One of the biggest pop icons of all time, Cher herself is, sadly, not here in Manchester. But instead we get three of her for the price of one in a gutsy, glitter and grit story of her life at the Opera House in this new musical.
On stage we welcome the young Cher, the older Cher and the middle-aged version. Millie O'Connell, as young Cher, Babe, does a skilful job of portraying the unquenchable thirst to be a star coupled with the lack of confidence that comes from being Cherilyn Sarkisian, the girl who is bullied at school.
In imitating the real Cher's speaking voice, she over-eggs it a little, making it at times more grating than youthfully endearing. Her singing voice as Babe though is very believable as that of the shaky performer starting out and is a perfect contrast to the deeper, more self-assured tones of Lady, played by Danielle Steers, and Debbie Kurup's Star.
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The idea of two older, wiser selves advising a younger, more inexperienced one is a good one in theory. But in practice, the dialogue between them is a little disconnected and means three Chers don't quite equal three cheers.
The costumes are predictably fabulous with high-energy dancing throughout and a pleasing sprinkling of humour, albeit some of it at Cher's expense: "She dresses to kill - she cooks the same way."
We witness the star's relationship with her first husband Sonny, played convincingly by Lucas Rush, and her difficulty dealing with his controlling ways. The theme of female triumph in adversity permeates the whole production and you can't help but root for her to succeed.
If only the energy of the songs matched this spirit of determination. They are good, as is their delivery, but we only get to hear snippets of them, with 'Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do' the sole number given any decent amount of stage time and welly in Act One.
The first half does drag a little, with iconic tunes such as Believe and Bang Bang pushed to the sidelines in order to prioritise getting all the story in. It just feels a little chaotic, with too much content meaning something has to give - the music.
It's not until almost the end of Act Two that the audience hear what they came for, with a rousing You Haven't Seen the Last Of Me and a spine-tingling version of We All Sleep Alone by Danielle Steers' middle-aged Cher - the standout song of the night.
Apart from the three Chers and Sonny, the other characters remain strictly on the sidelines. Despite this, Tori Scott as Cher's mum Georgia is a surprise treasure, with witty one-liners and a lump-in-throat moment when she tells her daughter: "Every version of you has been a somebody."
The show ends with a nightclub style finale which gets everyone on their feet. It's a feel-good musical which succeeds in what it sets out to do - it just feels like it tries to do a little too much sometimes.
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