Review: THE CHER SHOW, Opera House Manchester - UK tour
Photo credit: Pamela Raith
Globally renowned singer and actress Cher has certainly had a whirlwind of a career in the music and film industries, and what better way to share the story of her life with the world than a musical theatre extravaganza.
The Cher Show turns back time from the modern day to the 1950s to show a young Cherilyn, as she was still known by as a child, and her life with her mother, and the show’s timeline progresses through the decades to give the audience a glance into the public and private life of Cher across the years.
You may wonder who has been tasked with playing the iconic Cher herself, but with The Cher Show, audiences get three leading ladies for the price of one. The three variants of Cher are played by Debbie Kurup, Danielle Steers, and Millie O’Connell, whom have each been named Star, Lady, and Babe respectively.
Cher has an instantly recognisable rich contralto singing voice, and all three of the actresses portraying her have truly mastered singing in Cher’s unique style, with such a likeness that at times you may even question whether the performers are lip syncing to recordings of the actual Cher, but we can assure you that all of the vocals are in fact live and that Kurup, Steers, and O’Connell really are that skilled vocally.
Each actress portrays Cher at different stages of her life and career, but all three remain a prominent part of the show throughout as they represent the thoughts inside Cher’s mind during each moment of her life being showcased by whichever version of Cher has the spotlight at that time.
There are a couple of moments where one of the Chers and a member of the supporting cast have some bold and slightly questionable choices for their character portrayal, but it is unclear as to whether these are character choices by the actors themselves or directorial choices. That being said, those moments are miniscule and do not take away from the fact that the whole company have been perfectly cast and that the direction from Strictly Come Dancing legend Arlene Phillips is truly magnificent.
Combining Phillips’s artistic vision, Rick Elice’s witty writing and the chemistry between the trio of Cher performers, every scene really flows seamlessly into one another and all three of the Chers’ interact with each other in a clever and engaging way, and although it sounds as if things could get confusing with three Chers onstage at once, Phillips’ direction has made it clear and easy to interpret.
The creative team of The Cher Show features another Strictly Come Dancing star with Oti Mabuse as the show’s choreographer. Mabuse is certainly a strong Latin American dancer from being an eight-time champion in her home of South Africa, however she has not restricted herself to this one style of dance for her choreography for The Cher Show. With over thirty songs in the show, Mabuse has had a lot of songs to work with and has created various routines in a mixture of styles, including but certainly not limited to commercial, ballroom and Fosse jazz, really demonstrating her skills as a versatile choreographer.
Production elements of the show are excellent and really help to bring Cher’s world to life. Designer Tom Rogers’ main set of the show creates the scene of the backstage area at a performance arena where the wings are lined with racks of garment bags, and downstage the stage is bordered by shelves of dozens of wigs. Each of the wigs are unique and have been designed by Sam Cox and inspired by some of Cher’s most iconic looks, so any die-hard Cher fans will have a thrill spotting hairstyles from their favourite Cher looks.
Costumes designed by Gabriella Slade really capture the essence of Cher as they are inspired by some of her most recognisable outfits, with added sparkle to really dazzle audiences. A spotlight needs to be shone on Ben Cracknell, lighting designer of The Cher Show, as the lighting was phenomenal from start to finish. Some say good stage lighting is when it doesn’t draw attention to itself, but in the case of The Cher Show, you can’t help but be in awe of the show-stopping lighting design, and it allows the show to really build to the spectacular finale.
The Cher Show tells the story of music industry legend Cher with the highs and lows of her life to the soundtrack of her own music. As an individual, Cher has inspired so many people through her music, her personality and her outfits amongst many other things, and this show-stopping new musical enables fans to relive her story over and over again, and is “strong enough” to inspire a whole new generation who are yet to learn about the life of the iconic Cher.
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: Jess Dalloway
The Cher Show plays at the Opera House in Manchester until 21 May before continuing its UK tour. Tickets for select touring venues can be purchased here.