THE CHER SHOW Previews — Page 10

I think Emily Skinner should and will be recognized for featured actress.

"Rhoda4 said: " ...It was tough watching a grown woman play a 4 year old on a tricycle ..."

I’m guessing you also weren’t a fan of Lily Tomlin’s Edith Ann on Laugh-In.

BwayBaby18 said: "bwaybrent said: "Is that whole concept of Star Cher playing a fairy godmother to Babe still happen in the beginning of the show? It felt clunky the few times I saw it in Chicago."

I believe Cher-y Fairy Godmother was cut 2 weeks ago. It was there at final dress but it was gone a week later. I'm assuming it hasn't come back?"

Wait, I need to hear more about that...Saw the show the other day. A Fairy Godmother? What song was it?

It was there at the first preview

We just saw the show on Saturday so I guess we've missed the Cher-y godmother tricycle bit, but....

Does anyone know ? during the fashion show, tv show Cher comes out in some kind of leopard skin print as a trashy lady (??) with hanging boobies and bobble earrings. It looked like a costume kind of like Carol Burnett would wear. Did she sing a song dressed like this? Was this bit cut too for time??

I still had a blast; we're going back New Year's week. I need to get more magnets and drool over Jarrod Spector again.

I don't remember if it was mentioned, but Georgia Holt was actually IN an episode of I Love Lucy playing a Jacques Marcel fashion model in a fashion show. I also think I heard that Cher said her mother played an extra in crowd scenes, etc on several Lucy episodes. She must have been very good with her impersonation skills, too.

BuddyStarr said: "Yes. It was Laverne. The audience got it when I saw it but then again they were pretty old."

It was always a cameo. In Chicago, Teal sang "Vamp" since she was already in the costume. The performance I saw in New York had SJB rolled on top of the piano to do it.

She did make it, and it didn't appear to have affected the show timing or anything! Trains in NYC/NJ can be so damn brutal.

I caught this on Wednesday night and had a great time, overall.

The show works best when it is leaning both into while sort of mocking the bio-musical tropes and the Cher brand/persona. It falters when it does those tropes earnestly (the constant reminders of Cher's shyness, for instance, or Cher's romances that aren't Sonny).

The first act is really lacking in major wow-factor production numbers; aside from the Mackie number, most feel truncated. However, the second act more than makes up for it with the fabulous "Dark Lady," the economical storytelling and 60s pastiche of "The Beat Goes On," and more powerhouse vocals from Stephanie J. Block than you thought possible.

Although the framing device of a variety show is no longer explicitly in the show, it's still very much there. There's no fourth wall; notable characters are introduced to and acknowledge the audience when they appear as if they were guests; etc. It really leans into the idea of a show about Cher, hosted by Cher(s).

Stephanie J. Block is giving a tremendous performance, nailing the impersonation while bringing a great deal of emotional depth. This is no caricature.

Micaela Diamond is making quite the debut, too, and I'm glad they showcase her in "The Beat Goes On."

Teal Wicks has the most thankless of the three Chers- she's a transitional figure, really, between the young, naïve, and spunky Babe and the "goddess warrior" and icon Star. Lady is too much of both to be distinct from them and not enough of either to be as compelling. They don't find a way in that really works- this isn't Fun Home, where the three age periods are necessary and very distinct as life phases.

Jarred Spector is great as (a distractingly jacked) Sonny Bono, and got quite the audience response when he started singing.

Emily Skinner really makes the most of her two roles, and you constantly look forward to seeing her.

The ensemble is incredibly hard-working and hard-bodied (Charlie Williams, woof).

Overall, this won't change your life. It doesn't want or try to. But it's damn good entertainment, anchored by some fantastic women, and it tweaks the nose of the concept of the jukebox bio-musical enough that it breathes life into an increasingly craven-looking genre.