Billboard finally declares Cher as officially iconic
“AFTER ALL, I believe that legends and myths are largely made of truth,” said J.R.R. Tolkien.
Well, that is not always so. Often — in show business, particularly — legends are legends simply because somebody has lasted long enough and are anointed “legendary” as a reward for that longevity. Real legends tend to roll their eyes at the word.
And nobody has done more eye-rolling on this score than Cher, who is, indeed, actually legendary. She has the required longevity, but more than that, elasticity, durability and a tremendous sense of humor.
Cher has passed through the fire time and again, arisen phoenix-like from the ashes and changed with the times without ever really changing herself. Not the essence of herself. She has always had the ability to stand aside from the legend, the image, and be vastly amused by it. In taking her work, but not herself, seriously (at least not to burden her public with all that) she has become one of the beloved women in the world. And, personally, one of the dearest, nicest women we’ve known in “the biz.”
On Sunday at the Billboard Awards, Cher — Oscar, Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe winner — adds another shiny object to her shelf. She will receive Billboard’s Icon Award. I was very startled by this news. I’m not sure how long Billboard has been handing out Icon Awards, but I felt certain that Cher should have taken one a long time ago. Like, maybe, the first year!
Whatever — she’s getting it now. The bonus, the plus, is that Cher won’t just ascend the podium, say a few words and depart with her latest doorstop. She’s going to perform her monster 1998 hit “Believe,” which became the “comeback” song to end all others, and its impact is likely never to be matched. This will also be Cher’s first awards show performance in 15 years.
I don’t know who else is appearing at the event, and I don’t care. For me, it’s gonna be all about Cher.
The show will be broadcast live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Which means Cher won’t have a lot of traveling to do. She remains in residence at the Park Theater in the Monte Carlo Hotel, right in town. Her show is called “Classic Cher.” But to be honest, right from the start — like, 1965 — she was a classic, and a class act. She had us at “I Got You, Babe.”
BETTE Midler, in case you haven’t noticed, has made Jerry Herman’s “Hello, Dolly!” famous all over again. The show, barely officially opened, is reaching the epic proportions of the early ’50s when “South Pacific,” starring Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza, generated standing jokes about how impossible it was to get tickets.
Probably the most famous of these was of a woman seated down front at a matinee, weeping. Her seatmate asked why she was crying. She said, “My husband just died.”
The seatmate sympathetically asked, “Why aren’t you at the funeral?” “Well,” answered the distressed lady, “I had these tickets to ‘South Pacific’!”
Bette’s “Dolly” is climbing these heights and reached the largest preperformance sale in Broadway history.
It has already been nominated for 10 Outer Critics Awards and 10 Drama Desk Awards. Other astonishing stats include highest grosses for its first week, shattering all previous records.
Bette and her “Dolly”mates — actors David Hyde Pierce, Gavin Creel and Kate Baldwin, director Jerry Zaks, choreographer Warren Carlyle, costume designers Santo Loquasto, lighting designer Natasha Katz, and Larry Hochman (orchestrations) are all up for awards and honors.
Can a sweep of the Tony Awards, happening June 11, be far behind? Is it inevitable?
No, no. Let’s not use the word “inevitable.” It inevitably seems to go wrong. We’ll just say, seems quite possible! Heloise
Dear Readers: Today’s Sound Off is about asking wedding guests to fund a couple’s honeymoon:
“Dear Heloise: I received an invitation to my former college roommate’s wedding, and it gave the website where they were registered. Turns out they’re asking