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| THE CHER SHOW Tonight | |
| Last Edit: sergius 11:33 pm EST 11/28/18 | |
| Posted by: sergius 11:32 pm EST 11/28/18 | |
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| As is the custom with this type of musical, all is narrated, nothing dramatized. And so we have the usual problem: the audience must routinely be told who someone is ("I'm not wrong, I'm Robert Altman") or what has happened ("Are you really dead, Sonny?"). And between impoverished authorial declarations like these, there are the songs you've come to hear and plenty of platitudes you didn't. THE CHER SHOW is better than SUMMER, but barely. What's good about it--and the only reason to see it--is Stephanie J. Block who, apart from achieving an entirely credible and largely camp-less impersonation of Cher, does wonders with absolutely nothing to work with. It's sort of amazing. But beyond her dazzle, there's just a steady stream of dreck. Along with the atrocious writing, there's terrible choreography and two other Chers--tripartite divas being some kind of trend these days--who just look lazy and way out of their (depthless) depth next to Block. Cher's life cannot possibly have been as banal, as sheer as what's on stage here. THE CHER SHOW is the kind of bottom of the barrel entertainment that Broadway is increasingly, dispiritingly crowded with. | |
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| What if Block had been allowed to play all of the Chers? | |
| Posted by: Delvino 12:11 pm EST 11/30/18 | |
| In reply to: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - sergius 11:32 pm EST 11/28/18 | |
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| ...With maybe a "Follies" conceit of silent versions of younger selves? Wouldn't we buy it, and wouldn't it be more thrilling with a central performance that dared to "turn back time" at every turn in the story, and inhabit her own life? What if it had dared to be more like "Piaf," or {fill in the blank}. I'm stupified that we've had two shows about pop divas employing the same technique. I can't believe this team didn't analyze this triptych construct more closely -- maybe look at the Summer spectacle and say "but we're better than that," and daringly deduce that one at a time in the same decade might be the rule, but surely not two in overlapping seasons is death, possibly to both. Maybe I'm cynical. | |
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| re: What if Block had been allowed to play all of the Chers? | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 07:55 pm EST 11/30/18 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 07:54 pm EST 11/30/18 | |
| In reply to: What if Block had been allowed to play all of the Chers? - Delvino 12:11 pm EST 11/30/18 | |
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| The title of your post is the key to the problem. There aren't "all of the Chers" - there is, in reality, one Cher. The show, and the show alone, decided to make her some sort of holy trinity lol. So, the answer, in my view, is that one actress should have played Cher. Period. The gimmick of having 3 of them just isn't necessary. |
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| re: What if Block had been allowed to play all of the Chers? | |
| Posted by: ashleylm 02:28 pm EST 12/03/18 | |
| In reply to: re: What if Block had been allowed to play all of the Chers? - Chromolume 07:54 pm EST 11/30/18 | |
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| The gimmick of having 3 of them just isn't necessary I thought it worked, but I also thought it may have been necessitated by the costumes' being so elaborate. One Cher can do a scene leading up to, say, the Oscar presentation, while another Cher enrobes. |
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| I felt summer was nothing more than Vegas entertainment | |
| Last Edit: dramedy 11:14 am EST 11/29/18 | |
| Posted by: dramedy 11:12 am EST 11/29/18 | |
| In reply to: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - sergius 11:32 pm EST 11/28/18 | |
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| Slick production numbers with a thin veil of a plot. Cher tried to be more but is a bigger failure because it didn’t succeed. Someone posted yesterday that Cher might follow summer trajectory and looking at the grosses, summer (spring opening) was $1m plus until July and began dropping rather quickly. Cher (fall opening) probably will last longer in the $1m club but I doubt much beyond next summer and Cher didn’t sell out last week for thanksgiving which is a surprise (75% capacity and actually dropped $100k from previous week). Cher could have been so much better but the real controversial stuff wasn’t addressed or only briefly shown. | |
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| re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - I disagree | |
| Posted by: Cainebj 07:59 am EST 11/29/18 | |
| In reply to: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - sergius 11:32 pm EST 11/28/18 | |
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| I disagree. I enjoyed The Cher Show although I think it has it's ups and downs and there were some things that happened in her life that I had no idea about and found kindof fascinating. No spoilers but the entire circumstances around the Sonny and Cher show was news to me. Some of the choreography is really quite wonderful. The Dark Lady number in Act II is the one that stands out for me. I wish I could go back to watch JUST that number. The entire sequence set to The Beat Goes On and how they use that to tell Cher's entire movie career was inventive & wonderful. The Bob Mackie parade of costumes is stunning. Stephanie J. Block grew on me and I thought to myself wow she really can sing in Act II - but in the first half hour of Act I? I don't know - maybe I was getting accustomed to the Cher impersonation, but in that first half hour I was not thinking that highly of her... You seem to be taking delight in trashing the show - when - it's not that bad and if you like Cher you will enjoy The Cher Show. |
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| re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - I disagree | |
| Posted by: ashleylm 12:17 pm EST 11/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - I disagree - Cainebj 07:59 am EST 11/29/18 | |
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| I enjoyed The Cher Show although I think it has it's ups and downs The examples you cite--"Dark Lady," "The Beat Goes On," the Costume Parade--all thrilled me. I don't mind putting up with some exposition if I actually get, every 20 minutes or so, genuine thrills. For those lamenting exposition, I have to counter with the argument that there's nothing wrong with it: it's a different style, not a lesser method of dramatization. Many shows employ both (from the Greeks onward!) Jersey Boys had its share of exposition (compared to, say, On Your Feet, which IIRC didn't), and I preferred Jersey Boys. Pacific Overtures has exposition, and Glory Days didn't. One method is more artificial/theatrical, the other is more realistic/naturalistic, but that's a difference in kind, not a difference in level of achievement. |
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| re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - I disagree | |
| Posted by: ryhog 02:02 pm EST 11/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - I disagree - ashleylm 12:17 pm EST 11/29/18 | |
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| It's like anything else: when the show is good, it's good; when the show is bad, it's bad. There are innumerable examples of outstanding narration in plays and musicals; it's a storytelling tool. That it is often employed by the lazy does not erase its effectiveness overall. Once again, recall, there are no rules. | |
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| re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - I disagree | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 02:26 pm EST 11/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - I disagree - ryhog 02:02 pm EST 11/29/18 | |
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| "It's like anything else: when the show is good, it's good; when the show is bad, it's bad. There are innumerable examples of outstanding narration in plays and musicals; it's a storytelling tool. That it is often employed by the lazy does not erase its effectiveness overall. Once again, recall, there are no rules." Right, and on a closely related note, it's always a mistake to make huge generalizations. |
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| re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - I disagree | |
| Last Edit: Ann 08:59 am EST 11/29/18 | |
| Posted by: Ann 08:48 am EST 11/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - I disagree - Cainebj 07:59 am EST 11/29/18 | |
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| I see no delight in the original post (except when describing Stephanie J. Block), or that sentiment with that poster's show reports in general. They are very straightforward, even when we don't agree with the opinion (and that's not the royal "we" - I sometimes don't agree). | |
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| re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight | |
| Posted by: PlazaBoy 12:38 am EST 11/29/18 | |
| In reply to: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - sergius 11:32 pm EST 11/28/18 | |
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| I agree with you, at least based on what I saw in Chicago. However, I did enjoy the youngest Cher, Micaela Diamond. I think she is a star in the making. | |
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| re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight | |
| Posted by: ryhog 12:24 am EST 11/29/18 | |
| In reply to: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - sergius 11:32 pm EST 11/28/18 | |
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| to be fair, it is not ALL narrated, but the writing is about as flat footed as imaginable. I guess I liked the performers somewhat more than you, but bottom of the barrel I agree. | |
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| re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight | |
| Posted by: summertheater 12:14 am EST 11/29/18 | |
| In reply to: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - sergius 11:32 pm EST 11/28/18 | |
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| Would you compare it to Jersey Boys (which I hated) since the entire plot was narrated there too? | |
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| re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 02:45 am EST 11/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - summertheater 12:14 am EST 11/29/18 | |
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| Let’s talk about something important. What’s the holiday schedule for the E train next month? I’m guessing it’s a disaster. If THE CHER SHOW starts any later than 5pm, the producers are horrible people. Sales will suffer. Also- does anyone know if I’m allowed to bring a bottle of water and show up 15 minutes late? | |
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| re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight | |
| Posted by: schlepper 01:04 pm EST 11/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - KingSpeed 02:45 am EST 11/29/18 | |
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| Water, yes. 15 minutes late, OK. BUT -- if you dare to get up to pee during the show and then try to go back to your seat, may god have mercy on your soul. You will be severely flogged! PS --- Special Xmas Week promotion --- the producers will be providing private door-to-door car service for anyone who may be inconvenienced by the MTA schedule. :-) |
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| re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight | |
| Posted by: summertheater 07:45 am EST 11/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - KingSpeed 02:45 am EST 11/29/18 | |
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| Let's hope you never get stuck on a subway train for well over an hour (in between stops), as has happened to me several times over the past year. Or you never have to be at a show at a time when the subway is shut down due to an incident, and the only alternative is the bus (where there are thousands of people waiting for one bus that runs every 20-30 minutes) or walking 4 miles to the nearest subway that is running. I will wait to see the Cher Show until the 7pm curtains start and when the show is a "finished product". I don't like seeing dress rehearsals that start at 8pm (also known as previews) when I hear there are many many changes being made to the show. | |
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| re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight | |
| Posted by: schlepper 01:47 pm EST 11/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - summertheater 07:45 am EST 11/29/18 | |
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| And I assume that those "4 miles to the nearest subway" that you have to walk are uphill -- both ways! Summertheater, I'm still waiting for you to publish a collection of all of your rants. They would make a wonderful coffee table book! |
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| re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 12:39 am EST 11/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - summertheater 12:14 am EST 11/29/18 | |
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| Maybe you were exaggerating for effect, but it's not true that the entire plot of JERSEY BOYS is narrated. I would say that, at absolute most, 20 percent of the plot is narrated, and probably considerably less than that. | |
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| re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight | |
| Posted by: ryhog 01:19 am EST 11/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - Michael_Portantiere 12:39 am EST 11/29/18 | |
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| and as I point out above, Cher is likewise not wholly narrated (not even close). Hyperbole seems to be the literary device of choice for describing narration around here. We went through something similar with Hamilton. | |
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| re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 10:40 am EST 11/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: THE CHER SHOW Tonight - ryhog 01:19 am EST 11/29/18 | |
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| "Hyperbole seems to be the literary device of choice for describing narration around here. " yes. I understand hyperbole and exaggeration for effect, but usually it backfires, so I try to avoid it :-) |
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