The Long Island Advance
'And The Beat Goes On' at Gateway’s The Cher Show
The story of Cher who emerged as an eventual triple threat goddess force, first performing with Sonny Bono in the mid- 1960s and in the 1970s with The Sonny and Cher Show and then beyond to a six-decade career eventually winning a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award and an Oscar, isn’t an easy one to tell. But the story line and its three stars, Aléna Watters as Star, Cher’s older self; Charissa Hogeland as Lady, the Cher who performed with Sonny on their television shows; and Madeline Hudelson as Babe, the gawky, unsure 16-year-old Cherilyn Sarkisian with the knockout voice, were brilliant with amazing vocals and acting.
At its heart is the relationship between Cher, shy and worshipful at first, and Sonny, brash, highly confident and driven who sees something in Cher that she doesn’t. Sonny is played by Dino Nicandros and his singing is superb, (much better than the real Sonny’s pipes). He embodies the role masterfully and the poignant moments between he and Cher as well as the tension as he pushes his wife to the breaking point are touching and riveting.
(They remained friends after divorcing. Cher was requested by Sonny’s wife, Mary, to say his eulogy after his skiing accident death.)
Some production number kudos “Ain’t Nobody’s Business if I Do,” parades Cher’s emergence as a fashionista with glittering costumes joined by the cast; a pirate outfit, fanned out coats, just about covered cleavage in a cowboy outfit, outrageous hats and headpieces and a handsome Native American chief, oh my! (Enjoy the strutting on the catwalk stage.) The number showcases Mackie’s fashion influence; his artistry is stunning.
“Bang Bang” is an amazing song and dance number with Star, Lady and the ensemble. Cher is represented as a controlled woman trying to break out of a male dominated world. So is “Dark Lady,” the battle between Sonny and Gregg Allman. Both got big shout outs.
David Engel, a regular Gateway alum as well as on Broadway, got his star turn as Bob Mackie (he also plays director Robert Altman) who hails Cher’s choices in life. In “The Beat Goes On,” he revels along with Star, Babe and his assistant, played by Jesse Jones. It’s a fun, exuberant showstopper.
Bows also to Angie Schworer to plays Georgia Holt, Cher’s truth-telling, supportive mother; her voice is fabulous. (She also plays Lucille Ball, another strong, successful woman who was business partners with her husband, divorced him and went on with her life.) John Rochette gets the charming but drug addled persona of rocker Gregg Allman perfectly and Alexander Rios is a lovely, down-to-earth Rob Camilletti who yearns for a simple life with Cher but can’t get it.
Applause to director David Ruttura’s expert guidance, his initial start was as a substitute flyman for Gateway in 2001. He then went on to direct many Gateway productions and other credits including film. Charissa Hogeland and Madeline Hudelson reprised their roles from Ogunquit Playhouse earlier this year and Alena Watters was the understudy for Star on Broadway. Choreographer Jane Lanier choreographed the show at Ogunquit Playhouse and has received Tony Award and Drama Desk nominations. The musicians creating Cher’s favorite songs and the entire cast, 22, in all, performed with gusto and heart. (And were probably so pumped up after the show, they didn’t sleep!)
There’s a sisterhood honesty as the Cher characters appear at different transitional times to support or warn when an important decision is looming. But the overall message is: Work through your fear. Be yourself. And this is what Cher became: A talented, decent woman with a healthy sense of humor who stood up for herself, made career moves that scared her to death, and took a chance on love. The show is about striving, some heartbreak, belief in yourself and resiliency, an overall uplifter if there ever was one. It’s playing to September 11.
Smithtown Matters
The Beat Goes On
The Gateway’s production of The Cher Show is a smash hit, and the rousing standing ovation after Saturday night’s performance seemed to go on forever!
This exuberant jukebox musical with a book by Rick Elise tells the tale of how the shy, introverted, and insecure Cherilyn Sarkisian became the iconic performer known simply as “Cher.” This legendary singer, television star, comedian, and actress has won an Academy Award, a Grammy, three Golden Globes, and an Emmy.
Cher has reinvented and transformed herself so many times during her decades-long career that the show’s creators decided that three separate actresses would have to be cast to portray all these successful incarnations. Lucky for us, The Gateway found three multitalented performers, Aléna Watters, Charissa Hogeland, and Madeline Hudelson, to bring this legend to life. Each of these rising superstars brings the right amount of sass to their characterization of Cher, knows how to belt out a tune, and delivers the funny one-liners Cher is known for with perfect comedic timing. Donning their stunning costumes, this terrific trio looked, sounded, and sang the part.
Aléna Watters as Star, the mature warrior/goddess incarnation of Cher, takes us through the 1980s and 90s, reminiscing about her life and career choices, and willingly shares her down-to-earth wisdom with the audience as if they are her new BFFs. During these tumultuous years, Cher made her mark in Hollywood, made peace with her recently deceased business partner and ex-husband Sonny Bono, and triumphantly made her comeback with the hit album and song “Believe.” Ms. Watters’s showstopping rendition of “The Way of Love” was a memorable moment in musical theater.
Charissa Hogeland portrays Lady, the wild child Cher we knew during the 1970s era. Ms. Hogeland masterfully navigates the rollercoaster of emotions Cher experienced during this life-changing decade. There were the highs and lows Cher encountered while doing the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and the burnout she felt from performing one show after another, including her stint at the Las Vegas casinos. In 1974, Cher had an acrimonious split with Sonny, calling her marriage “involuntary servitude.” During Act I, Ms. Hogeland got to show off her powerhouse vocals with “Bang Bang,” the dramatic song written by Sony Bono, which became Cher’s first million-selling single.
Madeline Hudelson as Babe was charismatic in her depiction of Cher in the early years of her life, spanning the 1950s and 60s. At 16, Cher left home to pursue her dreams of being a performer, and as fate would have it, met Sonny Bono, played by Dino Nicandros. Ms. Hudelson and Mr. Nicandros’s duet, “I Got You Babe,” was heartwarming and one of my favorite numbers in the show.
Mr. Nicandros gave an outstanding performance as Sonny, a complex man with a Napoleon complex who needed to control everything and everyone, especially Cher.
Featured in this show are also two of Cher’s other love interests, Gregg Allman and Rob Camilletti. John Rochette was very believable as Gregg Allman, the southern rocker/stoner/man-child who couldn’t get his act together, even though he fathered a child with Cher. Mr. Rochette rocked his solo, “Midnight Rider/Ramblin’ Man.
Alexander Rios was charming and convincing as Rob Camilletti, dubbed by the media with the unflattering moniker “Bagel Boy.” Rob Camilletti was considerably younger than Cher when he met her in 1986, which was more cannon fodder for the paparazzi. The term “Cougar” wasn’t coined until 2002, with the publication of Valorie Gibson’s Cougar: A Guide for Older Women Dating Younger Men,” proving once again that Cher was way ahead of her time. This musical makes it clear that Mr. Camilletti was wrongly depicted in the media as Cher’s “Boy Toy” because he was one of the great loves of her life.
This production features the breathtaking Tony-Award-winning costumes Bob Mackie created for the original Broadway The Cher Show. These dazzling costumes are the real scene stealers in this show. From the opening number, “If I Could Turn Back Time,” with Ms. Watters strutting around the stage in the infamous figure-hugging black jersey catsuit, with the mesh-filled cutouts and the black motorcycle jacket; to Ms. Hudelson’s showstopping performance as she gyrates and shimmies through the “The Beat Goes On,” dressed in a to die for gold mini dress with dangling sequins. And, of course, there was the “Naked Dress” she wore to the Met Gala in 1974 that caused such a scandal that Cher just had to flaunt it again in 1975 on the cover of Time magazine. Then there was Cher’s unforgettable, over-the-top “Mohawk” costume that was the talk of the Academy Awards in 1986. During Act 1, the song “Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do” is a non-stop fashion show that wowed the audience.
Angie Schworer was terrific as Cher’s tough, but ever-supportive mother. Ms. Schworer delivered a heartrending version of “You Better Sit Down, Kid,” during the moving scene where she is telling Cher that her dad is leaving.
Gateway veteran, David Engel, did a superb job of portraying several characters, including Bob Mackie, Robert Altman, and Frank. I particularly enjoyed his spot-on depiction of the Tony Award-winning costume designer, Bob Mackie.
Brilliantly directed by David Ruttura and with exciting choreography by Jane Lanier to 35 of Cher’s smash hits, you don’t want to miss this show. One of my favorite dance numbers was the hauntingly beautiful choreography performed during the pop rock song “Dark Lady.”
Kudos to the supremely talented ensemble that includes Kevin Michael Buckley, Les Gibbs, Anna Hiran, Alyssa Ishihara, Jesse Jones, Gabriel Kearns, Ernesto Olivas, Merrill Peiffer, Nikki Rinaudo-Concessi, BB Stone, TJ Tapp, Jordan Taylor, and Mat Webb, and Swings Corrie Newman, Ernesto Olivas, and Nikki Rinaudo-Concessi.
The Gateway’s polished to perfection The Cher Show is a definite do not miss production!
The Theater Guide
The Cher Show - Theater Review
For anyone who’s been putting off returning to the delights and whimsies of musical theater, it’s time to go out and buy those tickets—better yet, get them to The Cher Show, put on by Gateway Playhouse, at the Patchogue Theater! The show, directed by David Ruttura, opened August 26 and runs through September 11.
The Cher Show follows the life and experiences of Cherilyn Sarkisian—otherwise known to the world as simply Cher—and it is an all together dazzling, hilarious, and emotional ride. The story traverses Cher’s quick rise to fame after being in the right place at the right time. To tell the tale, the show implements having three different versions of the diva. There is the adorably awkward yet determined youngest version, “Babe”; the mid-period and somewhat jaded “Lady”, and the present day, confidence-oozing “Star”—complete with signature curls and headdresses.
Both individually and as a trio, the three actresses work together not only to tell her story, but to give a look into her inner-world. It is both hilarious and effective, and much of the banter between Chers had the audience rolling.
The bulk of the show centers around the era of Sonny & Cher. As a couple they rose to stardom first as a musical act and then furthered their fame with a successful television show, “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour”. Their initial relationship is sweet and full of “down to earth” jokes, but the audience soon gets a look into how much of a “man’s world” her life started shaping up to be by the end of the first act.
With the help of the different versions of herself and some scantily clad musical numbers, Cher pushes through hardship but comes out stronger than ever. As she asks the audience in “The Beat Goes On”, what diva doesn’t have her ups AND downs?
As the goddess warrior “Star”, Aléna Watters was incredible. She was a powerful presence and carried the weight of Cher’s past selves on her shoulders gracefully. She masterfully captured Cher’s voice and mannerisms—from her bouncing walk to the shape of her mouth when she spoke. Her second act solo, “The Way of Love”, brought down the house.
Charissa Hogeland played the hardworking and quick-witted “Lady” that was a perfect transition between the two bookended versions of Cher. Her chemistry with Sonny, played by the talented Dino Nicandros, and the inner turmoil she experienced in breaking free of him, was visible and moving. Her spotlight in the power ballad “Bang Bang” was handled with expertise and intense emotion, and was definitely a highlight of the show.
Babe—the adorably awkward and determined young Cher—was played phenomenally by Madeline Hudelson. As she became more comfortable with the spotlight, the starry-eyed hunger for fame became written all over her face. During her duets with Sonny, like “I Got You Babe”, you could see her inner child buzzing with excitement. “The Beat Goes On” was a highlight of the second act, with Babe smirking and shimmying across the stage as she describes her ascent to movie-screen fame.
The characters of Bob Mackie, Gregg Allman, and mother-dearest Georgia Holt rounded out the show with excellent performances that warranted many laughs—keeping the show barreling down its tracks.
The ensemble amplified the enjoyment of the show, with time period accurate costumes—especially with the bold colors of the sixties—and their perfect harmonies and synchronous leaps and twirls across the stage as Cher told her story.
The show, while hilarious and dazzling, is definitely not family friendly. The shimmering costumes are quite revealing, and a fair amount of f-bombs are dropped by the goddess warrior who didn’t give a…darn about what people said about her.
Overall, whether you’re Cher obsessed or you just enjoy a good story about following your dreams and pushing through adversity, The Cher Show is an excellent production put on by incredible performers.
With support from
Bellport Box Office
Tuesday - Sunday, 11am - 6pmClosed Monday
631-286-1133
boxoffice@thegateway.org
