You Guys, People Are Risking Their Lives to See Bette Midler in ‘Hello, Dolly!’
New York City is bustling with hype around Bette Midler’s new gig as “Dolly Levi” in the revival of Broadway’s biggest smash Hello, Dolly!
Reportedly, she’s making $200,000 a week — the highest paycheck in the history of The Great White Way! Not to mention, she’s getting a cut of ticket sales and merchandise.
Not long ago, a man fainted while watching the star on stage, but refused to miss the second act so he told the EMTs to go away! Producer Scott Rudin wound up giving him a ticket for another performance.
And that man isn’t not the only one. Apparently, more and more sickly patrons are risking their health in order to attend the show.
According to Page Six, two women in their 60s were headed to the show when they were struck by a car a block away from the Shubert Theatre, where the production is housed.
Page Six reports: “Two old ladies got clipped by a car” on their way to see “Dolly!” but they refused medical attention, said a theater source, adding that witnesses saw them “on the ground” with cops standing around them, and that an ambulance even arrived.
That didn’t stop them though, as they refused treatment and instead continued to the theatre. They were NOT about to miss the Devine Miss M! And they didn’t even file a police report.
Another source said one of the women was more shaken than anything, while the other seemed to go unconscious for a minute but then appeared to be okay.
“The accident apparently happened down the block from the show, close to Eighth Avenue,” another source told Page Six. “So the two poor ladies had to then brush themselves off and walk down the street to get to the show.”
Advanced sells for the show clocked at $40 million and took in $1.67 million from only the first week of previews.