breathe until the last note. Just thinking how Bette is now that age floors me.

    I thought some of the non-Bette parts (the Vegas stuff) were a bit long and wished they would have trimmed those parts instead of her songs. Btw, WBMW and The Rose was absolutely flawless! My boyfriend, who isn’t a die hard Bettehead, thought the show was fantastic and really enjoyed it… so that says something 🙂

  8. I think Bette has a chance of winning an Emmy for this special. It was tight, with high production values, good camerawork, costumes, and a nice amount of time spent with the Harlettes and the Caesar Salad Girls. I’m glad those bits were included. It looked fantastic in high definition.

    Having seen her 3 times in Las Vegas (beginning, mid, and close of her 2-year show run), it had evolved from a longer (2-hour show including intermission) to a much tighter 90-minute run sans intermission.

    I always thought the Delores bit, at 20 minutes, was too long, and interrupted the flow of her overall routine. Nonetheless, I would love it if was put back in when the DVD comes out, along with the other missing songs and jokes. Bette used to say that Vegas wasn’t really for her, because her show was “too big” for the time constraints Vegas allows (i.e., gotta let the people out to hit the blackjack and craps tables). So, having HBO trim the show to a slightly over an hour long, kind of added insult to injury.

    Granted, every second of the 60 minutes (when you take out opening and closing credits) is spot-on, but it certainly leaves you yearning for more.

    Once again, I hope the DVD will include her entire show, with bits restored as previously commented above. But, also as said, we love her so much, we’ll take whatever we can get of her.

    Best wishes, Don, for a Happy New Year! You’re the best, and the happiest news is that we’re able to start off 2011 with Bootleg Betty!!!! So glad you’re continuing with the best website on the blogosphere!

    –Ron

  9. as a bettehead i ofcourse thought it divine, but i really hated how they edited it so much, the show was so short to begin with adn then they massacred it! how can you cut when a man loves a woman, it was one of her most moving songs in the show!! they cut the political jokes i knew there would be no delores, but if you ask me, they should’ve cut the 2 dances that Bette was not on stage for and left in WAMLAW. i mean even when i saw it live, i check my phone for the time when bette wasn’t onstage, because i knew it was a short show ansd we were running out of time. dont get me wrong the caesar salad girls’ dances were amazing and expertly choregraphed my Toni, but i’d rather have another Bette song! And a Bette Midler show just isn’t a Bette Midler show without Delores Delago, HBO is full of cheap skates if they think that it’s too expensive to show one of the best parts of the show!!! That was Delores’s greatest show ever! atleast someone put up some of it on youtube, its bad camera work, with a cell phone but atleast it exists. But ofcourse all-in-all i did love the show 🙂

  10. For the most part, I loved the special. I was as excited to see it as I was on January 10, 2009 when I had the chance to see it live.

    The cuts were disappointing, but as far as Delores is concerned the whole American Idol concept is dated. Paula and Simon aren’t even on the show anymore, So that coupled with the already mentioned song rights issues may have led to its elimination.

  11. I had seen the show 2x in Vegas and I agree with most of you, Divine Grace, Kim, the HBO special fell short of capturing theTSMGO that most of us went to great lengths to, to watch the show live in Vegas. Nevertheless, I watched the HBO special 3x and tried to relive the most amazing experience of my life back in 2008-2010 and just filled in the missing numbers in my mind lol. As the saying goes, “Beggars can’t be choosers” – I am definitely a “Bette beggar” lol and I love her to death (like all of you here) that I am happy with whatever Bette is thrown at me:)

    Divine Grace, bless your heart, taking care of your father is one truly admirable deed. My father passed away in 2008 in the middle of the first year of Bette’s TMSGO run. Seeing Bette live in TSMGO in Vegas really helped me get back to life after my family’s loss:)

    Happy New Year everyone:) Good health and good fortune.

    Love,
    Anne xxx

  12. I’ve been a fan of Bette’s since the mid 70s and I’ve seen pretty much all her concerts except Showgirl. Just could not get it together to get to Vegas. Then, friends started telling me this concert was just missing some of the Midler magic that we’ve loved throughout the years.

    Still I anxiously awaited the HBO broadcast especially since Diva Las Vegas was done so well. Yikes! I’m afraid I’m in the camp that was pretty disappointed with the broadcast. The editing was so obvious and I wondered how much of Bette’s witty patter, so essential to her shows, was cut out. I too am hoping there will be a DVD release which will add back much of the show, but will that happen??? What’s even more surprising was to see Bette listed as Director and Executive Producer on the credits. You have to wonder how much influence HBO had in the editing??

    I suspect this broadcast was designed to be as commercial as possible and I rather have this show filmed than nothing at all. It’s just that so many of us know magic fills her concerts. This project only showed a little hint.

  13. Oh dear, where does one start one the HBO show? We’ll I dont know where you will start, but here’s where I will start.
    It was…a great show but at the same time somewhat of a let down.

    Now look, I adore Bette, just like everyone else on this page, and I was also one of the unlucky ones; who was not able to make it to Vegas…im a poor college student living in DC, all my money goes to paying my $1,250 a month rent…but knowing how HBO works, I was not surprised it was a let down.

    HBO is great at building things up, and then allowing them to crash and burn at the end. The whole concept of the show was to deliver her hits and show what she does best, put on one hell of a show.

    Delores was cut out, which to tell ya, I did not mind. I perfer her rather then Delores, I don’t get much outta the whole wheel chair thing. I love the character and think she’s a great part, but I think the show flows better without her. I would have liked to have seen Soph be a little longer, a few more jokes…and a few NEW ones….would have been great. Some more Bette would have been amazing. I missed her interaction in this show. I know, that it was 90mins and HBO cut it to 70mins, but a few more monos and some stage chatter would have been nice.

    All in all, good show. But I think it could have been better. I still think Kiss My Brass was her best show. But, that’s just my opinion, take it or leave it.

  14. Well after waiting over a decade for a new concert to have at home from Bette, and still no closer to understanding why her live masterpiece – kiss my brass – hasn’t been released, we are finally thrown an edited version of the las vegas spectacular.

    I saw this show twice first hand in October last year and feel that the show does indeed capture pretty much exactly how the show went down… and while i missed WAMLAW as i felt this was her vocal highlight, i am pleased that the way-too-long dolores segment has been given the snip for whatever reason.

    Clearly the first half of the show was filmed during the show’s first run when she was doing friends and she seems way more exhausted and overwhelmed than in the closing numbers and the soph routine, where she seems more at ease and her voice more full.

    I don’t think the opening video, which eats into the most time, actually captures why it works so well in person. When you are in that theatre waiting for her to arrive on THAT stage.

    I am glad the dance numbers are included as i think they showcased the stage and created a real big show feel to the whole thing.

    It is a shame that it is so short and that there is a lack of Bette doing what she does best, singing… but overall it is a razzle dazzle spectacle that is still enjoyable and gives us some new Bette, which has to be savored as it sounds like there won’t be anything new for a long time.

  15. I must chime-in.
    Any time we get a chance to see our Divine One perform is a bonus. She continues to remind us that no one can do what she does on stage.
    Having said that, I will say that I did not miss Delores but I did miss WAMLAW. She sang that song w/such emotion that it’s a shame the HBO viewers who aren’t familiar w/Bette’s performances didn’t get a chance to see it.
    I think From A Distance might have been the “substitue” for that song – I don’t remember that version at either of the Vegas shows I attended.
    Funny story…I finally get a chance to watch the show last nite, and my Soph (daughter) joins me while Do You Wanna Dance is playing – my FAVORITE, FAVORITE Bette tune.she remembers being taken by anything Bette did when she was younger and feel she is now being re-introduced. Although she did remind me of those “artists” she now listens to.
    When “Soph” appeared, my Soph was laughing and saying how “inapproriate” some of the jokes are (she is 13) and I told her Bette’s been telling these jokes for so long that everyone is expecting them. That’s when (my) Soph says this:
    “I’ve gotta say, I don’t know of any other performer who can pull off that outfit – she looks great!!” LOL!!!
    So there ya have it, from the mouths of babes…She looks great!!
    Enjoyed the show, always wished it was longer and I hope, hope, hope that Bette decides to put a little someting together for us in the near future 😉
    ~J

  16. Thank you HBO for giving us Bette fans this belated Christmas present!!!! What an excellent way to kick of 2011!! Sure it was edited and missing some of our favorite parts, but I am stoked to have the highlights of TSGMGO now recorded for my viewing pleasure!! It was great fun to remember the show in Vegas and one of the best times in my life! I understand why it had to be edited, but I wish HBO would have ended the show with some interviews of Bette and the girls! That would have been great fun!

    Oh…..I have to say that my favorite part was seeing Bette flub on the ukulele. I love how she handled it with such poise, professionalism and humor. It makes her seem that much more real when she makes those little bobbles. She is HIL-AR-I-O!!!!

    Thank you Bette and HBO! Happy New Year to all!!
    Stephanie

  17. OK, why was When A Man Loves A Woman edited???? Maybe due to the “flow” of the show….as for Delores, I saw GMA as well, and my take was Delores was too expensive to include, as Peter above mentioned due to the songs she sings, I was thinking more due to the American Idol footage used!!!! Don’t hate me, but I didn’t miss Delores in this, really liked how the 1st half was just Bette singing, and have to say, the Soph segment is priceless, watched that part repeatedly!!!!!!!!!

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