Jake Mitchell Archives - North West End UK

3Aug

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

The Cher Show – Birmingham Hippodrome

35 smash hits - one pop goddess screams the strap-line for “The Cher Show” and, I think, they may well be right. Cher is an iconic goddess descending from pop heaven to regenerate herself both artistically and physiologically many times over her astounding life on earth. She may not be able to claim to be an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) but she has accumulated an Emmy, Grammy and Oscar - you can work out the acronym yourself. From stepping into producer Phil Spector’s office in 1962 and saying “Hi” to stepping off the Abbacopter in 2018 and saying, “Mes enfants, je suis arrive!” it has been a rollercoaster career in all manner of media from film to TV to music to stage. A career many may think too implausible to capture in a simple stage musical. Well, they’d be wrong… Not one, n...

The Cher Show – Opera House, Manchester

After six decades of a career encompassing pop and film stardom, political activism and television success, it was a no-brainer that the life of Cherilyn Sarkasian, aka Cher, would eventually make the transition to a stage musical. Now, the 2018 Broadway show (with a significant overhaul courtesy of Leicester Curve Theatre) lands at Opera House in Manchester to a rapturous reception on press night. The audience here is knowledgeable and primed (unlike at Sunderland Empire, where people left the theatre when they realised it wasn't Cher performing!) and they were not to be disappointed in the depth of detail with which the show represents her early life. Cher has long been a spokesperson for LGBTQ+ rights and her story of early marginalisation, mistreatment and oppression is a story that...

The Cher Show – Hull New Theatre

People may think the life of a theatre reviewer is one of freebies - free show tickets, free programmes, free interval drinks. But every so often, expenses are incurred and that was my lot after watching The Cher Show at the Hull New Theatre on Tuesday evening. The expenses? Well, I enjoyed the spectacular so much, back home I downloaded every Cher hit I could find - and, at 99p a pop, it created a sizeable dent in my pocket money! But I will get such enjoyment listening to Cher’s songs after being reminded of her wonderful career so far, in a glittering show that did more than justice to her musical legacy. Aided and abetted by a very atmospheric stage setting, lighting and live music from a talented group of musicians, plus, costumes to absolutely die for throughout, the stor...