SUPERSTARS COME AND GO.
CHER IS FOREVER.
For six straight decades, only one unstoppable force has flat-out dominated popular culture - breaking down barriers, pushing boundaries, and letting nothing and no one stand in her way. The Cher Show is her story, and it's packed with so much Cher that it takes three women to play her: the kid starting out, the glam pop star and the icon.
The Cher Show is 35 smash hits, six decades of stardom, two rock-star husbands, a Grammy, an Oscar, an Emmy, and enough Bob Mackie gowns to cause a sequins shortage in New York City, all in one unabashedly fabulous new musical.
Jason Moore directs, with choreography by Christopher Gattelli and orchestrations by Daryl Waters.
Choosing to recreate the spirit of the television variety shows that Sonny and Cher - and then Cher sans Sonny - headlined in the '70s is a choice that lands as flat as the jokes in Broadway's latest jukebox bio, 'The Cher Show.' Its attempt to celebrate the resilience of its 'bad-ass' star and her half-century career of highs and lows rarely rises above that TV series' taste for cliches, corn and cheese. Despite an icon with attitude, an armful of pop tunes and a can-do cast, the script never quite finds a satisfying style - or a genuine heart - as a winning stage musical. As Cher might say: Broadway's a bitch.
There's a fine line between tacky and spectacular. In creating costumes for Cher over the years - costumes that often tell the story of a shy woman emerging triumphant from a chrysalis - the designer Bob Mackie has kept on the right side of the line by making sure the level of craft supports the extravagance of the gesture. Sadly that's not the case with 'The Cher Show,' the maddening mishmash of a new musical that opened on Monday at the Neil Simon Theater. Except for the dozens of eye-popping outfits Mr. Mackie gorgeously recreates for the occasion, it's all gesture, no craft: dramatically threadbare and surprisingly unrevealing.
2018 | Chicago |
World Premiere Chicago |
2018 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2022 | UK Tour |
UK Tour |
2024 | US Tour |
US Tour US Tour |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Stephanie J. Block |
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical | Bob Mackie |
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations | Daryl Waters |
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations | Daryl Waters |
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Wig and Hair Design | Charles G. LaPointe |
2019 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Stephanie J. Block |
2019 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | The Cher Show |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Stephanie J. Block |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Choreographer | Christopher Gattelli |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Costume Design | Bob Mackie |
2019 | Theatre World Awards | Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance | Micaela Diamond |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Musical | Bob Mackie |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Kevin Adams |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Stephanie J. Block |
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