THE CHER SHOW Reviews- Page 4

[bdn223]

Posted: 12/4/18 at 1:50pm

I think based on these review we can safely say Stephanie J Block is the front runner for Best Actress, Also considering the love for her within the community, it would take a performance along the lines of Neil Patrick Harris as Hedwig to even challenge her for the Tony. 

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 12/4/18 at 3:06pm

Serious question here, who is Block's competition? O'Hara?

[theatreguy12]

Posted: 12/4/18 at 7:28pm

And so the debate will continue. 

Broadway has become about original musicals, and tourist-driven shoo-ins that will bring in audiences with familiar properties such as Hollywood movies, or bio musicals based on the lives of very famous icons.

I think this one might have a chance because despite the not-so-great reviews of the critics, the star of the show is bringing the life of Cher to audiences in a powerful way.  And while Cher might not have been a critic's darling, the tourists will come to this show.   They'll walk by the theater, not sure what to see, and see the "Cher" show on the marquee.  That will be enough.

Donna Summer was big, but she didn't really have the shelf-life or story that Cher has.  She was a disco diva, a woman of her time, but Cher has transcended, reinvented, and kept herself in the limelight.  This show will be a testament to that, even if it is one of those "easy way out" musicals that was developed to bring in an already built in audience.

Much like the Hollywood to Broadway product has proven to work, if not for the critics and theater people, at least to the masses.  And that's all it takes on Broadway now.

That, and putting a movie star in a leading role of a classic musical.  That will pull 'em in too.  A classic show that would not have the same length of run or get the same amount of love if it had starred a Broadway diva rather than a movie star.  That is the other shoo-in to a successful run.  

At least this latter example gives us a Broadway classic to relive.

 

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 12/4/18 at 8:37pm

I was planning on catching this later this month, but now Im not sure. Is it really that bad?

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 12/4/18 at 9:31pm

It's not that bad, I love play devil's advocate! hahahaha

And it's funny that Jersey Boys and Beautiful are staple of good jukebox musicals and when I watched Beautiful, I thought it was so boring. Always the same trick to start a new number. LOL

It was a really fun night at Cher Show.

[CukorLover]

Posted: 12/4/18 at 9:36pm

For a show thats capitalization is close to 20 million--yes , it is a bad show. One with a wonderful turn by Block. But not one that'll make you tell your friends to run out and see it.

In response to theatreguy12--it's going to have to have a pretty healthy run to cover that cap.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 12/4/18 at 10:56pm

I keep thinking " how are they gonna work this into Will and Grace?"

I love SJB   so I guess this will be the 1st bway show the 2nd act is fixed and the 1st fails. 

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 3:56am

"Thank god I'm not the only one that thought this was an absolute lame mess. I truly think you have to be a Cher fan to find this slop even slightly enjoyable."

 I was so not a Cher fan 

I became one after this show.

 

[Kad]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 10:34am

The reviews smack of the need to prove a point by slamming the show- even Green and Holdren, the most negative, have a subtext of "I had a good time, BUT."

But the issue is the show's goal is to give the audience a good time. And it succeeds- or at least, I thought it very much did, and the word of mouth I've been hearing is largely the same.

I thought Adam Feldman of Time Out NY pretty much nailed it. It's not high art, or a great show, but it's a great time, and that's what it seems content to be doing. So why criticize comfort food for not being haute cuisine? And of course there's such a thing as poor-quality comfort food, but this isn't it.

 

Updated On: 12/5/18 at 10:34 AM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 10:48am

Kad said: "And of course there's such a thing as poor-quality comfort food, but this isn't it."

I disagree. This is poor quality comfort food. Yes, most of the songs were good to hear, well sung, and many were very well staged. But the book is an embarrassment. So yes the appetizers were tasty, and the dessert was great, but the main course tasted like it came out of a can. 

[Mrtannenbaum]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 11:11am

The critics largely panned the show because it isn’t Jersey Boys, and many of the critics aren’t fans of the jukebox musical, in general.
I thought the show was so much fun, and very entertaining. It’s a big splashy broadway production with great acting, gorgeous costumes, fantastic dancing, and some really good laughs. The way Cher’s story is told is entertaining, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously.
This is very different from both Jersey Boys, and Beautiful, which were jukebox musicals about the songwriters. Cher, for the most part, did not write her own music, so while her hit songs are interwoven throughout the story, we aren’t learning about events in her life that drove her to write songs to express how she felt. We are simply learning about her personal and professional battles and triumphs.
Cher has had a fascinating life, and an amazing career, encompassing six decades. This show embodies what and who she is, and it succeeds largely because of the grandiosity of the production.
The great word of mouth and positive audience reaction reflect the fact that this show’s audience understand and appreciates that.

[raddersons]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 11:33am

While lots of shows seemed to make the Cher Show / Summer comparison, none of them acknowledged that The Cher Show had the idea first. When rumors first came about this show in 2012, the only thing that people knew is that there would be three Cher's. The show's been in development for six years. In those six years, Summer popped up out of nowhere with the same concept, and made it to Broadway first, making it seem like Cher was the copy cat... but in actuality, I think the opposite is true.

I guess I don't really know anything about Summer's development to make a serious claim about this, nor have I seen The Cher Show... but when I saw Summer, I really thought "Well, this  all just gseems slapped together last minute, with the 'three leads' idea stolen from Cher."

[ACL2006]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 5:22pm

Reviews be damned, just got out from seeing this and I thought it was excellent. The audience loved it. Give Block her Tony now! I think this will be a major hit due to word-of-mouth.

[Skip23]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 6:13pm

Sometimes a good time is simply and thankfully a good time.

This is one of those times.

Critics who?

Just go and have a great time. Now and forever.

[South Florida]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 6:40pm

Hogan, you're smug.

 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 6:46pm

Kad said: "The reviews smack of the need to prove a point by slamming the show- even Green and Holdren, the most negative, have a subtext of "I had a good time, BUT."

But the issue is the show's goal is to give the audience a good time. And it succeeds- or at least, I thought it very much did, and the word of mouth I've been hearing is largely the same.

I thought Adam Feldman of Time Out NY pretty muchnailed it. It's not high art, or a great show, but it's a great time, and that's what it seems content to be doing. So why criticize comfort food for not being haute cuisine? And of course there's such a thing as poor-quality comfort food, but this isn't it."

I completely agree with Kad. The show is not TRYING to be anything but a great time, and I thought it wildly succeeded at that. I had more fun at The Cher Show than I have had at any other Broadway show in quite some time. Also, the word of mouth for this outside the press is far superior to the word of mouth Summer had in previews and early in its run. I think this will do just fine.

 

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 6:51pm

ScottyDoesn'tKnow2 said: "Serious question here, who is Block's competition? O'Hara?"

Amber Gray. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 8:00pm

There was just a buzz outside the theater when the show got out. Everybody was giving praise about the show. This will be the hit of the season, mark my word.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 8:08pm

South Florida said: "Hogan, you're smug."

smug /sm??/ adj. having or showing an excessive pride in oneself or one's achievements.

Maybe I am, but not on the strength of anything I have written in this thread. 

The dictionary is your friend. (And saying that is not smug either.)

[Valentina3]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 8:46pm

HogansHero said: "Kad said: "And of course there's such a thing as poor-quality comfort food, but this isn't it."

I disagree. This is poor quality comfort food. Yes, most of the songs were good to hear, well sung, and many were very well staged. But the book is an embarrassment. So yes the appetizers were tasty, and the dessert was great, but the main course tasted like it came out of a can."

Who eats a 3 course comfort food?

 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 8:55pm

Valentina3 said: "Who eats a 3 course comfort food?"



 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 8:56pm

almost everyone?

 

[NYCblurb]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 9:03pm

Skip23 said: "Sometimes a good time is simply and thankfully a good time.
This is one of those times.
Critics who?
Just go and have a great time. Now and forever.

"

Rather see HER in Vegas any day of the 8 show week.

[natashalost]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 9:24pm

So is this more On Your Feet in the way the songs are presented, where the songs are interwoven into the life story of the artist, or like Beautiful and Jersey Boys, where they tell you how each song was made. 

[Skip23]

Posted: 12/5/18 at 9:41pm

natashalost said: "So is this more On Your Feet in the way the songs are presented, where the songs are interwoven into the life story of the artist, or like Beautiful and Jersey Boys,where they tell you how each song was made."

Songs are interwoven into the life story.  But very lightly.  This show is really all about the songs, the glitz and the performances.