Bethenny Frankel would have no shot on “America’s Got Talent.” She can’t sing. She can’t dance. She can’t play basketball on a unicycle.
But she’s got a concert date Friday at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.
What is she going to actually do? What she does best: talk.
She’ll tell funny anecdotes about her new husband and baby, and her long-time issues with food. She’ll gossip. She’ll candidly answer questions. She’s going to be Brand Bethenny, embodying the woman her fans embraced on “The Real Housewives of New York City” and two Bravo spin-off shows, “Bethenny Getting Married?” and the new “Bethenny Ever After,” which debuted Feb. 28.
“I absolutely love” this tour, Frankel said in a brief phone interview from a beach in Miami last month while taking a break from her nine-city tour. She cradled her baby daughter, Bryn, 9 months old. “I love talking about women’s issues.”
The interview was interrupted by the consequences of her fame: paparazzi. “They come like vultures,” she griped. “It’s very annoying.”
Frankel, who was on the cover of Us magazine that week, then told hotel staff: “Can you please get those camera guys away? Yah ... that bald guy. I really want some privacy. I have my baby here.”
Back to business, she said her show changes every night: “I just kind of wing it. I’m not a script kind of girl.”
In fact, back in the 1990s, Frankel actually tried to become an actress, garnering roles in low-budget films such as “Hollywood Hills 90028.” But in 2005, she realized her home was reality TV when she came in second on “Apprentice: Martha Stewart.” Three years later, she landed on “Real Housewives of New York City,” quickly becoming the show’s most memorable and likable personality.
During “Bethenny Ever After,” Frankel’s tart tongue is fully displayed. Before getting fitted for a bra, she utters “It’s time to leash the hounds!” And after entering a less-than-sleek bar in her husband Jason’s hometown of Hazleton, Pa., she noted, “I feel like Jodie Foster in ‘The Accused.’ ”
Though “Real Housewives” gave Frankel a major headache, she has no regrets because it led to her husband and a raft of career opportunities, including her two books, an exercise DVD and Skinnygirl Margaritas. She even tried ABC’s “Skating With the Stars” last fall and finished second thanks more to her fan-base votes than her skills.
“Real Housewives was not one of the best experiences of my life,” Frankel said, “but it was one of the best decisions in my life.”
And despite her incredibly busy schedule, she said her baby keeps her sane. “She’s just pure. Everything about her is just good.” And her husband grounds her: “He’s patient. He comes from truth. He has all the right priorities.”
BETHENNY FRANKEL
8 p.m. Friday. $36.50-$84.40 after fees. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. 770-916-2800, www.cobb energycentre.com.
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