The Showgirl Must Go On

The Showgirl Must Go On (2008–2010) was a concert residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas that starred pop diva Bette Midler. Showgirl premiered on February 20, 2008 and closed on January 31, 2010. Midler signed for 300 shows from 2008 to 2010 at a pace of 100 performances a year. Shows were presented five nights a week with the house dark on Mondays and Thursdays.[1] According to Billboard, the residency grossed $72 million.[2]

The Showgirl Must Go On

Residency by Bette Midler
Associated album	Jackpot: The Best Bette
Start date	February 20, 2008
End date	January 31, 2010
Legs	10
No. of shows	67 in 2008 85 in 2009 18 in 2010 170 in Total
Bette Midler concert chronology

Setlist

1. "Big Noise from Winnetka"
2. "The Showgirl Must Go On"
3. "In the Mood"
4. "Friends"
5. "The Rose"
6. "Do You Want to Dance?"
7. "From a Distance"
8. "My Kind of Town"
9. "It's Now or Never"
10. "Viva Las Vegas"
11. "Lucky Be My Lady"
12. "Blue Hawaii"
13. "Hello in There"
14. "When a Man Loves a Woman"
15. "Pretty Legs"
16. "Hot in Here"
17. "The Glory of Love"
18. "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"
19. "Wind Beneath My Wings"

Personnel

• Lead Vocals: Bette Midler
• Choreographer: Toni Basil
• Costume Design: Constance Hoffman

Band

• Background Vocals: Jordan Ballard, Kyra Da Costa, Kamilah Martin, Shayna Steele
• Musical Director, Piano: Bette Sussman
• Keyboards: Darrell Smith
• Guitars: Mike Miller, Wayne Johnson
• Drums: Sonny Emory
• Bass: Tom Barney
• Percussion: Taku Hirano
• Trumpets: Danny Falcone, Gil Kaupp
• Saxophones: Robert Mader, Gerald Merra, Phil Wigfall
• Trombone: Nathan Tanouye

Dancers

• Latrina Bolger
• Sheila Joy Burford
• Janeelle Cambridge
• Candice Dickerson
• Michelle DiTerlizzi
• Crystal Edwards
• Lisa Eaton
• Heather Graham
• Carol Hatchett
• Samantha Harper
• Randi Kemper
• Ashlee Langas
• Kandis Mak
• Dani Wylie Olorenshaw
• Ayesha Orange
• Katy Tate
• Amberley Waddell
• Nichole Weber

Concert dates

All shows were performed at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Date
1st Leg
February 20, 2008
February 22, 2008
February 23, 2008
February 24, 2008
February 26, 2008
February 27, 2008
February 28, 2008
March 1, 2008
March 2, 2008
March 4, 2008
March 5, 2008
March 7, 2008
March 8, 2008
March 9, 2008
March 11, 2008
March 12, 2008
March 13, 2008
March 15, 2008
March 16, 2008
2nd Leg
June 24, 2008
June 25, 2008
June 27, 2008
June 28, 2008
June 29, 2008
July 1, 2008
July 2, 2008
July 4, 2008
July 5, 2008
July 6, 2008
July 8, 2008
July 9, 2008
July 11, 2008
July 12, 2008
July 13, 2008
July 15, 2008
July 16, 2008
July 18, 2008
July 19, 2008
July 20, 2008

Date	City	Venue
August 8, 2008	Hammond, Indiana	The Venue @ Horseshoe Casino

Date
3rd Leg
October 9, 2008
October 10, 2008
October 11, 2008
October 12, 2008
October 14, 2008
October 15, 2008
October 17, 2008
October 18, 2008
October 19, 2008
4th Leg
November 11, 2008
November 12, 2008
November 14, 2008
November 15, 2008
November 16, 2008
November 25, 2008
November 26, 2008
November 28, 2008
November 29, 2008
November 30, 2008
December 2, 2008
December 3, 2008
December 5, 2008
December 7, 2008
December 9, 2008
December 10, 2008
5th Leg
December 30, 2008
December 31, 2008
January 2, 2009
January 3, 2009
January 4, 2009
January 6, 2009
January 7, 2009
January 10, 2009
January 11, 2009
January 13, 2009
January 14, 2009
January 17, 2009
January 18, 2009
January 20, 2009
January 21, 2009
January 24, 2009
January 25, 2009
6th Leg
March 24, 2009
March 25, 2009
March 27, 2009
March 28, 2009
March 29, 2009
March 31, 2009
April 1, 2009
April 3, 2009
April 4, 2009
April 5, 2009
7th Leg
May 27, 2009
May 29, 2009
May 30, 2009
May 31, 2009
June 2, 2009
June 3, 2009
June 6, 2009
June 7, 2009
June 9, 2009
June 10, 2009
June 12, 2009
June 13, 2009
June 14, 2009
June 16, 2009
June 17, 2009
June 20, 2009
June 21, 2009
June 23, 2009
June 24, 2009
June 26, 2009
June 27, 2009
June 28, 2009
8th Leg
August 11, 2009
August 12, 2009
August 14, 2009
August 15, 2009
August 16, 2009
August 18, 2009
August 19, 2009
August 22, 2009
August 23, 2009
August 25, 2009
August 26, 2009
August 29, 2009
August 30, 2009
September 1, 2009
September 2, 2009
September 4, 2009
September 5, 2009
September 6, 2009
9th Leg
October 14, 2009
October 16, 2009
October 17, 2009
October 18, 2009
October 20, 2009
October 21, 2009
October 23, 2009
October 24, 2009
October 25, 2009
November 3, 2009
November 4, 2009
November 7, 2009
November 8, 2009
November 10, 2009
November 11, 2009
November 13, 2009
November 14, 2009
November 15, 2009
10th Leg
December 30, 2009
December 31, 2009
January 2, 2010
January 3, 2010
January 5, 2010
January 6, 2010 Bette Midler signed autographs after show.
January 9, 2010
January 10, 2010
January 12, 2010
January 13, 2010
January 16, 2010
January 17, 2010
January 19, 2010
January 20, 2010
January 23, 2010
January 24, 2010
January 26, 2010
January 27, 2010
January 30, 2010
January 31, 2010 Last show for Bette Midler at Caesars Palace

Box office score data

Billboard BOXSCORE - The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
Dates (MDY)	Gross Sales	Tickets Sold / Available	Shows / Sellout	Sellout (%)
February 20–24, 2008	$2,502,251	16,591 / 16,591	4 / 4	100%
February 26-March 2, 2008	$3,121,227	20,635 / 21,065	5 / 4	98%
March 4–9, 2008	$3,171,083	20,915 / 21,257	5 / 4	98%
March 11–16, 2008	$2,909,053	18,721 / 19,678	5 / 4	95%
June 24–29, 2008	$3,080,150	20,197 / 20,918	5 / 4	97%
July 1–6, 2008	$2,062,062	14,435 / 17,458	5 / 3	83%
July 8–13, 2008	$2,577,902	16,981 / 20,013	5 / 0	85%
July 15–20, 2008	$2,877,906	18,914 / 20,583	5 / 1	92%
August 8, 2008	$216,000	2,311 / 2,311	1 / 1	100%
October 9–12, 2008	$2,446,723	15,874 / 16,989	4 / 1	93%
October 14–19, 2008	$3,169,265	20,852 / 21,271	5 / 2	98%
November 11–16, 2008	$2,997,423	19,411 / 21,251	5 / 3	91%
November 25–30, 2008	$1,855,147	12,877 / 17,133	5 / 0	75%
December 2–10, 2008	$2,628,457	18,286 / 23,342	7 / 0	78%
December 30 3008 - January 4, 2009	$2,178,258	16,228 / 20,067	5 / 1	81%
January 6–11, 2009	$1,032,188	10,114 / 13,229	4 / 0	93%
January 13–18, 2009	$1,596,425	13,837 / 14,844	4 / 1	93%
January 20–25, 2009	$1,756,622	14,748 / 16,206	4 / 2	91%
March 24–29, 2009	$2,277,609	14,973 / 19,224	5 / 0	78%
March 31 - April 5, 2009	$1,766,243	11,912 / 16,722	5 / 0	71%
May 27–31, 2009	$1,595,782	11,384 / 12,979	4 / 0	88%
June 2–7, 2009	$1,197,730	9,937 / 11,087	4 / 0	90%
June 9–14, 2009	$1,365,798	11,431 / 13,769	5 / 0	83%
June 16–21, 2009	$1,329,917	11,313 / 13,463	4 / 0	84%
June 23–28, 2009	$1,410,139	11,999 / 14,648	5 / 0	82%
August 11–16, 2009	$1,282,838	10,491 / 19,548	5 / 0	54%
August 18–23, 2009	$1,032,628	8,689 / 14,720	4 / 0	59%
August 25–30, 2009	$1,050,691	9,023 / 15,632	4 / 0	58%
September 1–6, 2009	$1,341,994	11,284 / 19,942	5 / 0	57%
October 14–25, 2009	$3,734,928	32,601 / 37,914	9 / 2	86%
November 3–15, 2009	$3,813,094	32,931 / 37,868	9 / 2	87%
December 30, 2009- January 31, 2010	$6,654,168	60,233 / 79,356	20 / 12	76%
TOTAL / AVERAGE	$71,815,701	540,158 / 651,078	171 / 51	83%

Recordings

On December 31, 2010, The Showgirl Must Go On was broadcast on HBO channels at 9 pm. The 70 minute special contained some of the performances from the 2 hour long show.

The DVD of this pared down performance was released on October 4, 2011.[3]

References

1. "About The Show: Bette Midler". Bette.aeglive.com. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
2. "The Rolling Stones Have Grossed $360 Million on Tour Since 2012". Billboard.
3. "Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On: Jordan Ballard, Kyra DaCosta, Carol Hatchett, Kandis Mak, Kamilah Marshall, Bette Midler, Randall Stuart, Paul Remo, Seanne Farmer, Bruce Vilanch, Eric Kornfeld: Movies & TV". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2019-09-30.