Cher Looking Great at 100!

It's no secret that I love Cher . And I was thrilled this week to attend her 100th performance of CHER at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace . I figured that since I'd attended opening night (May'08) , Cher's birthday concert (May'08), the final show in her first run at Caesars (August'08), and my birthday (April'09), as well as some intermittent shows in between, I should check-in and see how the show had morphed.

You see, like many shows in Las Vegas, Cher's has been constantly revised, honed, and streamlined since it opened last spring. Gone are many of the more elaborate costumes (i.e. the "Aztec Priestess" cape she wore while descending from the ceiling in her DeathMobile while performing U2 's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For") that required a pair of her aerialists to assist her in removing. They've been replaced by more revealing and (if possible) even sparklier ensembles (still by the legendary Bob Mackie ) that are a bit less heavy. Gone is the Pat Benatar cover of "Love is a Battlefield" wherein Cher wore a post-Apocalyptic costume that can only be compared to that worn by Tina Turner in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome . Now, in its place, are the songs "Fire Down Below" and a cover of Bob Segar 's "Old-Time Rock & Roll" performed on a Guys & Dolls era set with the dancers turned-out in some of their best looks, while Cher is in man-drag, sporting a dazzling plum Zoot suit, fedora, and mustache.

The dancers are some of the most talented on the Strip and the choreography by Doriana Sanchez is so well executed that it holds the audience's attention while the star is off-stage, and enhances her performance while she is singing.

The concert is fun, upbeat, and runs like the proverbial well-oiled machined; and while I preferred the original line-up, the current set-list is great. Don't get me wrong - it's everything a Las Vegas stage spectacular should be - and with the departures of Celene Dion , Elton John and (shortly) Bette Midler - solo headliners on the Strip are a rarity. Shows featuring the rare performer like Cher who is a legitimate draw to multiple generations of fans night after night are even harder to come by; and with any luck (on our behalves), she'll continue to perform on the Las Vegas Strip for many, many years to come. I don't worry about Cher's luck, though... She's been at this for nearly forty-five years! After all, as Jimmy James said "After the nuclear holocaust, all that will remain are cockroaches and Cher."