A singer, actress and comedienne, the multi-faceted Midler is clearly among the last of a vanishing breed: a throwback to what many feel was a golden age before Las Vegas became just another gaudy tourist trap. There’s a tangible sense of a bygone era during this 2010 glitz-filled extravaganza from Caesar’s Palace, as if Bette is busting out in front of an audience of Rat Packers and presidents.
Adopting an array of larger-than- life characters for her schtick between songs, Midler exhibits the comedy chops of old school Hollywood (a bit of Mae West here, a bit of Judy Holliday there) and is never afraid to make herself the butt of the joke. In an age of humourless self-important divas, she brings such warmth to the stage it’s almost impossible not to love her.
Whatever one may think of cloying ballads such as Wind Beneath My Wings or From A Distance, there’s no faulting the full-lunged power of the voice, though it’s put to better use on the athletic title track and Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. The show was part of a sold-out 300-night run and, on this evidence, the 66-year-old easily has another 3,000 equally electric performances in her.
