The Cher Show At New Theatre, Cardiff Review

Reviewed by Mrs Taylor

“Do you believe in life after love”; well if you don’t then after this show you will! The Cher Show, a new musical is a dazzling spectacle with well choreographed dance routines, numerous sparkling costumes and fantastic singing voices.

I went to see this performance at Cardiff New Theatre which is a lovely little theatre and when I arrived at 7pm it was already incredibly busy with queues of people waiting to pick up tickets. My seat was in the Circle and I had a great view of the stage.

The musical is written by Tony award winning Rick Elice (with this UK production being directed by Arlene Phillips) and tells the story of Cher from a young girl with big dreams to the legend we know today and everything else in between. The role of Cher is played by three different characters as they all portray Cher at a different time in her life while also interacting with each other on what they have learnt.

Cher as ‘Babe’ is played by the fantastic Millie O’Connell who portrays the teenage years of Cher’s life. She is maybe more naive than the other versions and focuses on trying to fit in and then the beginning of her relationship with Sonny (played brilliantly by Lucas Rush).

Danielle Steers plays a sassy ‘Lady’ Cher and shows us the point in Cher’s life when The Sonny and Cher show was on and all the ups and downs with that relationship.

And finally the gorgeous Debbie Kurup played Cher as ‘Star’ and focuses on her time in Hollywood and touring as well as being independent but afraid of growing old.

Having three Cher’s really worked. I wasn’t sure how it would work, but it was a fantastic idea. Firstly you got to understand Cher’s viewpoint behind some of her most famous songs but it also gave you the opportunity to see how she developed and changed over the years. All three actresses were incredible and had the most amazing voices.

The stage was set up like a sort of dressing room with hundreds of dresses in their travelling bags and a huge array of mannequin heads with lots of different wigs. This was the backdrop for the majority of the performance until the end when you felt like you were at a Cher concert! Considering the set didn’t change that much during the performance it was really clever how the different time periods played out with each year being announced in a different way.

I don’t know about you but when I think of Cher I obviously think of her voice and then I think of her costumes. And this performance didn’t disappoint thanks to Gabriella Slade. Firstly all of the ensemble were in sailor costumes which were great and then the three Cher’s were in an array of glittery sparkling outfits. The costumes were incredible and just when you thought they couldn’t get any better they got even more impressive and over the top.

There was even the chance for a sing-a-long right at the end and the atmosphere in the theatre was incredible with pretty much everyone standing and singing along. I would highly recommend this show to anyone!

Rating: 5/5

Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes (inc. interval) starting at 7.30pm

At: New Theatre, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3LN

Ticket prices: £20 – £45.50 and may include a £3.65 transaction fee to your order

Tickets can be booked by visiting:

https://newtheatrecardiff.co.uk/Online/tickets-the-cher-show-cardiff-2022