“The Cher Show,” the previously announced Broadway musical based on the life and songs of iconic singer Cher, will begin its pre-Broadway previews in Chicago on June 12, 2018. Producers Flody Suarez and Jeffrey Seller said Thursday that the musical, which held a well-received stage reading in January, would play a limited run through July 15 at the city’s Oriental Theatre before transferring to Broadway’s Neil Simon Theatre next fall.
Three-time Tony Award-nominee Rick Elice (“Jersey Boys,” “Peter and the Starcatcher”) wrote the musical’s book, and Jason Moore, a Tony nominee for “Avenue Q,” is the director. Tickets for the preview, part of the Broadway in Chicago Season Subscription Series, go on sale Oct. 18. No casting has been announced.
Cher, 71 — an Academy Award-winning best actress for “Moonstruck” (1987) and a Grammy Award winner for her 1999 Best Dance Recording “Believe” — has recorded a string of hits, both solo and with her late husband and musical partner Sonny Bono.
A casting notice described the lead role as “Cher at different moments of her life — starting as a teenager who falls for Sonny Bono … [then as] a successful music star navigating the challenges of the entertainment industry … and [then as] the lady we know today with a fascinating wealth of life experience, successes, and failures.” Characters listed included Cher’s husbands Sonny Bono and Gregg Allman, music mogul David Geffen, fashion designer Bob Mackie as well as Cher’s parents.
