Cher Musical Sets Director Ahead of January Staged Reading

Playbill reports: The Broadway-aimed musical based on the life and career of pop icon Cher will get a two-week staged reading in New York City this January.

According to an Equity casting notice, Avenue Q and Pitch Perfect’s Jason Moore will direct the January 2-14, 2017, reading of the project that is billed as The Cher Show. Flody Suarez and Hamilton’s Jeffrey Seller are producing.

The breakdown also revealed several details of the musical’s plot and structure: “In this production, the characters of BABE, LADY, and STAR represent Cher at different moments of her life- starting as a teenager who falls for Sonny Bono (BABE), a successful music star navigating the challenges of the entertainment industry (LADY) and the lady we know today with a fascinating wealth of life experience, successes, and failures (STAR). Aside from Babe, Lady, Star, Sonny Bono, and Georgia, other roles may be paired together to have the actors double or triple up on the roles.”

Previous reports indicated that the show will incorporate a theatrical conceit that allows Babe, Lady, and Star to talk to one another and perform together.

In addition to Sonny Bono and Cher’s parents, the show’s breakdown names Bob Mackie, David Geffen, Gregg Allman, Robert Altman, Rob Camilletti, and Sigmund Freud among its characters.

The musical has a book by Tony Award-winning librettist Rick Elice (Jersey Boys, Peter and the Starcatcher).

According to previous reports, the show will include Cher’s hits, including “I Got You Babe,” “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves,” “Take Me Home,” “Believe,” and “If I Could Turn Back Time,” among others. Tony winner Daryl Waters is musical supervisor.

Cher appeared on Broadway in the short-lived production of Ed Graczyk's Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, a role she later repeated on film. She earned the Academy Award for her performance in Moonstruck.