I’m kind of surprised at all the positive reactions on here. Apart from a couple aforementioned scenes which were gems, I found the whole thing to be pretty much a mess from top to bottom. Way too many characters (didn’t even realize Michael Campayno was in it till he had said his 3 lines and left). No rhyme or reason to which Cher was coming on when, messy book, literally no set. Greg Allman being played with a contemporary musical theatre sound? Idk I guess I just missed what everyone else was seeing. Entertaining but ultimately...I would say you have to be a big fan of Cher in the first place to enjoy this one. It felt like it pandered entirely to her fans, and I never got that impression with Jersey Boys or other autobiographical musicals.
BroadwayBear2 said: "Important Question: Do they have a fun and sassy themed cocktail at the bar? If so, what is it?
Yes! They have a: "Bang Bang Apple-Tini," "Dark Lady Daiquiri," "Superstar Cosmo," "Believe Margarita," and "The Sonny & Cher Sangria." I had the Apple-Tini the other night and it was great! They also have show cups too!
TheatreBoy1996 said: "BroadwayBear2 said: "Important Question: Do they have a fun and sassy themed cocktail at the bar? If so, what is it?
Yes! They have a: "Bang Bang Apple-Tini," "Dark Lady Daiquiri," "Superstar Cosmo," "Believe Margarita," and "The Sonny & Cher Sangria." I had the Apple-Tini the other night and it was great! They also have show cups too!
"Sounds like I may get trashed at The Cher Show--Haha, I've never seen a show with that many cocktails. usually max is 3
Spoiler-ish question, I guess but: Cher's had a pretty consistent career, to my faint recollection all her personal drama has been in the romance department. Did the book have any "pivotal" moment that turned her life around?
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
I heard they took away the shooting-a-tv-retrospective framing device that was present in Chicago. Can anyone confirm? And if so, how does it open now?
LesWickedly said: "Has anyone sat rear mezz for the show yet? Like Row R and back? How's the view for the show and is the sound good?"
This is for angels in America (same theater), but I sat in the top row for part one and the front row for part 2, and thought everything was just as good for both.
everythingtaboo said: "Spoiler-ish question, I guess but: Cher's had a pretty consistent career, to my faint recollection all her personal drama has been in the romance department. Did the book have any "pivotal" moment that turned her life around?"
I would disagree that she had pretty consistent career.
Cher had ups and downs in her three main areas (TV, music and movies) and the show really makes this clear.
Lil Crazy said: "Saw The Cher Show in Chicago. Heard the curtain call was going to change. Can you tell me how it’s now presented..."
The curtain call is now to "Take Me Home." Everyone does their bow to the instrumental version of it and then they all sing the last few lines of the song...mainly just "Take Me Home" repeatedly. I wish they sang more of the song, but who knows maybe the will!
According to Playbill.com, the first three preview performances of the show grossed 97.03%, which was 88% percent of the weekly gross. Could it be that this show would be critic-proof and that people will see the show solely on the basis of who the show is about?
ChgoTheatreGuy said: "According to Playbill.com, the first three preview performances of the show grossed 97.03%, which was 88% percent of the weekly gross. Could it be that this show would be critic-proof and that people will see the show solely on the basis of who the show is about?"
It can be any worse than the many people that left "Wicked" after the first act because it wasn't about "The Wizard of Oz". There's no stopping the uninformed theatre patron...
ChgoTheatreGuy said: "According to Playbill.com, the first three preview performances of the show grossed 97.03%, which was 88% percent of the weekly gross. Could it be that this show would be critic-proof and that people will see the show solely on the basis of who the show is about?"
Just remember that Summer had great box office at the beginning too.
Saw this show tonight, having seen it five times in Chicago (including the last performance in Chicago where they did a 4 song concert). A lot has changed. SPOILERS AHEAD.
They have gotten rid of the "we're filming a variety show" framework. I know some people found this confusing but I "got it" and I thought it set this show apart from other jukebox shows, such as Summer. It feels a little too close to Summer now, particularly at the top, beginning with a concert-style song and then the lead character breaking into "wow, I've had a great life, let me tell ya." Gone are also the director bits (that gave us more Michael Barrese and Michael Campayno), all of those Chers in various costumes, and the creative"Turn Back Time" bit which showed all three Chers (going back in time).
They've added a longer version of Half Breed, sung by the older Chers, and now Cher's mother sings "You Better Sit Down Kid" as reading a letter.
They've moved "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" until later in the show which makes so much more sense.
They've replaced "After All That We've Been Through" with "When The Money's Gone" .
They've changed the entire Vegas sequence. Gone is the small audience panning their performance and the "curtain sequence" where Lady takes over. The exchange is now more abrupt, basically Babe says "I can't do comedy" and Lady says "let me do this". They've also added showgirls and lighting/LSD backgrounds to show they're playing bigger venues/casinos. They've also cut the the TV producer asking them to do the show, they just start doing it.
(SJB now does Vamp)
One of the biggest change is that SJB now takes over at the start of the Cher TV show with longer version of Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves, in a gypsy outfit. This also means that SBJ does "Just Like Jessie James" and many of the scenes previously done by Teal Wicks - - -I'll just say it further highlights how talented SJB is, and it CLEARLY makes her the leading lady. They extended the Allman song he performs in the Cher show.
The've tried to clarify the Dark Lady # a bit - I miss the red wig.
Another major change is that they've GUTTED the Cher/Rob Camilletti scenes. Gone is the club scene where they meet, gone is their first date where he read the script, gone are all of the many versions of "Different Kind of Love Song", gone is the car accident. Cher now accept the Oscar at the end of "The Beat Goes On" and the Cher/Rob scenes revolves around "Maybe I Found Someone".
Finally, the ending is less about Cher being alone and more about Cher wanting to give up after Sonny dies. This is where they've moved "You Haven't Seen The Last of Me" and it works so much better (but again, SJB leads this sing instead of Babe Cher). The ending is now a series of "Farewell Concerts", featuring many newer songs not a lot of people know. Gone is also the AWESOME slower/stripped down version of Believe by SJB - if you didn't see this, you missed out.
I will miss the flawed but interesting show I saw in Chicago, but still rooting for this show.
"Observe how bravely I conceal this dreadful dreadful shame I feel."
Marlothom said: "Saw this show tonight, having seen it five times in Chicago (including the last performance in Chicago where they did a 4 song concert). A lot has changed. SPOILERS AHEAD."
GOODNESS that's a lot of changes! I saw it three times in Chicago and adored it so much there, though I knew it needed work. Sad so much has been gutted, particularly Cher/Rob because it showed such a sweet side of Cher. I've been trying to follow along with the changes since the first preview and wanted to know if you could clarify a few more things?
Do they even sing Believe at any point anymore? Does Stephanie still have The Way Of Love? And how does act 2 start, I never cared much for the Sonny number in Chicago.
Seriously such a bummer about the ballad Believe, Steph was incredible doing it.
With the TV show angle no longer there, GONE is the Believe opener where they can't find Cher and the stage manager lip-synching (to tons of LOLs). They don't sing "Believe" until Act 2 and I believe they do the "you need time to move on" not the chorus. They actually make a big deal of her singing the chorus at the very end of Act 2, introducing the auto-tune machine and all.
Act 2 actually starts similar to the Chicago version, they've cut Saturday Night (which really featured Jarrod) and now have a Cher/Sonny, Napoleon/Josephine # where it appears they make up/she can't let him go. Then she runs to the other Chers and they talk sense into her.
"Observe how bravely I conceal this dreadful dreadful shame I feel."