With the recent success of her "Clams On The Half Shell Revue," Bette decided to take the act on the road, dubbing it the Depression Tour to coincide with her upcoming album, "Songs for the New Depression." Since "Clams" was such an elaborate act, it was impossible to transport the extravagant sets and large props, so the sets had to be scaled down, and a whole new show was put together.  Bette, with writers Jerry Blatt and Bruce Vilanch came up with a whole new act, keeping only the "King Kong bit" intact from "Clams." The opening number was originally to be "I Sold My Heart To The Junkman." However, during rehearsals of the show, Bette developed appendicitis, which required surgery. Never missing a beat, Bette incorporated the ordeal into her act by making her entrance in a hospital bed singing "Friends," "Oh My My," and joking about her recent stay in a plush Beverly Hills Medical Center where she supposedly donated her tits to Cher.  In "Clams" Bette had tried doing some character acting in a bar segment where she would sing songs like "Strangers In The Night" and "Do You Want To Dance". In "Depression," she spread her wings and created two whole new characters.  The first, Vickie Eydie, was an over-the-top parody of a lounge singer.  Vickie and her backup group would perform their global revue "Around The World In 80 Ways," singing such songs as "Istanbul," "Hawaiian War Chant," and her own song "Fiesta In Rio."  The revue was a smash with audiences, and Vickie would end all shows in King Kong's hand singing "Lullaby Of Broadway," except in smaller venues where the prop couldn't be accommodated and "Chapel Of Love" would take its place.  The other character Bette debuted was Nanette, a spin-off from the Clams bar scene.  Nanette was a sweet,  demented, and sadly forlorn character. She would sit in the bars singing torch numbers such as "Alabama Song" and "Drinking Again" while calling up strangers on the phone, leaving snappy messages with almost a desperate tone of loneliness.  The show would end with a great rendition of "Up The Ladder To The Roof," a very energetic "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and her tribute to the bicentennial, dressed as Miss Liberty singing a somewhat altered version of "Friends."  The show hit many big cities over the United States and Canada, and won rave reviews.