Bette Midler fan collapses during theatre show, but would rather die than miss Act 2
A devoted Bette Midler fan waved off ambulances after they collapsed during her Broadway show – because they didn’t want to miss the second Act.
Gay icon Bette Midler is currently starring in the revival of Hello, Dolly!, which has surpassed Hamilton as Broadway’s hottest ticket.
One dedicated theatre-goer was so determined to see the show this week that they waved off paramedics after collapsing during Act One… so he could watch Act Two.
Page Six reports that the 53-year-old man from LA, who has not been named, refused to go to the hospital until the end of the show.
A source said: “Around halfway through the first act [he] started to feel dizzy and made his way to the aisle. But he lost consciousness and collapsed before the end of his row.”
“When he regained consciousness, they checked his vitals and insisted he should go straight to the hospital. [He responded], ‘I’d sooner die than miss Act Two!’”
According to the outlets, the show’s producers have offered him free tickets to see the show again when he’s feeling better.
Midler, 71, first got famous in 1970 after she built up a following by performing at a local gay bathhouse.
Rare footage from one of her performances at New York’s Continental Baths surfaced a few years ago.
The archive footage shows Midler at around 1971 at the now abandoned Continental.
Midler jokes: “I didn’t expect to be back so soon…They had me booked at Fire Island…I was supposed to work at Cherry Grove — I was supposed to sing. But they couldn’t find room for me in the bushes.”
Continental owner Steve Ostrow opened the bathhouse in 1968 at the Ansonia Hotel on the Upper West Side.
He said he was starting a “nightclub in his basement”.
Due to her performances at the baths, Bette Midler earned the nickname Bathhouse Betty. It was at the Continental, accompanied by pianist Barry Manilow, that she created her stage persona the ‘Divine Miss M’.
