By Elyse Trevers
Two stars shine brighter than the rest in the extravagant new bio-musical “The Cher Show” at the Neil Simon Theatre. In the role aptly named “Star,” Stephanie Block gives one of the best performances of her well-established career as one of three singers playing the mega-performer. The other glow emanates from the costume designs by Bob Mackie, the man who actually designed costumes for Cher’s television shows.
Directed by Jason Moore, “The Cher Show” uses three actresses to portray the performer in three stages of her life. Micaela Diamond, making her Broadway debut, is Babe, the young Cher. She displays Cher’s innocence and hunger for acceptance, falling in love with Sonny Bono when she is only 16. The second stage of Cher’s life is Lady, played by Teal Wicks.
Both Wicks and Diamond are as good as the long, straight-haired singer in her earlier years. Both have powerful voices and try hard to imitate the uniqueness of Cher’s voice. While Block is able to maintain it consistently, the other two aren’t. Nevertheless, they are quite talented.
Block plays the performer in her 50s. She looks and sounds so much like the middle-aged Cher that, at first, I wondered if the show was using a recording. Block boasts an impressive lists of theater credentials including “Falsettos,” “Anything Goes,” “The Mystery of Edwin Drood ” and “The Boy From Oz.”
Despite all her work and talent, Block isn’t as well-known as she should be. Hopefully this will be a breakthrough show for her. She has mastered Cher’s sound and swagger, and when she addresses the audience, cursing slightly and referring to herself as “Goddess Warrior,” she looks great and sounds authentic.
Sonny (well-played by Jarrod Spector) sounds enough like the real Sonny to draw applause and laughter from the enthusiastic audience. Sometimes it isn’t only the performance but rather the recollection of the celebrity that receives audience approval. Michael Berresse gets applause for merely portraying Bob Mackie.
Like other jukebox musicals, “The Cher Show” force-feeds famous songs to move the biography forward. When Cher becomes increasingly disillusioned with her marriage to Sonny and angry at his taking control of all their enterprises (he has 95 percent control of their company and the lawyer has 5 percent), the Diva sings “Bang Bang.”
When Cher is young, she hates school because she is dyslexic and can’t read. The other kids mock her for being so dark-skinned, and her mother tries to comfort her by singing part of “Half-breed.” Her single mother appears throughout the show, repeatedly telling her, “the song makes you strong.” Unfortunately, the dialogue becomes cliched as it’s used several times.
Feminism is a theme that runs through this show. Sonny and Gregg Allman, Cher’s second husband, have a vocal duel over her while a female dancer performs an incredibly sensual, beautifully executed dance number with several men. The audience loved it and, by the end, the woman character remains the only one standing. Obviously here’s a message there.
Unlike “Summers,” the recent musical about Donna Summers which also used three singers, this show is about a live performer. In fact, Cher is one of the producers of the show itself, so one should assume that she had input into the script. Her character keeps complaining that she wants to spend more time with her daughter Chastity. Even though she had issues and splits up with Sonny, “Cher” explains how much she loved him.
Sonny and Cher were a unique formula because Sonny was able to determine what would make the pair marketable, especially for a television audience. “The Cher Show” uses some of those same elements — corny jokes (generally, with Cher gently disparaging Sonny for his height) lavish, extravagant costumes, and spectacle numbers.
Cher has a tremendous following, and “Star” acknowledges her gay fans in our audience. Despite getting lukewarm reviews, the show has a huge advance sale and it is easy to see why. For many, “The Cher Show” is nostalgic, especially with the “Sonny and Cher” show segments and the marvelous costumes. Although Cher had great successes and financial failures, she keeps on going, and she is currently on her seventh solo concert tour, the “Here We Go Again” tour. If you can’t get tickets to the concert, “The Cher Show” may be the next best thing.
