Set to open this fall at the Neil Simon Theatre (current home of Angels in America), The Cher Show is putting its production and design teams into place. Before making its way to Broadway, the musical, which will feature several hit songs from the catalogue of Cher’s greatest hits, will have its world premiere at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre, running from June 12-July 15. Jason Moore (Avenue Q) is set to direct.
One of the inclusions amongst The Cher Show’s designers will be legendary costumer and fashion design extraordinaire, Bob Mackie. Mackie is perhaps best-known for his colorful and cartoonish designs for television’s The Carol Burnett Show. A designer to the stars, Bob Mackie has designed for Bette Midler, Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli, RuPaul, Mitzi Gaynor, and, of course, Cher herself. He also designed the costumes for the 1993 made-for-television adaptation of the musical Gypsy (starring Bette Midler).
The rest of the design team will include Christine Jones and Brett Banakis (sets), Kevin Adams (lighting), and Nevin Steinberg (sound). The creative team features book writer Rick Elice, with Christopher Gattelli providing choreography and Daryl Waters in charge of musical supervision.
The Cher Show will tell the story of pop music icon Cher, envisioning her life at three-different points in her career. Divided into stages titled “Babe,” “Lady,” and “Star,” the production will cast three-different actresses to portray her, one for each segment of the musical. Earlier incarnations of the show have included characters such as Cher’s ex-husband Sonny and costumer Bob Mackie.
Cher, who was born Cherilyn Sarkisian in 1946, escalated to stardom in 1965 with the song “I’ve Got You Babe”, performed with her then-husband Sonny Bono. The two starred in the popular television variety show The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (1971-1974). Cher has enjoyed a long solo career, with songs such as “Bang Bang,” “Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves,” “Dark Lady,” “If I Could Turn Back Time” and “Believe” among her major hits. She is an Academy Award-winning actress for her role in the film Moonstruck. Other film roles include Silkwood, Mask, and The Witches of Eastwick.
Casting and more-details regarding The Cher Show will be announced at a later-date.
Mark Robinson is the author of the two-volume encyclopedia The World of Musicals and maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.