WELL, HELLO, DOLLY! UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH BETTE

Is there a celebrity that you dream of meeting,

or have had the good fortune to see up close and personal? 

Working at a television network, and living in New York City offered me 
quite a few opportunities to be in close proximity to famous people.

Celebrity sightings have been so numerous over the years,

I can't even remember them all, but a few stand out:

 

Al Pacino, Billy Crystal, Paul Simon and George Carlin were spotted in restaurants.

Harrison Ford, Sofia Vergara, Al Roker, and Bill Murray were seen on the streets.

Oh, yes, there was the time that Bruce Springsteen 
got a kiss on the cheek from me when I was in college

(It's a long story, but, no, he did not kiss me back,

and, yes, I am still mortified I did that all these years later).

Many, many celebrities were seen at work events,

most notably Sarah Jessica Parker, John Hamm, Joe Namath......

Spike Lee, Juliana Margulies, Joan Rivers.......

and the cast of True Blood.

I had to crop most of me out of the pic with Joe Manganiello because I looked awful!

Then there was the time I sat next to Dominic Chianese,

(better known as "Uncle Junior" from The Sopranos) at a business dinner. 
That story is worth its own separate blog post. 

And a few weeks ago, I had the amazing opportunity 
to get close to someone at the tippy-top of my most favorite celebrity list,
although regretfully, not close enough for a photo 😢..........

Well, Hello, Dolly!

YES!!!  Bette Midler!!!

Okay...........she didn't exactly say, "Well, Hello, Amy!"
But she was a mere five feet away, and spoke to a small group of us. 

Here's how it went down.

Bette's parents met in my hometown.

The director of Hello Dolly, Jerry Zaks, is from my hometown. 
Jerry Zaks' brother, Allen, is on the board of an organization 
 I belong to which preserves artifacts of our hometown. 

Are you with me so far?

When tickets for Hello, Dolly became hotter than a skillet that just came out of a 500° oven,

Allen Zaks called his bro and got a block of tickets for members of our organization. 

Aaaaaand........he asked if Jerry could arrange to have us meet Bette after the show!

Given the hometown connections between 
Bette, Jerry and the members of the organization, she said YES!
Squeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Before I get to the "meeting," let it first be noted that Hello, Dolly was FANTASTIC!

It ranks as one of the best Broadway shows I've ever seen.

When Bette came out on stage, 

the cheering from the crowd was close to deafening. 

Everything about this show was spectacular..........

the set design, the costumes, the choreography, 

and of course, the well-known music. 

(Here's a little trivia fact: Hello, Dolly was the first Broadway show my parents took us to.  
We saw it with Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway).

After the show, our group was told to remain in the theater until everyone else left.

We moved up to the first few rows (there were about 50 of us).

Aunt Goo Shoes and I were right in the front row.

Absolutely no photos were allowed, 
so I've got nothing to show you in that regard......
In fact, this may be the most boring batch of photos I've ever put on my blog. 😞
Sorry.  

And then.....out walked Bette, onto the stage......
right in front of us.

It was so exciting......I swear, I felt the room swayin'!

Bette spoke to us about her parents' connection to our home town,

and about her role in Hello, Dolly.

She was warm, and charming, and funny!

After that, Jerry Zaks talked to us about what it's like to work with Bette,
what his next projects are.......
(Note to self: Get tickets a.s.a.p. for Meteor Shower with Amy Schumer),
and, what his parents thought when he switched from pre-med at Dartmouth 
to be a theater major.......
Oy Vey!

Hearing how Jerry Zaks.......
a guy who went to the same high school as I did........made it big........was a real treat.

Afterwards, Aunt Goo Shoes and I were total dweebs, and waited by the stage door, 
hoping for one more chance to see Bette up close.
No dice.

As for "meeting" Bette Midler, 
I can tell you one thing about the Divine Miss M.........

 She's still glowin', she's still crowin', she's still goin' strong!.