THE CHER SHOW
Theatre Royal Brighton’s stage is undeniably small, small but in my view perfectly formed. But last night it took on a grandeur with a production that made that stage seem huge. The clever set that soared into the fly tower, the simplicity and yet adaptability of the structure and the monochrome palette gave what was to appear on that stage, for the most part, the space to really shine.
And shine it did. The Cher Show is far more than a juke-box musical, it is a bio-show and one that has chosen as its subject one of the most colourful and iconic of performers. Written by Rick Elice, who co-authored the international hit Jersey Boys, this is once again a brilliant telling, warts and all, of the story behind a pop phenomenon, the rise and fall and rise and fall… well the real life ups and downs of Cher both on stage and off.
To capture all this across her six decades of chart, TV and film successes is a tall order and one that demands a clever theatrical device. Hence three incarnations of Cher, Babe, Lady and Star, all present, all relating two the older one throughout. But more of them later as this cast was peppered with talent.
Cher’s sassy mother is finely delivered by Tori Scott, such a strong voice that I would have liked to hear more. At last night’s performance Sonny was played by Guy Woolf and no one would have suspected that he was a stand in. Jake Mitchell’s Bob Mackie was screamingly camp and outrageous, a real delight and Sam Ferriday took on four roles with convincing skill and charm, well maybe not so much charm as he had to deliver a vision of Phil Spector and a drug addled Greg Allman, but all fine performances.
The large ensemble looked great in their black studded sailor suits but were somewhat let down by some rather messy moments in the choreography which, in a generous mood I will blame in part on the routines being just too big for the TRB’s small stage, hence a bit of bumping into rather than bump and grind.
Last but not least to the principals and in this list I include Arlene Phillips who has directed with skill (I can’t imagine why she handed over the choreography to Oti Mabuse, Gabriella Slade’s sparkling costumes and Tom Rogers’ excellent set with its spectacular final transformation.
Then there are the Chers, Babe is played by Millie O’Connell who arrives onstage on a tricycle before becoming the gawky and shy teenager who suddenly reveals this booming and dark vocal talent, totally brilliant. Lady is played Danielle Steers and takes on Cher when her inherited sass comes into play and again she does so with real power, a second stunning vocal display.
Star, the fully grown up Cher, has the largest range of emotions to play, always present, talking to her former self throughout as her career and private life lurches from high to low. Debbie Kurup is no stranger to playing demanding roles and man can the woman sing, too right she can! None of them are charged with doing straight forward impersonations of Cher but all of them capture an essence of the woman as she has adapted to the changing pop cultures spanning those decades.
This is a full on hit of a show that has the audience reverentially gripped throughout, we are asked not to sing along at the start, and obediently we go along with that and treat it as a play with songs rather than the all too familiar “gig”style juke-box musicals that have become so common. Of course at the end we are actively encouraged, for the final reprise, to stand up and join in, and almost to a person, we do so finally leaving the theatre in the conviction that there is life after love.
Andrew Kay 1/11/22
Theatre Royal Brighton
[rating: 4.5]
