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"Let's Be Frank" columns
The Bette Midler countdown has begun. On Feb. 20, the pixie-like dynamo -- she’s only 5 feet 1 -- officially takes over the biggest stage in Las Vegas, replacing Celine Dion at the 4,100-seat Colosseum at Caesars Palace.
It’s hard to believe that at age 62, the multi-talented, multi-faceted Midler has been around for about 40 years. Midler doesn’t hide the age factor; rather it’s a driving force in her decision to tackle “the biggest stage I’ve ever been on -- 120 feet across -- and the video screen is enormous. So the challenge was not to let the enormity of it intimidate you to such a degree that you say, ‘My God, I’ve got to get an elephant, I’ve got to get a dog act. I have to have hordes of people on point.’”
In a revealing interview with Parade magazine writer James Kaplan, Midler states, “by the time I get out of this (two years, 100 shows each year) I will be close to 65 years old. That really does bring you up short. That may be the time to say goodbye. Gotta go!
“I really do think so. I must say, my high kick is just as high as it ever was, thanks to Tai chi. But everything else is a bit slower. The mind-things don’t stick the way they used to. I feel like I’m going out with a bang. It’s something my husband and I have talked about. I certainly don’t want to die in a harness. I’m not one of those people.”
Midler’s previous stage show, “Kiss My Brass,” did great business from 2003-2005 in the United States and Australia.
She told Kaplan it was a “tremendous tour” and that she was “60 when I came back. I thought, ‘what’s there to do?’ I really had to settle on the fact that I wasn’t going to be making movies anymore. I made peace with that. And the record business has been shaky for a long time, so the door wasn’t exactly closing, but it wasn’t what it used to be,” she continued to lament to Kaplan.
“But if you’re a live entertainer, if you’re someone who still works and people still want to seem you can go on forever.” Or, at least give it a try.
Getting specific to Kaplan about “The Showgirl Must Go On,” she says, “I’m continually thinking about it. I’d like to have nudes” is blurted with an impish grin. “No nude nudes, but a new kind of Vegas nude. A showgirl who can do lots of things. A little bit naughty, but very pretty nice all around.”
No matter the production value or the window dressing, what the audiences will be coming to see is Bette Midler in the spotlight and the odds are in her favor that she isn’t going to let anyone down.
“Each performance has a little bit of improvisation built it,” she explained to Kaplan. “You never know when a zipper is going to break, when you’re going to sprain your ankle. Every day is a crapshoot. Lots of half-naked girls running around,” she grins again. “Everybody loves them. Stand in front of me, girls. Come on, Stand right in front, right here. Make them want to see more.”
“The Showgirl Must Go On Troupe” moves into the Colosseum for rehearsal beginning Feb. 1, it won’t be long after that insiders will be reporting to outsiders if the new nudes have come along.
READ FRANK'S ARTICLE ON THIS WEEK'S COVER STORY, DAVID BRENNER HERE.
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