NEW YORK
The Advocate - November 1975
By Vito Russo

It promised to be one of those once-in-a-lifetime evenings at Avery Fisher Hall last week. A benefit for AMDA in tribute to Ira Gershwin, it was called "Mr. Words," with a super lineup of Broadway talent.

Well, they tried very hard, but the bad outweighed the good and the ugly outweighed the bad in one of the most embarrassing evenings in recent memory. The show opened with Dolores Gray pleasing the audience with "I Got Rhythm" and "But Not For Me." The euphoria did not last long. Larry Kert, a very good, sometimes great performer, valiantly struggled against a buzzing microphone through "Embraceable You," and nobody backstage seemed able to set things right for the rest of the night. Harvey Evans did a natty version of "The Real American Folk Song." but he was practically inaudible; only his terrific dancing and expert sense of style saved him. John Raitt forgot the words to "Who Cares," Jerry Orbach forgot the melody to "S'Wonderful," and even the incredible Bobby Short laid an egg called "Island In The West Indies."

The highlights of the evening were Kitty Carlisle (believe it or not) singing "My Ship" and "By Strauss" with the tone and control of a great artist, and Andre DeShields, Broadway's "wiz," who stopped the show cold with a satanic rendition of "It Ain't Necessarily So." Barbara Cook plowed through "The Man I Love," and commanding attention by simple will and control, and Chita Rivera's dancing needed no mike to be thrilling and frenetic to "Sam And Delilah."

The final performer was Bette Midler, who emerged from the wings wearing a safari outfit, a long white silk scarf flowing from her pith helmet. She joined the always-marvelous group Gotham in a duet on "Sunny Disposish" (which nobody sings) and proceeded to do the only chock of the evening, telling the audience how she "just loves working for free" and that she heard Ira Gershwin never "had to pay for it in his life." Mrs. Gershwin, sitting fifth row center, is said to have been amused. Bette's subsequent rendition of "They Can't Take That Away From Me" had a rather minor impact, and although she flowered briefly for "Strike Up The Band" the audience was already lost. Blame it on her insensitive writers who seem to know more about fag jokes and a lack of taste than what makes people laugh. Bette personally has a superb sense of humor and good instincts; she should start following them.