The Cher Show - UK Tour

So have I for next Wednesday's matinee but no regrets. If I'm approached for something I don't want to do - and I can honestly say I've never* danced in my life - I just say a polite but firm no thank you and they always move on.

( *My all-boys grammar school in the early 70s arranged dancing lessons with the local girls school but I had a time-consuming secret money-making enterprise in my mid teens - nothing illegal - so never participated!) 

Looks fab. Excited!

Unlike in the video posted upthread, tonight's audience at The Cher Show was woefully sedate and unenthusiastic. Had someone spiked the drinks with Mogadon? There were few younger people present. The Curve Stalls were only around three-quarters full, which is unsurprising given the £49.50 ticket price at a time when money is tight for many families.

However, the opening minutes were sensational. This is going to be a five-star cracker ball of fun, I thought. But then, the narrative structure started to drift, tending mainly to interrupt half-finished songs for the briefest of interludes. The Act 1 finale was particularly weak. Act 2 continued in the same vein.

Older Cher emerged first at the seven-minute show finale and issued the imperative to "Get out your phones bitches!" which left most of us head-scratching. Was there to be a ballad sung to a starry auditorium torchlight foreground? The tempo indicated not. We know filming is widely banned in the theatre, so why on earth did we need our phones? In the event, confusion reigned, and none were produced, not within my eyeline anyway, which I was grateful for.

A better instruction would have been to "Get up on your feet!", as no-one did until the final minute, when it was nearly all over anyway. This finale had the worst choreographed curtain calls I've seen in a while: the backing dancers suddenly stop to bow mid-dance, taking the audience by surprise, unclear that the final Cher concert is now over. The applause was muted, as most were still clapping along to the music soundtrack, some on the off-beats, some on the on-beats, some on both, no clear guidance having been given from the stage performers.

The three Chers were fantastic. I loved each one. They were on stage together much of the time, and they worked well as a team, bouncing off one another. The rest of the cast are strong too. The six-piece band were not visible, and, unless I missed it, there was not even a nod to them during the curtain calls.

The choreography, set design and lighting excel, and combine to create some spectacular set-pieces. I was expecting the sound level to increase to gig-level towards the end, but it remained too subdued for my liking. Arlene Phillips's direction occasionally betrayed the fact that this discipline is not her primary expertise.

The main problem with The Cher Show is the absence of any real drama. Cher's life-story has been sanitised and abridged, with just passing references to key events. Cher's politics did not feature; her predilection for plastic surgery (and what that may say about her insecurities) was not addressed. All of the characterisations were superficial. A post-show read of Cher's Wikipedia page suggests this did not need to be the case. I was intrigued to learn from the net that Cher's mother, Georgia Holt, is still alive at the age of 95, was a singer-songwriter herself, and has worked her way through six marriages and divorces, including Cher's birth-father, who was both her first and fifth husband. The relationship between mother and daughter was explored only briefly, which was a missed opportunity.  (To be fair, it would be difficult to include any controversial content while the principal characters are still alive, and able to sue.)

Despite all my misgivings, I could not help but be captivated by the performances and the music. Even this most straight-acting of queer males found himself allowing his inner queen loose with gay abandon. The show's uber-fabulousness will infect you. It's not great theatre, but it is great entertainment.

Four stars.

Act 1: 19:33-20:37
Act 2: 21:00-22:04

Why are so many costumes black. They are not at a funeral. Is it so that they do not have to wash them when on tour ?

I was there last night and didn’t notice them but I did notice three people being evicted from the show 20 mins before the end for being drunk and disorderly. Enjoyed it but didn’t love it. Not enough story for me, it seemed to be all about making sure as many Cher songs were thrown in as possible

I was also disappointed by the Cher Show, which I saw at Leicester last week, for all the reasons outlined in recent posts here. I found it disjointed, unengaging book and too many of the (35) songs are reduced to excerpts. The generally monochrome staging became dull after a while

I book and usually enjoy all jukebox musicals, totally agree that What's New Pussycat is way better than this and I also loved and highly recommend The Osmonds Musical currently at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley

The end Megamix just came on my YouTube. Wow. As someone else said, where’s the colour? The costumes are so wrong. The ensemble were dancing chaotically, it seemed they were trying to outdo each other to be noticed. The costumes; just no. Debbie is closest. Danielle has the voice at times but the movements and mannerisms are nowhere near…

Next up a video of Six performing at the Oliviers came up and I was shocked that the one playing Boleyn was employed…

Yes, the Blackpool shows were cancelled in the last week. Automatic refunds are being sent to ticket holders. No reason given and many other dates and towns are still available on the show`s website.

The show is almost sold-out for Sheffield this Saturday night.

There are five star reviews from the local press in Sheffield. Maybe why the show is selling better there.

Agree that if an occasional theatre goer may not know that this is a full-musical and not a tribute act.

Just after seeing this, I went into my emails and the first one was from ATG with the title "update for your booking for next week" and I immediately thought it was to tell me it had been cancelled. Thankfully it was only an update about their covid policy!