Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

I want to go everywhere I haven't been, and back to everywhere I have been.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

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!. 


7 comments:

  1. I remember seeing Bette on the Johnnie Carson Show. I think it was her first time...she wore retro clothing. Love her . You have met some amazing people. I would have loved seeing Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway. You are blessed my dear. Wishing you more blessings, xoxo, Susie

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  2. Wow Amy!! That's sooooo awesome! What a fabulous treat to see Bette!! Love her!

    And who cares about pics. Words are all we need when they're as fun as yours!

    xxx

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  3. Hi Amy, yes I love going to broadway shows and that must of been just awesome. It must of been so exciting to meet all of those actors when you lived and worked in the city. I love seeing them in the street, restaurants and even in stores.
    Julie

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  4. Oh Amy how awesome that you live in NYC.. What a great connection and how fantastic to score the tickets. Also meeting Bette Midler sounded so awesome. How great to see actors on a regular basis. I hope we can make a trip to NYC next year.

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  5. Great to read your post here, it just sounded so exciting and amazing.
    Lucky you!

    All the best Jan

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  6. What a fun night you girls had! Wow! That kinda stuff does not happen to most people :-) As many times as we have been to NYC, I have never seen a celebrity and if I did I would think they just looked a lot like whoever it was. That stuff doesn't happen to me!!

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  7. Amy, It's very cool that you have met so many celebrities. I'm sure meeting Bette with the hometown connection was very nice for her as well. As always, I enjoyed this post and your pics of the Shubert Theatre are great; always interesting to see new places. Joan-My Cookie Clinic

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