| I keep reading that "Bette was playing Bette." I have to say, I think she was playing Dolly just as much as anyone else I've seen do it (including Channing and Streisand). She is a big distinctive personality, but her Dolly seemed to me very much within the script as written. Her approach to physical comedy was different from Channing's (Midler more broad and large, Channing more subtle and sly), but I loved them both. And I'm sure Murphy was wonderful, as well. Peters is a fine performer and a wonderful actress--the one time I've seen her in a "broad" role (dimension-wise, not slang for a kind of woman) was her Annie Oakley. Not my ideal of the character, but perfectly legitimate, it seemed to me. I doubt I'll return to see her do it, but mainly because it's expensive and I only have so many slots available when I make the perilous journey FROM Ithaca! |
