Review: Moonlight's ‘Cher Show' a high-flying celebration
There are a lot of “firsts” for Moonlight Stage Productions’ season-kickoff production of “The Cher Show,” the 2018 Broadway musical that opened Wednesday at the Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista.
It marks the first time the musical has been presented in San Diego County. It’s the first time I’ve seen this caliber of high-flying choreography on the Moonlight stage. And, if I’m not mistaken, it’s the first time I’ve heard an F-bomb on the Moonlight stage. But that’s true to the musical and to the show’s namesake, whos second husband, Gregg Allman, nicknamed her “toilet mouth.”
“The Cher Show” is a biographical jukebox musical featuring 35 songs from Cher’s 50-plus year career. It begins when the half-Armenian Cherilyn Sarkisian is a grade-schooler bullied for her dark skin and dyslexia. Then it charts the ups and downs of her life, loves and career, and ends with her late-in-life resurgence as a touring solo artist.
“The Cher Show” also has its ups and downs. On the upside, director/choreographer Nikki Snelson’s production is lively, fast-paced and funny. It has a terrific cast and features outstanding, Broadway-quality dancing, particularly in the “Dark Lady” scene led by dancer Ashley Chavarria.
The musical’s book is its weak spot.
On the upside, bookwriter Rick Elice has captured Cher’s resilience, confidence, toughness, sense of humor, colorful language and her big heart. He also has three women playing Cher at different stages of her career, though they overlap frequently to provide support for one another and backup vocals.
But having read the first part of Cher’s voluminous new memoir last fall, I felt like there is so much more about the darkest points of her life that could be deepen this musical story. Maybe she just wasn’t ready to open up to Elice in 2018 like she did in her 2025 autobiography.
Leading the show’s cast as Star, the older version of Cher, is Morgan Scott, who played the role on the musical’s national tour. She has a terrific voice, a great sense of humor and captures best Cher’s unique speaking style and physicality.
Samantha Tullie plays Lady, Cher in the rise-to-fame era of her 20s and 30s. She has the confidence and sass that Cher developed in her Las Vegas/TV show days and a lovely singing voice. And Logan Eliza has a sweet, youthful optimism as Babe, representing Cher from childhood to her late teens.
Meghan O’Brien Lowery gives two strong and amusing performances as Cher’s mom Georgia Holt and Lucille Ball. And starring as Cher’s two husbands are Beau Brians as the controlling but amiable Sonny Bono and Constantine Maroulis as the kind but addiction-troubled Gregg Allman.
Conductor, music director/keyboardist Lyndon Pugeda leads the show’s 14-member rock band from the pit. Andrew Hammer designed sound, Ryan Marsh designed lighting, Jordan Gray designed sound and Blake McCarty designed the exceptional projections.
Cher has been a fashion icon since the beginning of her career and costume designer Janet Pitcher has lovingly re-created dozens of Cher’s most famous and daring ensembles created by Bob Mackie (played by Adam Lendermon in the show). Besides honoring Mackie, “The Cher Show” also pays appreciative tribute to the large community of gay men who have celebrated her as an icon since the 1990s.
“The Cher Show” has a breezy, tongue-in-cheek, entertaining style, so even if you’re not a fan of Cher, it’s an enjoyable story about a woman who has constantly reinvented herself and never gave up.
‘The Cher Show'
When: 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Through May 16
Where: Moonlight Amphitheatre, Brengle Terrace Park, 1200 Vale Terrace Drive, Vista
Tickets: $44-$66
Phone: 760-724-2110
Online: moonlightstage.com
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This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 5:51 AM.