Broadway Nation
Podcast: Midler On The Half Shell – Theater Of Bette Midler Part 2
By Dave Armstrong with Kevin Winkler
June 6, 2024
Episode Description
In today’s episode, author Kevin Winkler returns for the second part of our discussion of his fascinating new book, On Bette Midler — An Opinionated Guide.
If you missed part one of this conversation, you may want to catch up with that before listening to this one.
In that episode, Kevin and I touched on Bette’s childhood, explored her early years in the off-off-Broadway experimental and very campy Gay theater scene, detailed her unusual rise to at least demi-stardom at the Continental Baths, her debut on Broadway in Fiddler On The Roof, and her Tony Award-winning concert at the Palace Theater which set the stage for the first of what Kevin calls her Broadway musicals of her devising: Bette Midler’s Clams On The Halfshell Revue, conceived and staged by Broadway director/choreographer Joe Layton, and the shows that followed.
For more than twenty years, Kevin Winkler was a curator, archivist, and administrator at the New York Public Library, and before that, he was a professional dancer. His previous books include the award-winning Big Deal: Bob Fosse and Dance in the American Musical in 2018 and Everything is Choreography: The Musical Theatre of Tommy Tune. Kevin and I discussed that terrific book on several episodes of Broadway Nation at the beginning of 2022.
Become a PATRON of Broadway Nation!
This podcast is made possible partly by the generous support of our Patron Club Members, including long-time member Anne Walsh.
For just $7.00 a month, you will receive exclusive access to never-before-heard, unedited versions of my discussions with my guests. I often record nearly twice as much conversation as ends up in the edited versions. You will also have access to additional in-depth conversations with my frequent co-host, Albert Evans, who has not been featured on the podcast. All patrons receive special “on-air” shout-outs and acknowledgment of your vital support of this podcast. And if you are enthusiastic about Broadway Nation, additional PATRON levels come with even more benefits.
If you would like to support the work of Broadway Nation and receive these exclusive member benefits, please click on this link: https://broadwaynationpodcast.supercast.com/
Thank you in advance for your support!
I’m loving these podcasts, so thank you for sharing. I just got Kevin’s book but haven’t read it yet. One thing I have to say, right off the bat, though, is damn I’m getting old! The book, even though a hardcover, is hardly bigger than a paperback, and the font size is so small I need readers and a magnifying glass to see the print. I vow to forge my way through it, though. Anything for Bette!
Amazon has it at 232 pages, but mine is about 200 pages. If they increased the font size to come in at 232 pages, I probably wouldn’t need binoculars to read it. With that said, Kevin is a good speaker, very informative, and like us Betteheads, really loves the subject matter. My concern is, and I don’t mean to sound too self-centered, am I really going to learn anything by reading this book? So far, I’d have to say yes–at least a little bit yes. There are some nuances about her early career in the 1960’s that didn’t register with my memory. I’ve seen all her major concert tours/shows except for Clams on the Half Shell. I was too young and too poor to travel from California to the Big Apple to see that one. I was still a teenager. He mentioned, I believe that it is available to see on YouTube, but I’m not so sure about that. Have we ever seen a full recording of Clams?
Anyway, I wish the book success, with maybe an additional comment or two after I’ve read it. Still not sure why it’s called “an opinionated guide”? So far, I’m not hearing any criticism or critiques, which makes sense–how can one criticize the perfection that is Miss M?
I’m going to check it out at the library! This podcast podcast was fabulous!
I had a bootleg audio tape of “CLAMS ON THE HALF SHELL REVIEW” pre-internet times but I sold it to a collector. This podcast is supposed to pick up at “EXPERIENCE THE DIVINE TOUR” which is the first Bette Midler concert I saw live after a childhood of dreaming what it would be like! I wanna hear this part for sure when is it on?
It must be the one I just posted, part 3