Two adages are universally true. "All good things come to an end," and "The show must go on."
In Las Vegas, we see these trotted out with great regularity.
And so it was that when the reigning queen of Las Vegas, Celine Dion, recently finished her five year run at the purpose-built Coliseum at Caesar's Palace, packed up the sets, the costumes, and the Dragonesque performers, it wasn't long before her successor was firmly installed in place.
The Divine Miss M.
The former bathhouse queen gone respectable still dishes it out at 62, and delivers what is by all accounts a fittingly knockout performance in this new stage extravaganza, "The Showgirl Must Go On," which is beginning its two-year run on the Coliseum stage. Arriving on a set of Louis Vuitton luggage amid the confusion of Dorothy's whirlwind Kansas, Miss Midler brings along several of her well known friends, including the indomitable Sophie Tucker, the sparky Delores DeLago, and of course, the recycled Harlettes. Her 90-minute spin on the stage apparently includes all the hits for which she is best known, from "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" to the inevitable encore, "Wind Beneath My Wings," stopping to pay tribute to the likes of Elvis and Frank along on the way, joking with virtual American Idol judges on the screen, and accusing her predecessor of being a robot. ("And not a French Canadian circus star in sight!")
All of this is choreographed by '80's one-hit wonder Toni Basil.
For the uninitiated, green for these seats can be a bit heady--$250--but the experience is well worth it. In a town famous for cheap buffets, bringing in the queen of cheap and tawdry in this grand theatre with plush accoutrements is perfection.
Miss Midler will be sharing her Coliseum home alternating with Cher, who has yet to launch her fill-in show, and Elton John, who is already there performing his "Red Piano" as a previous vacation replacement for La Celine.
As the Showgirl herself notes, strutting her gams around the stage in tart repartee, "Could it get any gayer?"
