There are those icons who are so big, so transcendent that they’re known by their first names only: Beyonce. Shakira. Madonna.
Before any of them, there was Cher: Pop star. TV star. Fashion icon. Oscar-winning movie star.
It’s been more than 60 years since Sonny & Cher hit the pop charts with “I Got You Babe,” but it’s not like Cher has gone anywhere. Just a few weeks shy of her 80th birthday (on May 20), she’s reportedly planning a “One Last Ride” farewell tour and will publish part two of her “The Cher Memoir” books in the fall.
Cher speaks at a women’s march in Las Vegas in 2018. She’s the subject of “The Cher Show,” a biographical musical opening April 29 at Vista’s Moonlight Amphitheatre. (AP)
She’s also a presence onstage – times three – in the jukebox musical “The Cher Show,” which is making its regional premiere Wednesday at Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista.
With a book by Rick Elice (“Jersey Boys,” “Peter and the Starcatcher”), the show features performances of 35 songs made famous by, or associated with, Cher. Three actors portray Cher at different stages of her life. At Moonlight that will be Logan Eliza as Babe, the youngest Cher, Samantha Tullie as Lady, the Cher in her 30s, and Morgan Scott as Star, the Cher of the ‘80s and ‘90s.
Crucial figures in Cher’s life are also portrayed in “The Cher Show,” including Beau Brians as her first husband Sonny Bono, Adam Lendermon as fashion designer Bob Mackie and Meghan O’Brien Lowery as Cher’s mother, Georgia Holt. Tony-nominated actor and “American Idol” alum Constantine Maroulis, whose Broadway credits include the lead roles in “Rock of Ages” and “Jekyll & Hyde,” will play Cher’s second husband, Gregg Allman.
Tony-nominated actor Constantine Maroulis will play troubled rock star Greg Allman in Moonlight Stage Productions’ “The Cher Show” musical. (Moonlight Stage Productions)
Morgan Scott is returning to the Star role after having played it throughout the first national tour of “The Cher Show” that began in 2023. A “child of the ‘80s,” Scott discovered Cher watching reruns of “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour” and “The Sonny & Cher Show” on Nick@Nite and TV Land, then later Cher videos on VH1.
Now, “getting to know her on a more intimate level and learning the things she has had to overcome has been an incredible experience,” Scott said. “I can’t relate to the icon/diva fame, but I can relate to her as a human being who has love and self-worth issues, stage fright – the parts of Cher we don’t think about.
“She says ‘I’m not a diva. I’m just Cher.’ It’s not about seeing herself through the public eye. With her, it’s ‘Take it or leave it.’ And everybody takes it,” Scott said.
At Moonlight “The Cher Show” is being directed and choreographed by Nikki Snelson, who did the same with the company’s production of “Grease” last year.
“I’ve been a huge Cher fan for years,” Snelson said. “I saw her at Madison Square Garden when I was in New York doing ‘Legally Blonde’ on Broadway. She’s such an icon, such a strong survivor, and I really relate to that as a woman in this crazy business. I wanted to be a part of telling her story.
“I don’t shy away from a spectacle, and that’s what this is. It’s a bit of a rock concert,” Snelson said.
The 35 songs performed in the show span the years from “I Got You Babe” in the ‘60s to “Half-Breed” and “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves” in the ‘70s, to “I Found Someone’ in the ‘80s and “Believe” in the late ‘90s.
“She’s the only person in history to have seven No. 1 hits in seven consecutive decades,” said Scott. “She clearly struck a chord with generation after generation.”
Snelson pointed out that “Because of the seven decades there are so many different styles of music in the show. We get a disco number and a hard-rock number and a tap number. ‘The Beat Goes On’ is a full-blown (Bob) Fosse spectacular.”
Scott attributes Cher’s enduring popularity to her “authenticity.”
“She’s the queen of reinvention, but with every reinvention she is still herself. She presents this new look or new vibe or new style, and yet it’s still Cher.”
“The Cher Show,” Snelson emphasized, is not just for older, nostalgic fans.
“Hopefully,” she said, “there’s going to be some little girl in the audience who will be inspired by this strong, incredible woman who started when she was 16 and who is now 80 and frigging still doing it.”
‘The Cher Show’
When: Opens Wednesday, April 29, and runs through May 16. 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays
Where: Moonlight Amphitheatre, Brengle Terrace Park, 1200 Vale Terrace Drive, Vista
Tickets: $44-$66
Phone: 760-724-2110
Online: moonlightstage.com