Almost every year for most of my childhood after my youngest sister was a few years old, my family would take the train from Richmond to New York at Christmastime.
We stayed at the Sheraton on 53rd, ate many wonderful things (which always included a trip to the Carnegie for pickles, blintzes and cheesecake) and we got dolled up and went to a musical. (Don’t get me started on how people now dress or rather don’t when they go to the theater).
As we grew up and went away to school, it was much harder to make these special trips happen. That, and after about 30 years of seeing musicals, my dad revealed that he hates musicals!
This past weekend, I was in New York for part 2 of my mom’s 70th birthday celebration. My dad bought my mom, sisters and me orchestra seats to Hello, Dolly with Bette Midler! He took the train home after a fun day and night Saturday and a Sunday brunch, and we headed to the theatre.
My sister Aliza and Mom sat at one end of our row, and we were on the other end. The seats were fabulous and I was so excited for the musical to start and then…
Eek! KEVIN KLINE and PHOEBE CATES!!!! Monumental for a million reasons. I just watched The Big Chill two weeks ago, my parents are obsessed with In and Out, and I could go on forever. And her- for me and my sisters, Shag is still a favorite- we watched every time I came home from college. And for my boyfriend and everyone else, Fast Times at Ridgemont High!
Oh, and he was wearing Nantucket Reds, which just made everything even better!
They are seriously so cute together. It’s always nice to see couples out who have been together a long time enjoying each other’s company. The body language!!!!
Just when I didn’t think that I could get any more excited, Jim Belushi sat down directly in front of me! More on him later (that’s him leaving- he was literally in my face and smiled right at me, but I didn’t want to make a scene by taking a photo), but I knew that this performance was going to be special before it started!
Without going into too much detail, pretty much everything about this musical was amazing. Bette Midler is 72, has a perfect voice still and did a really physical performance as Dolly. When I think about my parents, who are that age I and a couple years younger, this astounds me! She is such a pro, and seeing her live was beyond a treat.
I admittedly did not even know that David Hyde Pierce was the male lead, Horace Vandergelder, until the play started. With everything that was going on around our seats, I was distracted and didn’t look at my Playbill. He was beyond wonderful, and he really made his character endearing. And he and Bette together were a great pair. They made each other laugh, and you could tell that they really enjoy performing with each other.
Speaking of laughter, this was a truly funny musical. I have seen some musicals and operas where I need to go home and fix my face, or have a drink and a large dessert to cheer myself up. This was just a total treat, and clearly everyone around us thought so too. The lady behind us was hysterically laughing, my sister Marni was truly amused and enjoying it (she needs more me time!) and Jim Belushi was absolutely eating the performance up. He laughed and clapped throughout and, at one point, turned to his daughter and said, “She is SO FUNNY!” I agree, Jim.
I daresay that I am not the only one who couldn’t help have an “Otto Titsling” flashback while watching Bette. No disrespect- quite the opposite!
The costumes were beautiful (I think my sister said that the musical won a Tony for costume design), the sets were fantastic and all of the actors were marvelous! My sister Aliza was excited to see Gavin Creel as Cornelius Hackl, but he did not perform. The understudy, Christian Dante White, had a beautiful voice!
I know “no pictures,” but after the usher came to get Kevin and Phoebe and their family, I snuck in some. We paid enough!
We all left so happy that we were treated to this experience, and I am reminded for the zillionth time how incredibly fortunate I am that I have such generous parents who gave us so many memorable experiences, on Broadway and in countless other areas throughout our childhood.
Thanks to my dad (who I wish didn’t dislike musicals as our family outings aren’t complete without him) and thanks to my mom who had a big birthday this year and who let us be a part of all of it!
xxoo, PF
