I found myself in New York this past weekend. This was also Bette Midler’s last weekend in the revival of Hello, Dolly! So I did want any fool without tickets for one her last performances would do: I waited for two hours in hopes of getting a single ticket by standing in the cancellation line.
The odds were on my side. After all, the weather was blustery and very cold. The security guard said odds are best on bad weather days. Though the management at the Shubert Theatre was able to allow us to stay inside for most of that wait, the last 45 minutes were spent outside where the wind tunnel that is Shubert Alley made the 12 degree weather seem infinitely colder.
But the wait paid off. I ended up with a ticket in the center orchestra section in the seventh row. I should say that I had already seen this production once before in the summer. But I couldn’t let the Bette Midler parade pass me by without one more visit to the Harmonia Gardens.
The show didn’t disappoint and neither did the Divine Miss M. The audience, knowing that it was Midler’s final weekend, was savoring every syllable, every gesture and every note.
I’ve seen hundreds of productions of plays and musicals. And I’ve seen some legendary performances. But without question, the star turn that Bette Midler has in Hello, Dolly! is on another level completely. By the time the show gets around to the title song in the second act, the audience is rewarded with perhaps the single most satisfying moment I’ve ever seen on a stage. Midler is having the time of her life and making sure that we do, too. Perhaps the best way to describe this moment (and, in fact, her performance) my partner, not the biggest of musical fans, loved this show and loved Midler in it. Even he leapt to his feet at the conclusion of the song.
It also should be said that David Hyde Pierce is every bit her equal. As Horace Vandergelder he goes toe-to-toe with Midler both comedically and dramatically.
In Hello, Dolly!, Dolly Levi has finally decided it is time to remarry. And she has her eyes set on Vandergelder who is about to propose to someone else. Levi, being a master manipulator, finds a way of making Vandergelder think it is his idea to marry her. The comedic genius of their chemistry and rhythm is that this scene plays like a master class in ad-lib (even if they may have been doing nearly the same thing for the entire run.)
The supporting cast (including Gavin Creel, Taylor Trensch, Kate Baldwin and Beanie Feldstein) are delightful. This is the best production of Hello, Dolly! you and I will probably ever see.
And though we just said so long dearie to Miss Midler, the show will go on. Bernadette Peters takes over for Midler and Victor Garber assumes the role of Vandergelder. It will continue to be a great production of a great show.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to see Bette Midler take to the Broadway stage in such a commanding way that I will forever remember her final line of dialogue in the show, “Thank you, Ephraim.”
But it is we who should thank you, Bette. It was nice to have you right where you belong.
Photo Credit: Julieta Cervantes