After attending back-to-back performances of ‘Hamilton‘ and ‘To Kill A Mockingbird‘ I wasn’t expecting to be especially moved or impressed by ‘The Cher Show’ but like the titular character herself, it proved to be surprisingly powerful, as well as glitzy, ridiculous, glorious and sublime. Calling it a juke-box musical may be a disservice, as that misses the important arcs that find their way into the piece, as well as discounting the nifty way the songs and re-purposed to tell the roller-coaster story of Cher’s life (thus far).
Attending the show with my Mom made for an interesting comparison: she recognized all the older songs, while I (being a latter-day Cher fan late to the party) knew more of the stuff from recent years. The show is the perfect bridge between generations, blatantly evoked by the three versions of Cher that inhabit the stage at various moments.
Musically, it’s not a chronological telling of her story through her songs, and that may be key to its success. By positing the thematic essence of her musical selections at key points, it allows for a more varied, though ultimately unifying, exploration of her extensive songbook, while injecting all the life it can into the narrative. Case in point is the exhilarating mash-up of ‘When the Money’s Gone’ and ‘All Or Nothing’~ two relatively recent cuts that perfectly set up Cher and Sonny’s journey to success. While their relationship is core and integral to the story (some might argue it’s the heart of the show), it is ultimately a tale of empowerment, survival, and inspiration. And that can only be accomplished by one.
Holding center-stage in a stand-out performance is Stephanie J. Block as Star ~ already nominated for a Tony Award. She is the archetype Cher, the overriding embodiment of wisdom and grace that this powerhouse of stardom has become. At once world-weary, jubilant, defiant, and sage, she commands the proceedings while knowing the exact moments of when to let her counterparts shine. As Babe, Micaela Diamond channels the younger, unjaded Cher as she grows up with an uncannily-wise mother (Emily Skinner) and meets the most interesting person she’ll ever meet in her life, Sonny Bono (Jarrod Specter).
Mr. Specter makes for a charming Mr. Bono, whose appeal was based both on comedic knacks and an unconventional charisma. While he was clearly blessed with the vocal prowess Sonny could only dream of achieving, Specter wisely and convincingly gets into Bono’s voice, and his charm, making his romance with Cher believable and endearing. After Sonny, Lady Cher comes into her own, as Teal Wicks bridges the emotional wreckage between young love and more seasoned romantic experiences.
When the three Cher characters strut the boards together, it is a Cher fan’s ultimate fantasy, and a self-aware nod to vanity and ego, because without them she never would have gotten to where she is. Countering the simple fact of that is the winning and winsome ways Cher’s own insecurities and disbelief in herself contributed to her widespread appeal. Even as she was blamed for breaking up Sonny and Cher, even as she stumbled into infomercial damnation, and even as she struggled to find her next big success (hello vocoder!) her perceived failures ended up being as inspiring as her improbable run of triumphs.
Is this a perfect musical? Not by any stretch, and it doesn’t pretend to be. Lacking a strong narrative, it’s more of a series of vignettes, some disjointed at best, but it never detracts from the emotional heft of the show. Is it a damn good time? Most definitely. Add to that the incredible talent on stage at all times (there really isn’t a weak link among them) and the cumulative effect is an enjoyable theatrical experience that prides itself on sparkle and spectacle over high-brow serious intent.
Befitting that, the costumes are delightfully scene-stealing characters in and of themselves. Nods to Bob Mackie’s brilliant alchemy with Cher as his muse infuse the entire evening, and the show must have single-handedly kept the bugle bead industry humming nicely for a few months. (There is a jaw-dropping fashion sequence that must be seen to be believed.) Someone once referred to those costumes as feats of engineering, and they truly are. Defying expectations and sartorial mores, they manage to elicit the notion that less is more at the same time that more is more, and when garish meets glitter, the resulting grandiosity is an amalgamation of sass, beauty, decadence and divinity. Cher pioneered the splashy awards show appearance, establishing the red carpet as a moment and event of much more than a means to a promotional end. Those outfits are as much a part of her enduring legacy as ‘Moonstruck’ or ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’.™ Never let anyone try to fool you into thinking that fashion is frivolous, and ‘The Cher Show’ honors that sentiment on a broader scale.
It never gets mean or bogged down by pesky technicalities, and while nothing is too deep or complex, this is more than just a celebration of Cher ~ it’s a celebration of life, of music, of some of the most memorable songs of this last half-century. Of course, for any Cher fan, even a casual one, this is a must-see. My Mom and I left feeling utterly enchanted, entertained, and more than a little empowered. That’s the mark of a good musical ~ it lifts you up, it raises your spirits, and it leaves you feeling a little bit better about being in the world. If we allow it to be, sometimes that’s enough.
