The Cher Show — Page 11

In terms of SJB standing out in the show, I would think this is by design. She gets top billing. I am sure she would be submitted for LEAD, w. Babe and Lady submitted for supporting.

StylishCynic said: "Theatrefanboy1 said: "Just a question about one of the dancers. Charlie Williams. Thoughts of him in the show. Does he have any feature. Or like any attractive mackie costumes. Or anything. Tbanks"

Charlie has 1 line he sings in the Act 2 opener (a Napoléon and Josephine number). Otherwise he's a background character throughout (a bartender, a disco patron, etc)."

Charlie is definitely recognizable in the ensemble and has some very "attractive" costumes, as does the whole ensemble. An observation about the choreography: There is a lot of ensemble dancing in the show, but the choreography does not really stand out in the show. I thought it unusual that the choreography was not that memorable, considering other shows that Christopher Gattelli has choreographed, like Newsies and SpongeBob.

Moore isn't "super" experienced. He did do "Shrek" and "Avenue Q" - but this seems to be a different kind of beast. Hopefully they sharpen the show for Broadway, which I'm sure they will.

Saw the show last night. Won the lottery and they put us in the front row: So there I was, Front Row Center!

Still a 3 hour show. One of the ensemble members said they only chopped 4 minutes off the run of the show!

Concept: The concept is a little muddy in the beginning. A lot of people were very confused. Towards the end, when 'Star Cher' looks at her Mom and says, "Wait, you can see the other Chers too?" It seemed a bit campy. A couple people behind me laughed at that a bit.

Stephanie's entrance (which is staged to be a huge entrance) didn't get an applause. I found myself the only one applauding. Other than that, she's iconic in this role. Turning 'Believe' into a heartfelt 11 o'clock ballad for her was brilliant! A Tony Award for her next season?

Teal Wicks didn't really do much for me. Yeah she can belt, but she didn't sell it enough like Micaela & Stephanie did. Even after her huge 'Bang Bang' number with the Female Ensemble, I wasn't convinced enough to really be a huge fan of hers. Maybe it's the role itself, I don't know.

Chicago's watching a star being born with Micaela Diamond. Act Two, she really blew me away with her show stopping 'Beat Goes On' number with the ensemble.

The live taping throughout the numbers are a little lack luster for me. Last night, during 'I Got You Babe,' there's two screens of live taping footage of Cher & Sonny and only one worked so that was a bit awkward to watch. Hopefully, they'll git that cleaned up a bit.

All in all, this show is something and is only going to get better from here. I'll go towards the end of the Chicago run to see how much they've cleaned and chopped up, but I'm really excited for this to go to Broadway.

The more I think about it, the more irritated I am that The Cher Show completely glosses over Cher's role as a mother and as a gay icon. Although most of the attention is, rightly, on the three actresses playing Cher, the fact of the matter is that The Cher Show has another leading actress: Emily Skinner. She plays Cher's mother and acts as one of the narrative threads that ties the musical together. In real life, the bond between Cher and her mother has always been a strong one. There is plenty of documentation to support the fact that Georgia exerted a strong influence on Cher. Strangely enough, the musical does not include "I'm Your Yesterday," which Cher and Georgia actually sang together: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bohiS3QPuoo. Hopefully, before it reaches Broadway, Georgia's role will be beefed up a bit: it's a shame that Emily Skinner's talent is really wasted in the version that I saw in Chicago. She basically serves as an echo chamber reminding Cher that she needs to "go big" and embrace "being different."

It therefore feels stunningly strange that the book of this musical gives so much space to the role that Cher's mother had on her daughter while completely ignoring Cher's relationship with her own children. The musical contains plenty of knowing winks in the direction of the LGBT audience that, presumably, the producers (and Cher is one of them) know will flock to her show. How sad, then, that the most direct link between Cher and the LGBT community -- Chaz -- is completely ignored.

I certainly wouldn't have expected the musical to focus exclusively on this aspect, but to the extent that the show focuses so much on the mother-daughter relationship, it loses credibility by ignoring Cher's relationship with Chaz. And, in some respects, it comes across as disingenuous. Not only because Chaz's choices, in some respects, reflect her mother's mantras of "going big" and "being different." Cher would not be who she is today if it were not for the LGBT community: she is a gay icon. Every gay person in the audience should be wondering why The Cher Show whitewashes the fact that Cher had serious issues with Chaz's coming out (first as a lesbian, then as a trans man). Why not address this head on? Is it fear for the impact this sub-plot might have on the box office? Is it because Cher hasn't yet actually embraced or accepted Chaz's choices (the latter is a legitimate question in light of the total omission of any reference to this aspect in what is being presented as her life story)?

I seriously hope that the show finds a way to incorporate some reference to this important chapter of Cher's life. And it wouldn't really take all that much. For example, a simple scene where the two find a common understanding and Cher sings a reprise of "ALL I REALLY WANT TO DO" to Chaz would be powerfully empowering, not just to members of the LGBT community but to parents everywhere -- including some who will be in the audience -- who struggle with the choices their children make.

I'm pasting in a link to a performance of Cher singing ALL I REALLY WANT TO DO. Listening to the lyrics and thinking about them as providing context to a scene in which Cher expresses support for Chaz's choices might be a fun mental exercise. "All I really want to do, baby, is be friends with you..." And if you take the time to look at the link, you'll see that in fact, Cher WAS singing that song as a prelude to a televised segment in which Cher shared the stage with her child and then actually sang it as a duet with Chaz. There's real drama here and the potential for a scene that is best suited to musicals because of the heightened emotions that are inherent in it. (Knowing what we know now, there's a certain irony in hearing Cher ask Chaz how she would come out....)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw9T31db9mI

Updated On: 6/14/18 at 08:13 PM

Saw the show tonight! In case anyone is wondering about the Limited View side orchestra seats, I sat in one tonight and I thought it was fine. It really didn’t feel like I missed anything. It’s a nice alternative if you are unlucky with lotteries (as I am) but don’t want to shell out for the regular priced orchestra seats.

Who sings "You Haven't Seen The Last Of Me"? I'd really love to hear Stephanie's interpretation of it.