Written by Travis Ballenger
“Hello everybody! My name’s Bette. What’s your’s?” Bette Midler has entertained us for decades. Whether it is her stand-up, her concerts, or her Broadway performances, we all know and love Bette. If one Bette gets you excited, a thousand will make you positively crazy. And that’s what happened to me.
As a charity event for the New York Restoration Project (NYRP), After Sandy-Night of a Thousand Midlers, featured performances from top drag stars all impersonating the beautiful Bette.
NYRP is a non-profit organization founded by Bette Midler in 1995 to restore parks, community gardens and open space in under served communities throughout New York City. This is an incredibly worthy cause, as we see less and less public space of this type.
The open-bar, three-course dinner event was held at LIPS, a legendary drag bar. You can feel the history in this space. Entering the room, you’re transported to a time of frivolous fun and glitz. You feel the disco energy flowing throughout the room. This was the perfect place to celebrate Bette!
The performances were a hoot. With such legends as Ginger Snap, Donna Maxon and The Divine Grace, you can understand why the event raised $15,000. It was truly a sight to see and will go down in my mind as one of the best nights I experienced.
