Tag: The Cher Show

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The 73rd Annual Tony Awards Tonight On CBS

I was a member of the theater community years before I realized I was also part of the LGBTQ community.

As a young kid, I found the theater to be a safe space. Wondering, pretending, working hard to acquire skills I would eventually take pride in – these were all things that helped me become the man I am today. 

Hey hey – check that word ‘pride’
And it was in that community that I discovered an extended family that became even closer to me than my birth family.

I was fortunate to spend decades working professionally in the theater, and specifically on ‘the Broad Way.’

I think it’s awesome that the Tony Awards, theater’s biggest night, falls during Pride Month. My two worlds celebrating at the same time, and both with a sense of pride and community.

I’m looking forward to watching the telecast on CBS tonight for several reasons.

Having appeared in Broadway productions (Chicago the Musical, Follies, Hello, Dolly!) I can tell you when you’re working on a show that’s nominated – and especially when your show wins – there is a sense of pride in the work you’ve accomplished that always gave me a lump in my throat and my heart beat a bit faster.

Tonight, as theater hands out its highest honor, I’ll be cheering as so many of my friends and extended family are recognized for the incredible work they bring to the Great White Way.

And there are several LGBTQ-themed productions and out actors in the mix to take home Tonys tonight.

The Prom, a ground-breaking musical comedy about a midwestern high school student who is told she can’t bring her lesbian girlfriend to the prom received 7 nominations including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Director as well as Best Leading Actor/Musical for Brooks Ashmanskas and two Best Leading Actress/Musical noms for Beth Leavel and Caitlin Kinnunen.

The production already won the Drama Desk Award for “Best Musical” so you can bet it’s in the hunt for the top trophy.

Choir Boy, a coming-of-age story that follows a gay choir leader at a boarding school for black men by Moonlight’s Tarell Alvin McCraney, received 5 nominations including Best Play and Best Leading Actor/Play (Jeremy Pope).

Two acclaimed LGBTQ-themed revivals of plays – The Boys in the Band and Torch Song – were nominated for Best Revival of a Play. Even though Boys had an all-star cast, only Robin De Jesús scored a nomination for his performance.

The Cher Show, which chronicles the life and music of the one and only Cher, was shut out of the Best Musical category but received 3 nominations (Best Actress/Musical, Best Costumes/Musical and Best Lighting Design/Musical). Stephanie J. Block scored the Drama Desk Award for “Outstanding Actress in a Musical.”

Additionally, Judith Light will be honored with the Isabelle Stevenson Award, which is given “to an individual from the theatre community who has made a substantial contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of one or more humanitarian, social service or charitable organizations, regardless of whether such organizations relate to the theatre.”

Two-time Tony Award winner Judith Light
Already a two-time Tony Award winner for Other Desert Cities and The Assembled Parties, Light will receive the honorary award for her decades of work on behalf of the LGBTQ community and HIV/AIDS advocacy.

“The HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ communities are inspirations and demonstrations of how to be and live in the world; courageous, honorable, and uplifting,” said Light in a statement.

“They inspire me and it is my privilege to be of service to them,” she added. “I am humbled by this recognition from my theater family, whom I so respect, honor, and love.”

I stopped making predictions long ago, but it does seem the artsy Hadestown has found many fans in the race for “Best Musical,” although the show was not nominated in that category at the Drama Desk Awards.

And ok, I lied – I’ll make one prediction for Stephanie J. Block to take home a Tony for her impressive turn as ‘Star’ Cher in The Cher Show. (Three actresses play the Oscar winner at different stages of her life/career).

Block has a huge body of work the already includes two Tony nominations, her performance was easily one of the best on Broadway this season, and she’s very well liked by the theater community.

Note – The New York Times reports this interesting factoid about tonight’s proceedings:

“This year, for the first time, voters are receiving personalized electronic ballots based on their self-reported attendance, meaning that they cannot vote in categories in which they have not confirmed seeing all the nominees. As a result, the number of ballots cast, particularly in play categories, is likely to be smaller than in past years.”

So, keep that in mind when you enjoy the telecast.

The 73rd Annual Tony Awards will be broadcast on CBS beginning at 8pm EST hosted by The Late Late Show’s James Corden.

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‘The Cher Show’ Opens On Broadway Complete With The Diva Herself Onstage


 The Cher Show, a new musical chronicling the life and career of the Oscar, Grammy and Emmy Award winner opened last night at the Neil Simon Theater on Broadway.

Starring Stephanie J. Block, Teal Wicks, and Micaela Diamond as the diva in different periods of her life, the production is directed by Jason Moore (Shrek the Musical), choreographed by Tony Award winner Chris Gattelli (Newsies) and features a book by Rick Elice (Jersey Boys).

The critics appeared to be mixed in their assessment of the production.

The New York Times’ Jesse Green:

There’s a fine line between tacky and spectacular. In creating costumes for Cher over the years – costumes that often tell the story of a shy woman emerging triumphant from a chrysalis – the designer Bob Mackie has kept on the right side of the line by making sure the level of craft supports the extravagance of the gesture. Sadly that’s not the case with “The Cher Show,” the maddening mishmash of a new musical that opened on Monday at the Neil Simon Theater. Except for the dozens of eye-popping outfits Mr. Mackie gorgeously recreates for the occasion, it’s all gesture, no craft: dramatically threadbare and surprisingly unrevealing.

The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney:

Is the show good? Certainly not in the sense of traditional musical-theater craft. Would I see it again? Duh, already planning on it. Director Jason Moore’s production, which breaks new frontiers on Broadway for bare midriffs, underboobs, wigs and paillettes, unashamedly embraces its abundance of trashy-flashy, tacky vintage-Vegas kitsch. But it’s also slyly fabulous and imbued with a plucky feminist spirit that’s quite stirring, basically recounting the story of how the innately shy Cherilyn Sarkisian stopped letting men tell her what to do and found the strength to run her own show.

The New York Post’s Joe Dziemianowicz:

Granted, the jukebox musical that opened on Broadway Monday night has some clumsy and dopey dialogue. The story – a 50-50 mix of narration (yawn) and not-quite-skin-deep dramatization – tracing the pop goddess’ personal and professional ups and downs won’t surprise those with even a passing knowledge of Cher. Or access to Wikipedia. Still, it’s thrilling watching the 72-year-old diva’s rags-to-riches-and-back-again life woven by wall-to-wall hits – “Bang Bang,” “The Beat Goes On,” “Half-Breed” and “Believe,” among them.

In addition to the drama onstage, there was also a bit of Twitter drama as well.

In attendance for the grand opening night were Kim Kardashian and hubby Kanye West, who apparently forgot that the actors onstage can see the audience.

Actor Jarrod Spector, who plays Sonny Bono in the show, took to Twitter to call out West for staring down at his phone during the show:

For his part, West did respond directly to that tweet with kind words about the show:

That said, according to sources, the audience did have a fab time at the premiere. Not only did the attendees experience the storytelling of Broadway, but the diva herself got onstage.

Cher surprised the audience by joining the cast for the curtain call, and even sang with Broadway veteran Stephanie Block on “If I Could Turn Back Time.” Watch below.

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Do You Believe? ‘The Cher Show’ Opens In Chicago

chershow.jpg
The three stars of ‘The Cher Show’
(photo: Joan Marcus)

Do you believe?

 The Cher Show, the new Broadway-bound jukebox musical chronicling the life and career of superstar Cher, opened this week at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre.

The musical stars Teal Wicks, Micaela Diamond, and Tony Award nominee Stephanie J. Block, who play the iconic actress/singer at three different stages in luminous life and career.

Tony nominee Jason Moore (Avenue Q) directs and the dances are handled by Tony Award-winner Christopher Gattelli (Newsies). Legendary fashion designer Bob Mackie, who has clothed Cher since 1967, is on costume duty and receiving rave reviews for his work.

Cher herself snuck into Chicago to take in the show and shared her review with the Chicago Tribune saying, “Some parts of it are really fabulous. We’re going to work on the other parts. In many parts, it was much, much better than I thought it would be. And there were no parts where I wanted to gouge my eyes out.”

“It needs work. I’m not supposed to say that but I don’t care,” she added.

A post shared by The Cher Show (@thechershow) on Jun 25, 2018 at 10:42am PDT

Theater critics weighed in as well.

Miriam Di Nunzio, writing for the Chicago Sun Times: What emerges from “The Cher Show” is the portrait of an artist – from an insecure teenager who started her career worshipping at the feet of Sonny Bono, to one who gradually and out of necessity emerged as a fiercely independent and strong woman, who realized she was and is second to none. Cher may have sung “All I Ever Need Is You” alongside her beloved “Son,” but truth is, she had all she needed to succeed, deep down inside her. There may not have been a Cher had there not first been a Sonny & Cher. Sonny made a brand out of Cher, but she was born a powerhouse. “The Cher Show” reminds us why America fell in love with the dynamic duo. And why so many will always believe in Cher.

Steven Oxman for Variety: The real star of the show, though, turns out not to be the stars of the show, nor the music, but Bob Mackie’s costumes (he is both the show’s designer and a character), many simply the fantastic fashions he created for Cher throughout her career. They inject needed drama and flash and performative excitement, and generate by far the biggest audience reaction when carefully revealed by director Jason Moore.

The supporting cast include Tony Award nominees Michael Berresse as “Mackie,” Jarrod Spector as “Sonny Bono, and Emily Skinner as Cher’s mother, “Georgia Holt.”

The production runs through July 15 at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago with Broadway performances beginning November 1 at the Neil Simon Theatre and an official opening night December 3.

Jukebox musicals, based on the catalog of a popular artist, have been hits and misses on the Great White Way.

While Mamma Mia (Abba), Jersey Boys (The Four Seasons), and Beautiful (Carole King) have done bank at the Broadway box office, other shows like Good Vibrations (The Beach Boys), Escape to Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffett) and Lennon (John Lennon) found little love and closed fairly quickly.