Scene It: Stealing The Show: Bette Midler …with style by the Divine Mrs Tops!

When a performer leaves the Theatre Scene team and our moms in tears (the first of many Mother Daughter Theatre Nights Out, we hope), you know the show has to be good. But good is far too mundane a word for Lucy Top’s Stealing The Show: Bette Midler, a non-traditional tribute to the Divine Miss M, now running at the Kalk Bay Theatre until Sunday 16 November, 2014.

A more fitting adjective for this production, directed by Garth Tavares and written by the witty Jon Keevy, is mind-blowing! Tops has already displayed her unquestionable talent in productions like the Rocky Horror Show and Face the Music , but in Bette, she claims the spotlight for herself – so much so, that for a full hour, I forgot to even look for the Midler nuances, and instead saw and heard only Tops’ beauty and stunning voice. What a set of lungs this girl has!

Joining Tops in her swift but pleasing-to-the-ear renditions of all of the iconic diva’s greatest hits, including “You Don’t Own Me” of the First Wives Club fame; the hauntingly beautiful "From a Distance"; the memorable "The Rose" and more, is the quick-fingered pianist Guy, who brings a delightful comedic element to the play.

Midler’s most famous and Grammy Award-winning song, "Wind Beneath My Wings", of the 1988 film, Beaches, makes for a dramatic finale to a must-see show – and Tops not only hit every well-known note convincingly, but very well near broke my heart with her sincerity and passion. I’m sure I’m not the only one who kept reaching for my tissues with the tears pouring down my face… Move over Bette, there’s a new diva in town – the Divine Mrs T!

I could go on and on about why you have to see Stealing Bette and that you don’t need to be a die-hard Midler fan to enjoy it, but trust me on this one and book your tickets for a spectacular night out at Kalk Bay Theatre.

P.S: On another note, just when I thought it wasn’t possible to love the Kalk Bay Theatre even more than I already do, their uber friendly and easy on the eye waitrons go and do this:

That personal touch, along with the warm welcome from theatre owner Ash Searle’s dad when you enter the theatre and Grant’s AMAZING cocktail creations at the bar, are the reasons that KBT is fast becoming one of my all-time Capetonian theatres. Pop by the restaurant and bar before your next show!

Scene It by Fazielah Williams.