when adapting the life of a living person for a musical — especially an icon like Cher — it is likely that your real-life subject is going to have some opinions about how his or her life is depicted. So when Cher snuck into the Oriental Theatre in Chicago this weekend to catch a preview of the Broadway-bound musical The Cher Show, she had some opinions.
Speaking to the Chicago Tribune, the 72-year-old pop icon said that she really enjoyed the show overall, but that there were parts of the show that could have been better. “It needs work,” she said. “I’m not supposed to say that, but I don’t care.”
Though Cher admitted the show was “much, much better than I thought it would be,” she felt that some parts of the show dragged a little bit more than she would have liked. “Sometimes, my mind was wandering … I think those are the parts that are going to get better.”
Her notes were pretty simple: The “Believe” singer wants the show to feel like more of a spectacle, saying that one specific idea for a concert-style ending to the show could really work for the best. “I am pushing them to do three dance songs in a concert-style way at the end, a bit like they do in Mamma Mia,” she said. “I think the audience would like that.”
But unlike many stars who feel that adaptations of their lives can be too harsh, Cher said that she wants the show to be more honest about her career and stardom. “I am actually pushing them to be more truthful about me,” she said. “I’ve already said so much about my life. It would be silly for them to come up with a Mother Teresa.”
Cher made it unequivocally clear, though, that the show is worth seeing. Despite the parts that she thought could be improved, she was still impressed.
“I am the most critical person who ever drew breath,” she said. “If they can impress me, they’re doing good.”
The Cher Show opens Thursday, June 28 at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago, before making it’s Broadway opening at the Neil Simon Theater on December 3.
