Sunday, March 02, 2008
Vulgarity Becomes Perfectly Wholesome
New York Times: "Bette Midler, the entertainer who ignited a career by giving a good name to bad taste, has arrived in this sprawling gambling mecca, a steroidal temple of tastelessness. And she claims to be right at home."
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10 comments:
is it really surprising that the brand of vulgarity that may have been seen as ludicrous in the 70s is now right at home on the heels of Celine Dion? Times change, but Bette Midler remains a fun time. As the article concludes, she is humor and heart. an entirely human showgirl, divine diva extraordinare.
What surprised me in this article was the number of times they brought up Bette's strong following in the gay community. Granted, I cannot say I really know of any fans of Bette Midler who are male and straight, but I'm sure that there are plenty out there, and this article almost makes it sound like my liking Bettle Midler and going to her shows, you must be gay. This is a really bizarre message to send across in an article that is meant to hype her show.
I'm glad the article acknowledges the real purpose of this show, to entertain a few tourist audience members and take their winnings from in order to turn them right back into the casinos. Las Vegas is quite an amazing place when you see the ingenuity of its design in manipulating people. Bette Midler may be a "wholesome" entertainer, but this is really just a way to take advantage of a household name. The counterpoint to this shallow entertainment is of course the fact that Las Vegas is really the testing ground for new technologies because of the huge amounts of money moving through the casinos and therefore the theatres.
I have a hard time seeing Bette Midler as being vulgar. I'm sure she was at some point in time, but of course by today its hard to hit those standards. But the point is that Bette is back to play for whatever audience being gay or not. But what is really interesting is the things that are being done is the place of sin in the terms of technology and design. Though its not Broadway its still a big place for performers and audiences to go see a good show. It holds the same as Broadway, but people just view it as a less wholesome fun of Broadway.
You know my image of Bette Midler is not at all fitting to the way this show is being described. I think that in a lot of ways it's good that we can perform things now that we couldn't a few decades ago. It's crazy to think that things we now consider to be equal just did not exist 15 or 20 years ago.
Bette having a raunchy routine? Of course. At least it's a change from Celine Dion. I don't understand her appeal.. What dull music..
I was talking to some one about this show not that long ago because Patina Miller was offered the spot to be one of the back up vocals for this. She said no. I think that was wise.
"Is it a little dismaying for longtime fans of this singular performer to find her installed in Las Vegas as the latest luxury product for high rollers in a city awash in them?"
How does Midler being in vegas make her any less an amazing performer? She's the kind of person that the multi million dollar show can only make better.
This sounds like an amusing concert, if for no other reason than the eclectic composition of performers. I also agree with the brilliance of location; aiming to attract tourists is definitely the right way to go.
I am glad Las Vegas is getting a variety of performances from blue man group to le reve to spamalot. 10 million bucks for a re rising star sounds like a lot. I never heard of her name but seems like a lot of people would enjoy her performances. I am also excited to see what kind of entertainment the new Cosmopolitan Hotel.
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