A biographic musical about the life of music and acting icon Cher is headed to Broadway in 2018 after a limited engagement run in Chicago.
Cher’s is one helluva long, nothing-to-something life story, perfect for a Broadway run. Come fall 2018, per Variety, The Cher Show will be seen at the Neil Simon Theatre on Broadway. Its world premiere will be during a Broadway warm up run at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre from June 12-15, 2018.
Cher’s life story is so enchantingly unique to create a compelling musical narrative. Born Cherilyn Sarkisian, she went from the proverbial rags, growing up poor and raised by a single mother, to the riches of teenage pop music success. Intrigue unfolds from here in two ways. By 20, her career took its first of many dips. And her career is multi-faceted.
She hit rock bottom in singing only to return to the mountaintop millions of record sales later. She made daring forays into acting, portraying hard scrabble women like her mother, winning an Oscar. She’s still rocking shows in Vegas at 71.
Cher also has a history of using her considerable platform as a cultural commentator, speaking up against racism and sexism.
One of Cher’s more daring exploits is one of her earliest. Her music video for her 1973 song “Half Breed” has her appearing on screen riding a horse dressed in a Native American headdress. At the time, the song came with a revelation that she was apparently Cherokee, but she hasn’t commented on this much since. It will be interesting to see how the musical incorporates this into the story — or if it does at all, since Cher’s career is, as we already discussed, really long. Some condensation might be needed here.
Oh, and there’s Sonny Bono, too. That’s pretty much everything you need for a show: poverty, success, romance, failure and transformation.
Deadline reports a musical murderer’s row of Broadway pros to pull off the story: Hamilton producer Jeffrey Sellers, Avenue Q director Jason Moore, Jersey Boys writer Rick Elice, and Newsies choreographer Christopher Gattelli.
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Plus, bio-anythings about music icons being a musical may seem a bit on the nose but seems perfect for Cher’s nearly life-long Hollywood life story.