Playbill of The Week: The Cher Show

Playbill of The Week: The Cher Show

She's back!

I recently went to New York, and even though I only had the opportunity to see two shows, I have a new fire to continue with my Playbill series. So without further adieu, I give you The Cher Show.

I want to start off by saying this, Stephanie J. Block is an absolute goddess living among us. Her portrayal of Star, or as we all know her by Cher, was absolute magic. She had every little mannerism down, the voice, the movement. It wasn't an impersonation it was an embodying. I only remembered it wasn't the real Cher when they did close ups of her on the screen. I also want to acknowledge the amount of physical work this role must take to perform 8 shows a week, for a few reasons. First the actual physical look of Cher is one that is very iconic, very long and lean but very strong. I do know that SJB has talked about the amount of pilates she does to maintain the physique. Second caring around those costumes on stage must be exhausting. You all know the one in particular, the Oscars outfit. That head piece, combined with singing, dancing, quick changes, running from one end of the stage to the other. All of the Cher actresses have to be commended for this very challenging role. What I will say is every single time I see SJB it is a masterclass in the craft. Whether you actually want to be a performer, or just like to learn from the best, go and see her in anything she does. And if you can't make it go watch Falsettos!

Now onto our other Chers, or as they are referred to in the show Lady and Babe. I'll start with Babe played by Micaela Diamond. I hate Micaela, not actually but this girl is 19 years old and just made her Broadway debut in The Cher Show. She got the part right before she was about to leave to go study at Carnegie Melon. So basically I'm giving up. But back to Micaela, being as this is her Broadway debut I have nothing to measure her against, unless you count Jesus Christ Superstar Live. But for her Broadway debut, wow. The role she portrays is child to teen Cher. The beginnings of an icon. She approaches the role with such a beautiful confidence, and it's very refreshing to see someone sort of parallel the growth that their character is going through with them in real life. She handles the show with poise and grace, and is very vibrant on stage. I would be interested to go and see the show in a few months, to see if there's any change to the performance. But for now I will just say congratulations Micaela, job well done.

Teal Wicks plays Lady the middle Cher. You might know Teal from such shows as Jekyll & Hyde, Finding Neverland or a little show called Wicked. She is a seasoned performer with an incredible resume. Her voice is astounding. She has such amazing control, and it really seems effortless. She can belt with the best of them. She definitely goes through a lot of hard times as Cher, and she handles it beautifully. We get to see a lot of raw emotion in her Cher, and she definitely makes her a person, and not just a celebrity. You feel for her and it lets us into the mindset that celebrities are humans, and not just puppets.

I think what I am most in awe about with this show, is the fact that all 3 women blended their voices so beautifully together. They maintained the essence of Cher, while still being individuals, but sounded perfect together. It really was a cool moment when all 3 of them would come together.

Another performance I really have to mention is Jarrod Spector as Sony Bono, because wow. Now, I am not necessarily the biggest Cher fan, not that I don't like her, because she's Cher what's not to like. But I just don't know a lot about her, her music, her life, Sonny. But what I do know I believe they got pretty darn on the nose. And Jarrod's Sonny seemed pretty perfect. It was absolutely perfect in my mind. He really came across as someone you loved to hate. You could see why someone who came from Chers past would fall in love with him, and have such strong feelings towards him, but you can also see why he ended up the way he did, and why she left him. The other thing was his voice. It was so fantastic. It was nasally, and annoying, but exactly what Sonny was.

Now to a few things I wasn't sold on. I know that this show was originally designed as a Variety Show, and that essence still lingers in the final product. The three Chers are interchangeable in the show, when one is faced with an obstacle that she cannot finish or face, the next Cher takes over and fulfills the task of her younger or older self. An interesting concept, and one that could work in some of the show. But in my personal, viewers eyes didn't. It was a very complicated process, Chers were everywhere. There was very little time when almost all three Chers weren't on stage. Which is great because again, any time I can get SJB on stage I'll take it. But, again in my personal opinion, it takes away from each individual Chers performance and journey. I like the Chers stepping in when the other form couldn't perform their task, but I didn't like them coming in and out of the scenes all the time. It just felt cluttered.

I want to mention two aesthetic parts of the show. The costumes and the set. Now the costumes are actually designed by Bob Mackie, Chers actual designer. You can only imagine the costumes in this show. Absolutely breathtaking. The Bob Mackie parade was so visually stunning and wonderful. Extremely colourful and enchanting. Now because the costumes were such a highlight, the set of this show seemed such a disappointment. I have two theories about the set. Number one the costume budget was so insane, there really wasn't much left to work with. Which for a huge Broadway show that's about Cher seems far fetched. My second theory is that the set was a bit more bare for a majority of the show to show the parallel in Chers real life. Halfway through the show, when she realizes Sonny actually owns everything she makes a comment that was basically "I have been working my ass off for 11 years and I have nothing to show for it" which made me think, maybe that's why the set was so blah. It gets more intricate during the show, but more towards the end when she's her own person, and makes her own future. But I will never know, and honestly that isn't that big of a problem.

All in all this show was a bucket of fun with a stellar cast. If you are a fan of Cher,

or just want to basque in the glamour of it all then this show will be up your alley. You'll learn something new about one of our most beloved icons, and you'll walk away thinking your closet is the most bland thing in the universe. As long as there aren't any drunk moms in the audience I think you'll have a good time. My advice with this show is don't go in with too much expectation. It's fun, colourful and entertaining.