Emily Warner (she/her) reviews The Cher Show at the Grand Opera House, York.
I am ashamed to admit that before seeing this show, I didn’t know a lot about Cher (I’ll just give all the Cher fans out there a moment to recover). To me, Cher was just a singer with eccentric outfits, an unusually deep voice and Mamma Mia’s newest opportunity to namedrop. I settled into my seat with a vague sense of imposter syndrome, as the people on either side of me excitedly regaled the experience of seeing Cher live, and waited for something – I wasn’t sure what – to begin. It’s safe to say that I left the same theatre two and a half hours later considering myself a newly discovered Cher fan.
As a dazzling tribute to the singer, actress and television personality, the musical doesn’t disappoint. Any show that strives to represent someone so beloved and so recognisable faces many potential pitfalls; especially with an audience salivating over performances by the real Cher. How will the show remain true to her character? How will it prevent slipping into caricature or straying too far from the truth? The answer to these questions came in the form of not one, but three Chers. Initially I was sceptical of this choice. However, for an icon dubbed the ‘Queen of Reinvention’, it worked perfectly to demonstrate Cher’s maturation over the course of her career.
The youngest Cher, played by Millie O’Connell and nicknamed ‘Babe’, encapsulated Cher in the 50s and 60s. With blue-painted eyelids and a youthful inability to sit still, Millie O’Connell managed to capture the wide-eyed innocence of a young Cher, desperate to be famous. Bullied in childhood for her Armenian genes, we watch as Cher grows from a shy, insecure child into an ambitious young adult, thanks to the guiding influence and high-heeled independence of her mother Georgia (played by Tori Scott). I couldn’t help but feel at times that the childish insecurity of Cher was overwrought; surely there was more to her childhood than lamenting bullies to her mother? Then again, establishing Cher against this backdrop of abandonment (by the man she called ‘father’) and abuse (by her peers), explains her persistent infatuation with Sonny Bono (played by understudy, Guy Woolf) and some of the later insecurities that surface during the play.
If Millie O’Connell is ‘innocence’, then Danielle Steers playing Cher in the 70s is ‘confidence’. She stormed her way onto the stage, clad in a variety of shimmering outfits with a voice that filled the theatre. This Cher, nicknamed ‘Lady’, supplants the last and represents Cher’s career on the Sonny & Cher Show, as a TV personality. However, behind the confident exterior, the false eyelashes and the fame, we become increasingly aware that ‘Lady’s’ life is not the dream it appears. The middle part of the show delicately vacillates between the highs and lows of the entertainment industry, careful not to glorify Cher’s fame without acknowledging its risks. Danielle Steers movingly portrays Cher’s gradual disillusionment with fame, as exhaustion descends. She tires of the unending cycle of performances; the return to her hotel room, removal of her makeup and repetition of the same routine the next day. Alongside this, her marriage crumbles and Cher seems progressively powerless on a stage dominated by men. The culmination of these pressures reaches its climax in a masterful performance of ‘All I Ever Need is You’ in which Sonny and Cher argue behind the scenes, while singing a jaunty song for their viewers. Although ironic, this song also exposes the very real facade that is fame.
Debbie Kurup, known as ‘Star’, presented the 80s and 90s Cher and brought a refreshing maturity to the role. The concerns of the show shifted in the final section, pivoting away from fame towards Cher’s personal life; her relationships after Sonny, her children and the reappearance of her mother. We watch as she tortuously tries to balance fame and privacy, ultimately being forced to confront the sacrifice that stardom demands; her freedom. As much as this revelation contributes a melancholic tone to the show, Cher is irrevocably bound to her career. From the moment she changed her name from Cherilyn to Cher and set her sights in the stars, Cher became an icon.
The show came to a majestic conclusion as all three Cher’s returned for a powerful last song. Apparently endowed with every glittering accessory the costume designers could find, this song reminded the audience that her legacy maintains its shining allure. The audience demonstrated this with an eclectic combination of dance moves, hand clapping and attempts to sing along. Even after the curtain fell, the atmosphere did not subside and I found myself humming ‘Believe’ for days to come. Having all three Chers contribute to this final mash-up illustrates that she is a culmination of her life’s experiences; she is innocent, confident and mature. Every choice she makes, as is true of all people, is informed by all the iterations of herself. This show ultimately shows that no person is unchanging but equally we cannot escape from our pasts; we must accept and grow with every piece of ourselves.