"The Cher Show" — a fully authorized, biographically oriented, musical celebrating the life, works and times of the iconoclastic cultural phenomenon with the Academy Award and the 50-year-plus music career — is headed toward Broadway.
The show will premiere next June with a five-week run in Chicago before moving to the Neil Simon Theatre in New York in the fall.
It is expected to include a bevy of colorful, real-life, boldfaced characters from Bob Mackie to David Geffen and Robert Altman to Sigmund Freud, not to mention the late Sonny Bono and the late Gregg Allman, both of whom were married to Cher. Worked into the life story will be the 71-year-old actress/singer's eclectic catalog of hits: "I Got You Babe," "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves," "Take Me Home," "Believe," and "If I Could Turn Back Time."
Three actresses of varied ages (yet to be announced) will play the different stages of Cher in the show, which is being written by Rick Elice ("Jersey Boys"). The choreography is by Christopher Gattelli ("Newsies"), and Jason Moore ("Avenue Q") is the director. It is being produced by Flody Suarez and Jeffrey Seller, the producer of "Hamilton."
Cher, by many accounts, has been intensely involved.
"Having my life told in a musical is both exhilarating and terrifying," she said in a prepared statement. "But Rick says that's what makes great theater."
Among the many achievements of the performer born Cherilyn Sarkisian: the selling of over 100 million records, an Academy Award for "Moonstruck" and a 1970s TV show, "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Show," each episode of which attracted an audience of 30 million. In more recent years, she has been known for her enthusiastic embrace of activism and Twitter.
