On Sunday and Monday, select press were invited to a dress rehearsal of Bette Midler's show at Caesars. The show has its red carpet opening tonight.

I was pointedly not one of those selected to see the show previews. Fair enough. Apparently, there was very limited space for press among the more than 4,000 seats in the venue.

While tickets are for sale to the public, critics are being told to wait to review the show until February 29.

And there may be another reason to restrict the access of those of us known to be opinionated. Though he agreed not to review the dress rehearsal, the Sun's Joe Brown wrote this morning:

"I can say Midler and her crew are going to need every minute of the next 10 days to make it work. And maybe a miracle. And maybe even Barry Manilow. Very much a work in progress...may even require that most Vegas of renovations--demolition and reconstruction."

Sounds like it could be a disaster. On the other hand, I can't believe as experienced a performer as Midler is capable of botching her Vegas show. But I will have to wait for a chance to see it on February 29 to find out.

Photo: Bette Midler smiles during a news conference at the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, in this May 3, 2007, file photo. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, file)