A Cher for All Seasons

In July of this year, the film Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again opened to robust box office, bolstered by a cast of stars such as Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Lily James, Pierce Brosnan, and Colin Firth, though it is was another actor who stole the show: Cher. Ever since she first appeared on television in the mid-1960s, singing and dancing and radiating charisma with her then-partner Sonny Bono, the world has been riveted by Cher’s one-of-a-kind talent. Yet the thrill of seeing Cher reappear on the big screen, in what is just her second feature film performance in 20 years, suggests this is the time to revisit the career of one of Hollywood’s most chameleonic and selective superstars. Mid-stream on a successful music and variety TV run, Cher suddenly became a sought-after dramatic actress with understated screen energy to burn after her turn in Robert Altman’s Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982). Then came a blistering award-winning run through the rest of decade, during which she worked with some of the greatest directors of the era on titles such as Silkwood, Mask, The Witches of Eastwick, Suspect, and Moonstruck, for which she took home the Academy Award for Best Actress. Even after ramping back up her recording career in 1989, Cher continued to act in celebrated films such as Mermaids, before stepping away from feature films from 1999 until her return in the bombastic backstage musical Burlesque. In time for both the holidays and Broadway’s The Cher Show, the Museum celebrates nine great performances by Cher.