‘My daughter is playing Cher! Oh my God!’: New touring show hits Vegas

Catherine Ariale had been in Las Vegas for all of 19 minutes Monday, and she was already eager to check out the city.

“I’m fascinated with the history of Las Vegas. I just passed the Mob Museum, and I’m definitely going to go there,” Ariale said in a phone chat just as she settled into her downtown hotel room. “I love it here already. I’m excited.”

The icon Ariale is portraying on this visit has been fond of Vegas, too. Ariale is co-star of “The Cher Show,” the touring musical running 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday at the Smith Center’s Reynolds Hall.

The “Turn Back Time” legend is such a vast personality it takes three performers to portray her. Ariale is “Lady,” taking the story of Cher’s middle era, which chart’s the superstar’s TV-show popularity with Sonny Bono and her introduction to Las Vegas.

Ella Perez is “Babe,” covering Cher’s early breakout period with Sonny. Lady enters the story by tapping Babe on the shoulder to seize the show and eradicate Babe’s stage fright. The Vegas references are in the 1970s, not from Cher’s headlining runs at the Colosseum and later Dolby Live.

Morgan Scott is Star, covering Cher’s 1980s and ’90s era. The three leads interact with each other at various points in the story.

“The three Chers have this epic moment at the end of Act 1, singing together for one another,” Ariale said. “It’s really cool, it’s done in a well-crafted way.”

There is a Sonny, a given, with Lorenzo Pugliese taking the touring role.

This is “The Cher Show’s” first U.S. tour. The Broadway production ran at Neil Simon Theatre from Dec. 3, 2018 through Aug. 18, 2019. The production won Tony Awards for Stephanie J. Block (Lead Actress in a Musical) and for Bob Mackie (Costume Design for a Musical).

A New York City resident and with a musical theater degree from Pace University, Ariale’s credits include “The Waiting” (role of Margot), “Sunday in the Park with George” (Yvonne) and “Memphis” (Gladys).

Ariale, also an accomplished singer-songwriter, had not seen the musical on Broadway, which she regrets. She’s never seen Cher perform live, either. So the stakes were pretty low when her agent informed her for an audition for “The Cher Show.”

“It was, like, May of last year, I didn’t give it a second look, I was thinking, ‘I don’t think I could play Cher,’ I wasn’t familiar with the musical,” Ariale said. “I went in for the audition and just thought it would be fun to play around with her voice and her mannerisms.”

Ariale was an unexpected hit.

“I just didn’t think I had a good chance, but I kept getting called back and it started to be a little more real,” Ariale said. “It just worked out really nicely. It has been an incredible experience.”

Ariale has encountered Cher fanatics across the country. One is a member of her own family.

“My mother is a huge Cher fan and was over the moon when I got this. It was so big for her,” Ariale said. “It was like, ‘My daughter is playing Cher! Oh my God!’ So that has been very fun. She’s helped me with the research and mannerisms. She knew what to do. It’s been awesome.”

The Debbie Show

Pop star Debbie Gibson has lived in Las Vegas for 15 years. Bruno Mars says he wants to move to Las Vegas.

Any advice?

“He doesn’t need my advice about much of anything,” Gibson said with a laugh Thursday during the annual Silver State Equality Awards at Kaos at the Palms. “But go find things off the beaten path, off the Strip. The hidden gems. And, he should come over to my place and play my Liberace piano, right?”

Right. Gibson owns one of Liberace’s pianos from his Vegas headlining days, a 6-foot, mirrored Baldwin. It is her prized possession, reflecting (as it were) her fondness for Liberace’s artistic flair. Gibson bought it from Smith Center President Myron Martin, a former Baldwin rep, more than 30 years ago.

Gibson joined Las Vegas Councilman Brian Knudsen as the night’s honorees. Gibson was honored with the Silver State Equality Ally Leadership Award. Knudsen received the 2024 Equality Leadership Award.

Coco Montrese of “Ru Paul’s Drag Race” hosted the event, in most fabulous fashion.

Silver State Equality State Director André C. Wade was on hand, repping the statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization. Gibson has long supported such causes. But she is not issuing any political endorsements.

“I have made it like a steadfast rule, up to this point in my life, to not talk politics,” the “Lost in Your Eyes” hitmaker said. “But I do talk about human rights, and that’s why I love Silver State Equality. It is really about that, and anything that eclipses human rights is not right.”

Cool Hang Alert

Returning to the Smith Center, esteemed actor, musician and SiriusXM radio host Seth Rudetsky brings his “Seth’s Broadway Concert With Christine Pedi” to Myron’s at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday.

Rudetsky, host of “On Broadway” and “Seth Speaks”on SiriusXM, teams with Pedi on several Broadway re-creations. Pedi has been known for her send-ups of Liza Minnelli, Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone and Joan Rivers, and also for playing Mama Morton in “Chicago.” This show has a distinct “Forbidden Broadway” vibe, as Pedi toured for years with the famous satirical musical. Go to thesmithcenter.com for intel.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.