Wednesday, April 24, 2013

"I'll Eat You Last" is Totally Scrumptious

Perhaps it takes one to play one:  a gutsy, indefatigable, blowsy broad.  Bette Midler triumphs on Broadway in a one woman show about the rise & fall of Hollywood superagent to superstars, Sue Mengers.  Midler herself is an insider in "the mahzong game that is Hollywood." Known as Miss M for strutting her (full monty) self in cabarets & movies, Midler is one bawdy but talented singer, actress & comedienne, extraordinaire.  Sue Mengers' legacy as a self-made agent is the stuff that movies (or plays) are made of and casting Midler to portray her, is brilliant.  The curtain rises with Midler in a lush set of Menger's Beverly Hills home.  Midler as Mengels talks directly to us in the audience.  Mengers life would certainly be described as direct.  She went through "each window that opened" to get what she wanted. What she wanted, was to make star's careers.  "Why be a king when you can be a king maker?"  Midler is hysterical in this entertaining, biographical Hollywood romp.  Midler conveys Mengers with intelligence and verve while evoking sympathy beneath her tough veneer.  This not to be missed play, felt like an intimate dialogue with Mengers.  Meanwhile, Bette, baby, call me, let's do lunch.

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