NAILSEA
PEOPLE
Bang-on babe trio
From an impoverished and itinerant childhood to becoming an iconic superstar Cher the musical maps out marvellously the life of the American Goddess of Pop.
Nailsea music fan Maggie Smith said: “I thought it was magnificent, very sparkly, very colourful.”
It is a high-octane production which pumps its way through the highs and lows of a glittering show business career.
The Cher Show uses three versions of the singer/actress/personality to walk/dance/entertain the audience in an energic abridged story so bold and brash that is grips you from the start.
And using three performers in the starring role emphasises how Cher repeatedly reinvented herself beginning as part of a 1960s folk duo to using four-letter words on live television, from kitsch comedienne to butch burlesque artiste.
West End actress Millie O’Connell who hails from Isle of Wight is best known for her award-winning role in Six The Musical. She certainly looked like a young Cher with the hair ‘curtains’ and head tossing mannerisms making her stage entrance on a tricycle and ending up in a very small G-string!
Yorkshire's Danielle Lauren Steers belted out the best numbers as the Las Vegas triumph followed by northern lass Debbie Kurup in the big wigs completing the trio which is a synergy of talent.
Bullied at school but full of Eastern promise thanks to her Armenian genes Cher has a great LGBT following and the set glows – it is pure gold.
The preview blurb boasts it is ‘a rollercoaster life, bringing to the audience Cher’s iconic songs, glorious dance numbers, unique costumes and her epic drama’.
From a young child with big dreams, the shy daughter of an Armenian American truck driver, to the dizzying heights of global stardom, The Cher Show tells the incredible story of Cher’s meteoric rise to fame.
Cher takes the audience by the hand and introduces them to the influential people in her life, from her mother and Sonny Bono to fashion designer and costumier Bob Mackie.
It shows how she battled the men who underestimated her, fought the conventions and, above all, was a trailblazer for independence.
Loved Lucas Rush as Sonny Bono who was the butt of many diminutive jokes and Tori Scott as the multi-married mum Georgia.
The musical is packed with 35 of her biggest hits, including Turn Back Time, I Got You Babe, Strong Enough, The Shoop Shoop Song and Believe.
Her on-screen career started in 1971 with her weekly television show that attracted 30 million viewers a week, and went on to include starring roles in iconic films from Moonstruck, for which she won the best actress Oscar, to Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, which prompted the New York Magazine to realise 'every single movie—no matter how flawless—would be infinitely better if it included Cher'.
My personal film favourites were the Three Witches of Eastwick and Tea with Mussolini.
Her Farewell Tour became the highest grossing music tour in history – in true Cher camp fashion, she followed up her Farewell Tour with two further sell-out, worldwide arena tours.
She is the only artist in history to have a number one hit in the Billboard chart for six consecutive decades; an achievement that caused Vogue to deem her 'eternally relevant and the ruler of outré reinvention'. She became known as the Queen of Reinvention.
The Cher Show UK & Ireland Tour has lighting design by Ben Cracknell which is excellent.
And behind the curtain is an amazing line-up of stars as it boasts book by Tony and Olivier Award-winning Rick Elice (Jersey Boys, The Addams Family, Peter and the Starcatcher), direction by Arlene Phillips (Saturday Night Fever, Starlight Express, Grease), choreography by Oti Mabuse (two-time Strictly Come Dancing champion) and costume design by Gabriella Slade (Six, In The Heights, Spice World 2019 Tour).
The 19-strong cast got a well-deserved standing ovation on Tuesday evening, January 24.
The tour ends in Bristol on Saturday, January 28. Tickets here https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-cher-show/bristol-hippodrome/.
Carol Deacon
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The Cher Show photos Pamela Raith
Cher is the Queen of Reinvention
“All of us invent ourselves.
Some of us just have more imagination than others.”
CHER
A brand new production of The Cher Show will open next year Leicester but don't hit Bristol until January 2023.
The tour will open at Leicester’s Curve on Friday, April 15, 2022.
Unfortunately it doesn't play the Bristol Hippodrome until Tuesday, January 24, 2023 for five days but tickets are on sale NOW.
And behind the curtain is an amazing lline-up of stars as it boasts book by Tony and Olivier Award-winning Rick Elice (Jersey Boys, The Addams Family, Peter and the Starcatcher), direction by Arlene Phillips (Saturday Night Fever, Starlight Express, Grease), choreography by Oti Mabuse (two-time Strictly Come Dancing champion) and costume design by Gabriella Slade (Six, In The Heights, Spice World 2019 Tour).
Arlene Phillips said: “I have been a fan of Cher since I first heard I Got You Babe in the mid-sixties and cannot wait to direct her musical.
"I love stories about strong inspirational legends like Cher and I am proud to be joined in the creative team by two women who have already made a huge impact in their careers: Oti Mabuse as choreographer of the many different genres in the show and Gabriella Slade for the iconic costume designs.
"This exciting show will be a non-stop journey of Cher’s rollercoaster life, bringing to the audience Cher’s iconic songs, glorious dance numbers, unique costumes and her epic drama.
"All they need to do is come along and Believe.”
Oti Mabuse said: “I cannot WAIT for audiences to see what we’re doing with The Cher Show.
"Cher’s music covers so many styles, genres and rhythms, which makes it so exciting to choreograph.
"Every song in the show is a hit and we are going full out with exciting routines and movement.
"It’s going to be a party!
"Cher has been such an inspiration to so many people and this musical is going to be a celebration of everything people love about her.”
Gabriella Slade saoid: "Cher is quite literally a style icon.
"Her fashion moments pushed the boundaries of the time and continue to do so.
"I’m so excited to be taking huge influence and inspiration from these looks as I embark on creating the costume design for this new production of The Cher Show.”
From a young child with big dreams, the shy daughter of an Armenian American truck driver, to the dizzying heights of global stardom, The Cher Show tells the incredible story of Cher’s meteoric rise to fame.
Cher takes the audience by the hand and introduces them to the influential people in her life, from her mother and Sonny Bono, to fashion designer and costumier Bob Mackie.
It shows how she battled the men who underestimated her, fought the conventions and, above all, was a trailblazer for independence.
The musical is packed with 35 of her biggest hits, including Turn Back Time, I Got You Babe, Strong Enough, The Shoop Shoop Song and Believe.
With more than 100 million record sales, an Academy Award®, an Emmy®, a Grammy®, three Golden Globes® and an award from The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Cher has influenced popular culture more than most.
Her on-screen career started in 1971 with her weekly television show that attracted 30 million viewers a week, and went on to include starring roles in iconic films from Moonstruck, for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress, to Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, which prompted the New York Magazine to realise 'every single movie—no matter how flawless—would be infinitely better if it included Cher'.
Her Farewell Tour became the highest grossing music tour in history – in true Cher fashion, she followed up her Farewell Tour with two further sell-out, worldwide arena tours.
She is the only artist in history to have a number one hit in the Billboard chart for six consecutive decades; an achievement that caused Vogue to deem her 'eternally relevant and the ruler of outré reinvention'. She became known as the Queen of Reinvention.
In the 1990s, she established The Cher Charitable Foundation to support causes around the world. She has been a long-time donor and supporter of Habitat for Humanity, The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and Keep A Child Alive, an organisation that helps to combat the AIDs epidemic. Most recently, she co-founded Free The Wild to help rescue Kaavan the Asian elephant from Islamabad zoo.
Written by Tony Award-winning Rick Elice, The Cher Show made its debut on Broadway in 2018 in a production that earned two Tony Awards and delighted fans from around the world. This new production will be the European premiere.
The Cher Show UK & Ireland Tour will have lighting design by Ben Cracknell and sound design by Dan Samson.
Tuesday to Saturday, January 24-29, 2023
Bristol Hippodrome
St Augustine's Parade, Bristol BS1 4UZ
Box office tel: 0844 871 7615
Box office online: www.atgtickets.com/bristol
Tickets from £13 plus £3.65 transaction fee
RICK ELICE (book writer) is the Tony and Olivier award-winning book writer of global phenomenon Jersey Boys. His play, Peter and the Starcatcher, was nominated for nine Tony Awards and won five. He also wrote the book for The Addams Family and is currently working on Disney Theatrical's upcoming new musical adaptation of The Princess Bride.
ARLENE PHILLIPS (director) is one of Britain’s leading directors and choreographers behind musical mega brands including Saturday Night Fever, Starlight Express, Grease and We Will Rock You to name a few. Founding member of 1970s dance group ‘Hot Gossip’, she went on to choreograph for music legends including Freddie Mercury, Whitney Houston and Diana Ross, and for Hollywood. Her time as lead judge on BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing cemented her as one of Britain’s most recognisable entertainment legends, a status recognised with a CBE for services to dance.
OTI MABUSE (choreographer) is a champion dancer and choreographer; eight times South African Latin American Champion, and 2019 champion of both BBC’s The Greatest Dancer and Strictly Come Dancing, the two biggest dance shows on television. She was champion of Strictly Come Dancing again in 2020. She is a judge on the new ITV light entertainment show, The Masked Dancer. In 2019, she made her stage choreography debut for Tamasha Theatre Company’s production of Ain’t Misbehavin’ followed by Kiss Me Kate at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury.
GABRIELLA SLADE (costume designer) is the award-winning designer behind the unforgettable costumes of West End and Broadway musical Six and the force behind the Spice Girls’ reinvented look for their Spice World 2019 tour. She has designed recent West End productions of Curtains and The Importance of Being Earnest, as well as David Walliam’s Billionaire Boy and Lin Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights. She is also designing the costumes for the upcoming UK tour of Bedknobs and Broomsticks.