O/T Bette & Barry show entertaining, but no story line

[marvin]

There is an excellent story by writer Michelle Solomon in her review of the Barry & Bette show in Fort Lauderdale titled "From Bathhouse To Broadway" that is being performed in Fort Lauderdale. You can read her review at www.floridatheateronstage.com
I agree with her comments that although it is uplifting to hear the famous Barry and Bette hit songs, the show suffers from a lack of a narrative story by the performers on how B & B met and evolved as performers and musicians.
Although I am sure Barry and Bette did not consent to the producers of the show to use any information on their private lives, I found it odd that there was no information regarding the two albums that Barry and Bette collaborating on on the songs of Rosemary Clooney and Peggy Lee and their famous duet "Slow Boat To China" which I was hoping would have been performed.
Although both performers were good singers and covered most of the famous B & B songs, I have seen better Barry and Bette tribute shows before and expected the show to have been more reflective of the careers of Barry and Bette that what was portrayed. Marvin

[b***@gmail.com]

Post by marvin
There is an excellent story by writer Michelle Solomon in her review of the Barry & Bette show in Fort Lauderdale titled "From Bathhouse To Broadway" that is being performed in Fort Lauderdale. You can read her review at www.floridatheateronstage.com
I agree with her comments that although it is uplifting to hear the famous Barry and Bette hit songs, the show suffers from a lack of a narrative story by the performers on how B & B met and evolved as performers and musicians.
Although I am sure Barry and Bette did not consent to the producers of the show to use any information on their private lives, I found it odd that there was no information regarding the two albums that Barry and Bette collaborating on on the songs of Rosemary Clooney and Peggy Lee and their famous duet "Slow Boat To China" which I was hoping would have been performed.
Although both performers were good singers and covered most of the famous B & B songs, I have seen better Barry and Bette tribute shows before and expected the show to have been more reflective of the careers of Barry and Bette that what was portrayed. Marvin

This is the main reason I'd rather pay to see "the real deal". I don't want to be disappointed because no one can sing these songs like the originals. It's just not the same.

[a***@gmail.com]

Post by b***@gmail.com

Post by marvin
There is an excellent story by writer Michelle Solomon in her review of the Barry & Bette show in Fort Lauderdale titled "From Bathhouse To Broadway" that is being performed in Fort Lauderdale. You can read her review at www.floridatheateronstage.com
I agree with her comments that although it is uplifting to hear the famous Barry and Bette hit songs, the show suffers from a lack of a narrative story by the performers on how B & B met and evolved as performers and musicians.
Although I am sure Barry and Bette did not consent to the producers of the show to use any information on their private lives, I found it odd that there was no information regarding the two albums that Barry and Bette collaborating on on the songs of Rosemary Clooney and Peggy Lee and their famous duet "Slow Boat To China" which I was hoping would have been performed.
Although both performers were good singers and covered most of the famous B & B songs, I have seen better Barry and Bette tribute shows before and expected the show to have been more reflective of the careers of Barry and Bette that what was portrayed. Marvin

This is the main reason I'd rather pay to see "the real deal". I don't want to be disappointed because no one can sing these songs like the originals. It's just not the same.

I don't like it when performers create a caricature of Mr M. I can't explain why, it just bugs me.

Annie

[a***@gmail.com]

Post by marvin
There is an excellent story by writer Michelle Solomon in her review of the Barry & Bette show in Fort Lauderdale titled "From Bathhouse To Broadway" that is being performed in Fort Lauderdale. You can read her review at www.floridatheateronstage.com
I agree with her comments that although it is uplifting to hear the famous Barry and Bette hit songs, the show suffers from a lack of a narrative story by the performers on how B & B met and evolved as performers and musicians.
Although I am sure Barry and Bette did not consent to the producers of the show to use any information on their private lives, I found it odd that there was no information regarding the two albums that Barry and Bette collaborating on on the songs of Rosemary Clooney and Peggy Lee and their famous duet "Slow Boat To China" which I was hoping would have been performed.
Although both performers were good singers and covered most of the famous B & B songs, I have seen better Barry and Bette tribute shows before and expected the show to have been more reflective of the careers of Barry and Bette that what was portrayed. Marvin

Hi Marvin,

The Van Wezel Performing Arts Center in Sarasota is hosting an evening with Carol Burnett on February 14th. For some reason I thought of you.

The program is a Question-and-Answer with Miss Burnett and the audience. I attended a similar format with Sally Field a couple summers back and it was a remarkable night. It was a chance to see a performer in an intimate and unique way. I imagine a similar event with Miss Burnett would be an unforgettable experience.

Anyway, I thought you might be interested in this event.

The website is Vanwezel.org

Best,
Annie

[marvin]

Thank you Annie for thinking of me in regard to Carol Burnett's appearance in Sarasota.
Last year, Carol Burnett was in the Q and A show in Fort Lauderdale at Broward Center that I saw and, given that most of her fans know her from her television show and never saw her live, it was thrilling to see Carol and listen to her many anecdotes about her life and especially her memories of working with Tim Conway, Harvey Korman and Vicki Lawrence on her television show. Carol is one of the most beloved performers in show business. Regards, Marvin

[a***@gmail.com]

Post by marvin
Thank you Annie for thinking of me in regard to Carol Burnett's appearance in Sarasota.
Last year, Carol Burnett was in the Q and A show in Fort Lauderdale at Broward Center that I saw and, given that most of her fans know her from her television show and never saw her live, it was thrilling to see Carol and listen to her many anecdotes about her life and especially her memories of working with Tim Conway, Harvey Korman and Vicki Lawrence on her television show. Carol is one of the most beloved performers in show business. Regards, Marvin

Hi Marvin,

I'm glad you had the chance to see Miss Burnett's Q and A. I know from seeing Sally Field how awesome this type of experience can be. There's something about an unstructured interaction that is unique and unforgettable.
I'm not exaggerating to say that my night with Sally Field (and I LOVE being able to say "my night with Sally Field" LOL!) is something I will always, always remember. And also made my reading of her autobio "In Pieces" so much richer.

Returning to the subject of Mr M, I was surprised/disappointed to see Midnight with Manilow
(of course I wasn't there in person; I watched it on ManilowTV)
was so rehearsed. Mr M curated exactly what he wanted to show us. Not a criticism because that's his style, but it lacked a spontaneous, up-close-and-personal vibe of an evening of Q and A.

Best,
Annie

[marvin]

Returning to the subject of Mr M, I was surprised/disappointed to see Midnight with Manilow
(of course I wasn't there in person; I watched it on ManilowTV)
was so rehearsed. Mr M curated exactly what he wanted to show us. Not a criticism because that's his style, but it lacked a spontaneous, up-close-and-personal vibe of an evening of Q and A.

Best,
Annie

Hi Annie,
I can't comment on what was shown of "Midnight With Manilow" on Manilow TV as I did not see the show. There were posters from our group that were there to see the program live and most of them thought it was one of Barry's finest moments with fans.
However, I can understand your disappointment with the program after knowing how candid Carol Burnett and Sally Field and other celebrities in show business are when they do a Q and A show with audiences.
Barry has said often that he views his private life as nobody's business, so I can't see him doing a Q and A show unless there is a lot of structure to it and the questions would be presented to him in advance to be screened.
I get the impression that Barry would let his guard down more with fans if some of his close friends were at these sessions, such as Suzanne Sommers, to guide him through fan meetings. Many years ago. Barry had a close friend, comedienne Roberta Kent who was his guide with fans. Barry wrote a lot about Roberta Kent guiding him in his autobiography "Sweet Life". Regards, Marvin

[Blintzy]

Post by marvin
There is an excellent story by writer Michelle Solomon in her review of the Barry & Bette show in Fort Lauderdale titled "From Bathhouse To Broadway" that is being performed in Fort Lauderdale. You can read her review at www.floridatheateronstage.com
I agree with her comments that although it is uplifting to hear the famous Barry and Bette hit songs, the show suffers from a lack of a narrative story by the performers on how B & B met and evolved as performers and musicians.
Although I am sure Barry and Bette did not consent to the producers of the show to use any information on their private lives, I found it odd that there was no information regarding the two albums that Barry and Bette collaborating on on the songs of Rosemary Clooney and Peggy Lee and their famous duet "Slow Boat To China" which I was hoping would have been performed.
Although both performers were good singers and covered most of the famous B & B songs, I have seen better Barry and Bette tribute shows before and expected the show to have been more reflective of the careers of Barry and Bette that what was portrayed. Marvin

I find the whole premise of the story odd. The show uses parts of their backstories as a way to set the show up for a Broadway concert between them that never took place.