On her debut opening night and first return concert since 2004, a defiant Cher exclaimed: “I am old, but I’m not dead. … I’m old, but I’m tough. … I’m not too old to get down on my knees, if it’s worth it!” Admitting to being 62 years old, the superstar singer proved she’s still a supreme sex symbol and entertainment icon as she strutted in her sequined sparkling gowns, shredded underwear and thigh-high mini’s.
Fellow singers Barry Manilow and Sheryl Crowe, along with magical illusionists Siegfried & Roy and her children, Chastity Bono and Elijah Allman were among the 4,300 fired-up fans who turned out for last night’s Caesars Palace premiere, the first of 200 concerts she will perform over the next three years.
And early this morning (WED) after all the back-stage visitors had congratulated her on the startling success, Cher paid a surprise visit to the magical illusionists. They were celebrating her first night with midnight champagne and smoked salmon caviar pizzas at starchef Wolfgang Puck’s Spago restaurant in The Forum Shops at Caesars.
“Cher was friendly with everybody along the way from her Colosseum theater to Spago. She was with her sister and a lot of security,” I was told. “It was one magical moment when Roy got out of his motorized wheelchair to stand, hug and kiss her. Siegfried & Roy congratulated her on the stunning show and told her how much they loved it.” (Earlier when I’d walked into the theater with them they got their own standing ovation and loud applause from the crowd).
“If you thought my other shows were exciting, just wait until you see this one,” exclaimed Cher. “This show is me, but bigger. It takes some of my favorite elements from my touring shows and kicks them up a notch.”
Her first run through Sunday, June 1 is already completely sold out and with 75 percent of her second run already sold out. More show dates from Aug. 12 through Oct. 5 will go on sale tomorrow (THURS).
Caesars president, Gary Selesner told me just before curtains up: “Her ticket sales are extraordinary. This really is a big deal. It proves she is a legend with iconic status. Her Vegas career began here so it’s a perfect reunion for Cher and Caesars. She was here off and on for three years in the late 70’s – early 80’s. I myself saw each one of her last three farewell tour concerts, in fact, our company Harrah’s was the biggest buyer of her Vegas concert appearances, 5,000-6,000 tickets at a time for our guests. We still had all those people in our data for this go round so there was never a doubt it would work.”
AEG Live/ Concerts West president John Meglen added: “We knew there was going to be a high demand for this show but the response has been truly overwhelming.”
Selesner continued: “For Cher, Caesars is like a home here in Vegas it’s like taking up residence and working with none of the problems of traveling or the rigors of the road entertaining. It’s a true pleasure to welcome her back here. Over the decades Cher and Caesars have both evolved as icons, yet remained fresh and relevant in the public eye. The staging, the costumes, the dancers and effects combined with the talent and presence of the one and only Cher make this our latest must see show. Joining Bette Midler, Elton John and Jerry Seinfeld, Caesars Palace unquestionably hosts the best entertainment lineup in Vegas.
“She’s played Vegas for over four decades she knows many of our employees. Years ago she’d meet them nightly in our restaurants or even invite some of them to join her nightly party after her show. She hasn’t done that yet because she first wanted to get into the rhythm and routine of the show. This was one major production to mount and execute and every moment of her time here since arriving has been spent making it perfect. She’s told me now the show has opened we’ll be seeing much more of her around Caesars.
Gary and I were chatting near one of the two new giant display cases of Cher’s unique Bob Mackie costumes and we got pushed out of the way of a mass of fans wanting to be photographed with many of the female Cher impersonators who attended the premiere. “Look at this,” said Gary. “This excitement is for female impersonators, imagine what it would be like if it was Cher herself. Cher is the real deal, the world’s most iconic figure and her phenomenal fan base has never stopped waiting to see her perform again.”
As those frenzied fans poured into the theater, one of the superstar’s girlfriends told me: “It’s also a very big deal for her being back at Caesars. She wanted to do this in a big way for herself and her fans. At the same time she is very excited about it she still has some nerves and of course opening night jitters. She is so pleased about being able to bring favorite memories from her life, her careers and her concert tours all back to life in a whole new state of the art technological way. She’s very excited to do it back at Caesars where it all began for her.”
Cher’s audience was an incredible cross-section to match her own unflagging flamboyant spirit. Guys turned up in Cher’s Navy sailor suits and hats, many of which got flung on the stage at her feet. There were many Cher look-alike impersonators and even one man dressed in back-side baring fishnets and heels!
There’s no denying this high-energy non-stop assault of the senses is an extraordinary concert-styled production that showcases Cher’s infamous rock and roll attitude and theatrical affinity to its finest. Blue and silver video of an outer-space constellation complete with shooting stars greets the audience walking in. The first image is a bubble of a yesteryear Sonny & Cher as the music changes from “Do You Believe in Love” to “I Got You Babe,” the backdrop becomes a montage of her own personal favorite clips.
Suddenly everything goes dark as Cher, in feathered headdress, arrives high-up in the ceiling in an overhead cage against a video backdrop of Inca ruins that floats right above the audience heads. It didn’t matter a bit that she’d started 25 minutes late. The audience exploded into a standing ovation as she belted out “I Believe” with two backup female singers and a powerful six-piece band divided onto two moving mini-stages that slide on and off stage throughout the spectacular.
She told the crazed crowd: “I’m old, but I’m tough. You are the first kids on your block to see ‘Cher Does Rome.’ It’s the first night and anything can go wrong. We’ve only had the last two days for private dress rehearsals. Its been a real cluster f*%k so come back in two weeks when its all working. This is the part where I make up a nightly monolog, but I had no chance tonight to make one up. I arrive in my overhead death mobile courtesy of the Flying Walindas and Evil Kneivel, it’s my own personal Phantom of the Opera moment. I have to go high up into a tiny area of the roof with these Teamster guys and a couple of girls who keep telling me “it’s so dangerous.” I say ‘rope me up, hook me up, I want to make an entrance,’ but I am truly terrified of being tipped off into space. As the cage went out tonight I heard the computer voice of Hal from the 2001 Space Odyssey movie in my ears warning me that once again my costumes had crossed the line of decency. I’m thinking oh f*%k I’ve become a conservative republican and I start worrying that God doesn’t like Vegas anymore and was having a déjà vu Sodom and Gomorrah moment.”
The one tiny technical miscue of the night I noted was when Cher’s character Laverne appeared on screen for a wild comedic routine. “I’m here to help your comeback,” she screeches. “But look at you after 30 years you’ve become saggy and baggy.” It gives Cher the first of 17 different opportunities to change into more and more ever-revealing gowns and she reappears in a huge red-wig in a steel-caged octagonal globe backed up by 14 male and female dancers wearing Thai-type helmets and golden semi oriental outfits. In addition she has aerial and acrobatic acts that give her show a hint of Cirque du Soleil theatrics as they entertain between her costume changes. There are also montages from her Academy Award movies and early vintage Sonny and Cher shows, including the bloopers, one which allegedly took 232 takes!
She wears everything from a Johnny Depp inspired pirate outfit to a red sequined mini-dress, red boots, black wig and white fur jacket to emphasize the wild erotically charged ever changing stage and video scenery that’s altered for every song and music mood. One psychedelic kaleidoscopic video montage is probably the most elaborate non-exploding fireworks extravaganza of colors ever created. Cher even pulls a gypsy wagon on stage saying “Women, mainly, are always asking me what’s in my closet. Is it Prada? Is it something else? The only way to describe it is that it looks like the Grand Canyon with my clothes in it.” She changes into three different outfits while on stage inside the wagon and performs “Gypsies Tramps and Thieves” and “Half Breed” wearing what has to be the richest fullest and longest red and white feathered floor-length head-dress imaginable. A slow sensual dance routine turns into a wild-frenzied disco routine spoof of the Village People’s famous “YMCA” number before she reappears down a spiral staircase in a boa of floating Christmas-tree lights that peels away to reveal a turquoise slashed to shreds outfit for her “Take Me Home” blockbuster. My personal favorite was the stunning black gown she wore to exit from a spun-glass laser-light filled smoky globe looking as incredibly glamorous as a black-and-white movie superstar from yesteryear. For her gondola entrance through a fog and tangled multi-strands of lights that’s an amusing take-off of the Phantom of the Opera ride she wears an extraordinarily lavish white and silver fur ensemble. She’s only down to earth once in the 90-minute show wearing jeans, boots, and off-the-shoulder blue blouse and a blonde curly wig.
Cher’s body and voice are both in perfect shape and she belts out her hits one after the other in a nonstop joyride of ingenious creativity that even includes three super-sized psychedelic pop-up cartoon
books. I’m convinced, even when she wears an orange wig, she was the first lady of bling before it became so fashionable. She certainly was the first lady to bare her belly button on TV and she’s down to net covered black binkini panties, torn fishnets and garters in the S&M-tinged “Strong Enough” near closing number which leads into “Turn Back Time” as the show closer. She’s more like 32 than 62!!! All she has to do is bottle her secret and sell it as the real fountain of youth for more mega-millions!
The first night fans demanded an encore and she returned for “Do You Believe in Love After Love” wearing a white show-stopping outfit covered in diamond sparklers as overhead shotguns fired silver confetti strips over the audience. The screaming, whistling, applause lasted nearly five full minutes and as Siegfried told me: “I knew this would be one extraordinary night!
Tomorrow (THURS) viewers around the world will get a look at Cher singing on the Caesars stage when Oprah Winfrey’s pre-recorded interview show is broadcast. Click here for our report on that chat-fest between Oprah, Cher and Tina Turner, or go to Oprah.com to watch the first sneak preview clip of Oprah, Cher and Tina with Cher’s on-stage “Take Me Home” number.
“Cher wanted a low key first night,” I was told. “She didn’t want a red carpet or a big party to celebrate. She just wanted the show to be perfect and now it’s all come together beautifully there’ll be time to party, celebrate, meet the press and that should all get underway in about one week’s time. She’s thrilled the way everything went. It’s exactly what she wanted and she’s ‘moon-struck’ with the reaction.”
