Hawaii’s Bette Midler dazzles at Oscars with song from ‘Mary Poppins’
INVISION / ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bette Midler performs “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from the film “Mary Poppins Returns” at the Oscars on Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Honolulu-born Bette Midler, just an Oscar short of an EGOT, made her presence known at the Academy Awards Sunday.
The Broadway legend and Radford High School graduate performed a gorgeous rendition of “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns,” nominated for best original song, from the stage at the Dolby Theatre.
The song, written by composer Marc Shaiman and lyricist Scott Wittman, was performed by Emily Blunt in the movie, but Deadline previously reported that she was reluctant to sing live.
“As a child of the ’60s, I grew up obsessed with the ‘Mary Poppins’ soundtrack, learning everything about songwriting and film scoring from it,” Shaiman wrote on Facebook ahead of the Oscars.
“As a teenager in the ’70s, I became obsessed with new star Bette Midler, who fate amazingly led me to, resulting in our 40-year relationship. Could I have ever imagined that one day Bette Midler would sing a song I co-wrote with Scott Wittman for a sequel to ‘Mary Poppins’ at the Academy Awards?! My heart is exploding.”
“Mary Poppins Returns,” starring Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw, was nominated for four Oscars: best original song, costume design, original score and production design.
