Reviewed by Jodie Crawford
Opening Night verdict ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’m not sure what I was expecting from “The Cher Show”; but it certainly wasn’t what I got. I have never ever considered myself to be a fan of Cher’s music, but what I learned tonight is that my entire life has been punctuated by Cher songs. You do not realise just how many Cher songs you know until you hear approximately 35 of them and you know every single one.
The success of this show is the clever use of the three versions of Cher: Star (Debbie Kurup), Lady (Danielle Steers) and Babe (Millie O’Connell). These characters share with us the life story of this incredibly courageous and successful woman – The legend that is Cher.
They take us on a journey together, each representing a different period of Chers life, romantically, professionally, musically and stylistically. But these women are not karaoke versions or impersonators of Cher: yes they each use Cher’s well known mannerisms, such as the hair flick and the sway, but each of them showcase their own talent in their performances, and their talent is MIGHTY.
You cannot compare them to each other, they each stand out for their performances in equal measure. The script, the choreography and the costumes for each are perfection. Each performer supports the other and together they are magical.
The whole cast is spectacular – when Lucas Rush sang his first note as Sonny I was left speechless, his comic timing and chemistry with all three versions of Cher was marvellous. Tori Scott as Cher’s mother was kind, funny and engaging. Special mention to Jake Mitchell as fashion designer Bob Mackie, an all-round performer who the audience loved! I’m embarrassed to say that I had no ideas that Sam Ferriday played as many roles as he did until the curtain call when only one of his characters appeared – four characters played in one production so sleekly is a triumph.
The whole production is intelligent and original. Tom Rogers set design is simple, but powerful. The use of the ensemble to guide us through the eras worked really well. Wigs, hair, make up and costume are all outstanding, everything was flawless. I’m sure Cher herself will be putting in a special request to have some of the outfits flown out to her.
The audience were informed at the beginning of the show that the singing should be left to the cast until the finale – most took this on board, but some just couldn’t help themselves, even I had to hold back when “strong enough” came on!
And then we had the finale – and what a finale it was. It was hands down the finale of all finales, and Manchester lapped it up. Everyone was up on their feet, there was dancing in the aisles, singing along and cheering for the cast and the wonderful orchestration.
Arlene Phillips, Rick Elise and Oti Mabuse have created something magical here, something that will delight audiences again and again and perhaps just give us all a little bit of Cher in our lives when we need it most.
A special little mention to the proud husband of Debbie Kurup, who was sitting behind us, his knowledge of Chers music during the interval was incredible and much appreciated for this Cher convert!
The Cher Show is on at Manchester’s Opera House until Saturday 21st May, tickets available here.
Opening Night 