SU alum steps into Cher’s world
‘The Cher Show’ comes to the Landmark Theatre for national tour
Blaise Rossmann, SU graduate from 2024, returns to the national stage as an ensemble member in The Cher Show.
Although you can’t “Turn Back Time,” you can step into the past and uncover the story of Cher’s prolific career as a singer, movie star and fashion icon. The Cher Show, a nationally touring jukebox musical is coming to the Landmark Theatre from Tuesday, April 8 to Saturday, April 12.
The story follows Cher throughout different stages of her life and is portrayed by three different actresses. The first one — “Babe,” played by Ella Perez — portrays Cher throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, a young star in the duo Sonny & Cher. Next is “Lady,” played by Catherine Ariale, who depicts the glam-pop Cher of the ‘70s. The final is “Star,” played by Morgan Scott, who depicts the icon in her later career.
Throughout the show, the three Chers interact, providing each other with advice and help. The musical is also unique in that it contains an array of Cher’s original songs from her career — 35 smash hits, to be exact.
Cher’s influence is undeniably cross-generational. Among the cast is Blaise Rossmann, a SU alum from the VPA program. Even though Rossmann graduated in 2024 — qualifying him as a Gen Zer — Cher’s impact is still visible to him.
“Having read Cher’s memoir and knowing the role she played when it came to developing some of the musical, especially the libretto, like the lines, it’s really interesting: how she chose to depict the way that men speak to her,” said Rossmann. “It just shows how far pop culture has come, seeing people who really defined it like Cher, and how much courage it took to have someone stand there and tell her bad things about herself, and then just continue to do it anyway.”
Rossmann is a swing in The Cher Show, understudying all the boys in the ensemble as well as one of the leads, Bob Mackie. This is his second time performing in a touring show and his second time performing at the Landmark Theater. The first time, he was an ensemble member in Pretty Woman, The Musical.
“On the days where I’m like, god, I wish I was doing more, I like to try to be like, well, let me go back to what I would have thought when I was a freshman or a sophomore,” Rossmann said. “I know that my freshman self would have been so, so, so ecstatic for the fact that a year and a half out of school, I’m on my second national tour. I should be taking more of a moment to be grateful versus being like, well, what’s next and what can I do to be better?”
Rossmann’s experience mirrors that of the early-career Cher onstage. Despite her talent, The Cher Show depicts a young star in an industry full of with uncertainty and fear. But just like Cher, Rossmann perserveres — and continues to grow and learn more everyday.
“[We have] six weeks left. It’s coming to a close, I hope that what I can take from this contract is [that] I can do great work and I can be proud of all the work that I’m doing, even if it’s something new,” Rossmann said. “I’m learning how to give myself more grace.”