In the case of <\/span>The Cher Show<\/span><\/i>, which opened at Broadway\u2019s Neil Simon Theatre tonight, fortunately that includes plenty of what Cher fans hunger for most \u2014 robust, soaring vocals; brassy, bemused attitude; and spectacular fashions courtesy of her longtime collaborator Bob Mackie. <\/span><\/p>\n The latter nearly steal the show outright. A brisk showcase of Mackie\u2019s most recognizable and outlandish looks for <\/span>The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour<\/span><\/i> receives the first act\u2019s most rapturous ovation. (The wardrobe department ought have the final bow for seamlessly executing dozens of changes throughout.) It\u2019s a testament to the knockout talents assuming the lead role that the lavish designs don\u2019t swallow them whole. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n It takes three women<\/a> to play the larger than life entertainer, each one embodying Cher at different stages in her career (<\/span>Summer: The Donna Summer Musical<\/span><\/i> attempts a similar conceit, though far less successfully). Book writer Rick Elice, whose script for <\/span>Jersey Boys<\/span><\/i> remains the genre\u2019s gold standard, makes the smart if surreal choice to put the three Chers in conversation, each one speaking from her own perspective with the dreams and wisdom that wax and wane with age. <\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s a bit like if Albee\u2019s <\/span>Three Tall Women<\/span><\/i><\/a> were rock goddesses who enjoyed the occasional quaalude.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n As full-grown Cher and the show\u2019s self-referential narrator, Stephanie J. Block may have at last found the sort of showy, outlandish star vehicle perfectly suited to her off-center talents (fans may remember she\u2019s also played Liza, in <\/span>The Boy From Oz<\/span><\/i>). Block traces every emotional fold in 1972\u2019s \u201cThe Way of Love\u201d as Cher\u2019s audition for Robert Altman, on the occasion of her Broadway debut opposite Kathy Bates. Block also makes light work of at times hokey meta framing, as in the opening sequence \u2014 \u201cIf only I could really turn back time. Oh wait, I can!\u201d \u2014 featuring one of the singer\u2019s most beloved hits. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n We first meet a young, wide-eyed Cherilyn (Micaela Diamond in a stunning Broadway debut) in \u201cthe Father Knows Best 1950s, somewhere in southern California.\u201d The pop-up book aesthetic of Christine Jones\u2019 scenic design for this scene signals the start of a fairy tale \u2014 Cherilyn emerges from seeing Disney\u2019s <\/span>Cinderella<\/span><\/i> on the big screen to declare she wants to be a star, shortening her name to \u201cCher\u201d as she scrawls it out on an imaginary Walk of Fame. Fathers come and go; it\u2019s Cher\u2019s indomitable mother who knows best.<\/span><\/p>\n The story accelerates in fits and starts under Jason Moore\u2019s nimble direction, skimming over certain bits with clever alacrity (as when the different facets of Cher self-reflect in conversation), and lingering over others that have clearly become lifelong preoccupations. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Pretty soon we\u2019re in Hollywood, where Sonny (Jarrod Spector, a vocal dead ringer) goes from moony lover and co-star to despot working Cher into the ground and dominating her financial fortune until just past intermission. A feud for Cher\u2019s heart between Sonny and Gregg Allman (of The Allman Brothers Band) features mid-career Cher (Teal Wicks) in a virtuosic dance to \u201cDark Lady\u201d (the vigorous, expressive choreography is by Christopher Gattelli).<\/span><\/p>\n Unlike its legendary namesake, <\/span>The Cher Show<\/span><\/i> doesn\u2019t venture too far outside the box \u2014 doing so runs counter to the project of self-mythologizing inherent to the form. By this point, celebrity narratives are familiar enough in their common course that we recognize the shorthand \u2014 from big break and the spotlight\u2019s harsh glare to fall and final redemption. It\u2019s all here, insofar as the musical\u2019s subject wants to reveal more than what we already know, or may have guessed. As for a deeper understanding of the artist, it\u2019s always been right there in the music. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Recent theatre features\u2026 Follow Naveen Kumar on Twitter: @Mr_NaveenKumar The post Broadway\u2019s \u2018The Cher Show\u2019 Is a Feast for Fans and an Assertion of Legacy: REVIEW<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad Gay News<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/em>(photos: joan marcus)<\/p>\n