Off-Broadway-Aimed Cher Jukebox Musical DARK LADY In Development.

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 6/20/25 at 4:23am

Original story and NOT a bio-musical.
 

New York is getting another Cher jukebox musical. Dark Lady, which showcases songs made famous by the Grammy-winning icon with an original story (written by Mike Sheedy), will give invite-only industry presentations in Manhattan June 20. The project, being executive produced by Ken Davenport's Davenport Theatrical Enterprises, is aiming for an Off-Broadway run.

The presentation cast will include Rashidra Scott(Sunset Blvd.), Alysha Umphress (On the Town), Jasmine Forsberg (Six), Colin Bradbury (BOOP! The Musical), Davis Wayne (The Outsiders), Brandon Burks (Gypsy), DeMarius R. Copes (Elf), Jacob Dickey (Old Friends), Ninako Donville (Pirates! The Penzance Musical), Chavon Hampton, Amanda LaMotte (Once Upon a Mattress), Tatiana Lofton(Pirates! The Penzance Musical), Kristen Piro (Spamalot), Julio Rey (Lempicka), Kirsten Scott(Suffs), and Scarlett Walker (Carousel). Casting is by Geoff Josselson Casting.

Set in the American South at the turn of the century, Sheedy's story follows Queen, "a young gypsy who travels in a wagon train with her fortune-teller mother, her preacher father, and her two best friends—a free-spirited blonde and a fiery, fiddle-playing redhead. After receiving an ominous and foreboding fortune of events to come, Queen is forced to make a devastating decision that alters the course of her future." It seems safe to assume the score will include Cher's 1971 hit "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves."

Cher—who made her Broadway debut as an actor in 1982's Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean—was the subject of an earlier jukebox musical on the Main Stem, 2018's The Cher Show, which used her music to tell the story of her life and career.
 

The show features orchestrations, arrangements, and music supervision by Sonny Paladino. Evan Bernardin Productions is serving as general managers, with company management by Arysbells Figueredo, sound design by Mike Tracey, stage management by Danny Maly, and assistant stage management by Julia Bregy.

 

Updated On: 6/20/25 at 04:23 AM

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 6/20/25 at 10:41am

I was about to say "why does someone think another Cher jukebox musical is needed when the first one did so poorly" and then I saw Ken Davenport and it all made sense.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/20/25 at 10:59am

It’s not a Cher jukebox musical, it’s a musical based on Cher’s 1974 hit song “Dark Lady.” 

 

[Menken Fan]

Posted: 6/20/25 at 11:35am

Even though it's not a bio-musical, it's still a show featuring songs made famous by Cher, which makes it a Cher jukebox musical, no? Like Mamma Mia is an ABBA jukebox musical?

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 6/20/25 at 12:38pm

The most interesting thing about Cher is Cher, as opposed to say Neil Diamond, Donna Summer, and Carole King, who have a better catalogue of songs, but less dynamic personalities. A Cher jukebox musical with an original story sounds like a very self-defeating idea.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/20/25 at 12:47pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "It’s not a Cher jukebox musical, it’s a musical based on Cher’s 1974 hit song “Dark Lady.”

The plot synopsis pretty obviously indicates it's a plot crafted to accommodate a number of Cher songs.  Aka- a jukebox musical. Of Cher songs. 

 

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 6/20/25 at 2:00pm

What a weird idea. Wasn't Ken a co-pro on The Cher Show?