Bette Midler

Bette Midler has been pushed so hard and so fast I naturally assumed she was not just a
hype but destined to become a fad, perhaps earning enormous stardom for a while, but
spending those earnings lightning fast. Now we have The Divine Miss M, which proves me
wrong at the same time that it proves Miss M to be one hell of a talent. Tom Jones will burn
himself out because his ratio is wrong -- 25 percent art, 75 percent artifice. Elvis... More >

Midler thinks "cabaret" encompasses every emotion and aspiration ever transfixed by pop music. People who've seen her like this record more than people who haven't, which isn't good. But as someone who's been entranced by her show many times I'm grateful for a production that suggests its nutty quality without distracting from her voice, a rich instrument of surprising precision, simultaneously delicate and vulgar. I'd ease up on the '60s nostalgia by replacing "Chapel of Love" with "Empty Bed Blues," but anybody who can expose "Leader of the Pack"'s exploration of the conflict between love and authority has a right. (Grade: A-)