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I'll Eat You Last recoups its investment

The Broadway premiere of John Logan's new play I'll Eat You Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers, starring Bette Midler directed by Joe Mantello, has recouped its initial Broadway investment of $2.4 million in just over eight weeks.

I'll Eat You Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers opened at the Booth Theatre on 24 Apr 2013, following previews from 05 Apr 2013, where it is playing a limited engagement through to 30 Jun 2013.

The play opened to mostly good reviews: A delectable soufflé (NY Times); Funny but vaporously thin (NY Daily News); Wickedly entertaining (NY Post); Lazy writing and acting (Back Stage) Appearing on Broadway for the first time in 30 years, Tony and Grammy Award-winning superstar Bette Midler plays the legendary Hollywood agent Sue Mengers (1932-2011) in the new, one-character play.

Sue Mengers was an American original. She was the first female "superagent" at a time when women talent agents of any kind were almost unheard of. She came from near poverty, a refugee from Hitler's Germany, and worked her way up through pluck, charm, and a legendary wit.

Sue Mengers invented herself, and when the career she wanted didn't exist, she invented that as well: "Superagent." It was a term Hollywood all but coined for her. By the 1970's, she represented almost every major star in Hollywood and went on to become the town's most renowned hostess.

The creative team includes Scott Pask (scenic design), Ann Roth (costume design), Hugh Vanstone (lighting design) Fitz Patton (sound design).

I'll Eat You Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers is produced on Broadway by GrayDon Carter, Arielle Tepper Madover, James L. Nederlander, The Shubert Organization, Terry Allen Kramer, Stephanie P. McClelland, Jeffrey Finn, Ruth Hendel, Larry Magid, Jon B. Platt, and Scott & Brian Zeilinger.

Bette Midler was nominated for two Academy Awards for the movies "For the Boys" and "The Rose." She won Emmy Awards for "Bette Midler in Concert: Diva Las Vegas," "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" and "Bette Midler: Ol' Red Hair Is Back." Midler won a 1974 Special Tony Award for 'Adding lustre to the Broadway season.' Her Broadway credits include: "Bette! Divine Madness," "Bette Midler" and "Fiddler on the Roof."

Bette Midler (Sue Mengers) More production photos

Originally published on

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