Cher's Outlandish `Proof'

by MATTHEW ERIKSON, Special to the Hartford Courant

In the course of Friday night's extravaganza at Mohegan Sun Casino, it became more and more clear that Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" wasn't just a concluding song to a terrific opening act. It was the operating theme for Cher's farewell "Living Proof" tour.

In a show that appeared to find equal parts inspiration in Barnum and Bailey, "Moulin Rouge" and a tawdry fashion show, Cher welcomed the audience in scarlet ringmaster attire with leather whip to "the Cherest show on earth."

This was, of course, after she had descended 40 feet atop a chandelier in a diamond-studded G-string outfit, singing U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" as her opening number.

One can't blame someone, naturally, for wanting to have a little fun. And with a larger than life persona such as Cher in her last tour, it's to be expected.

But there's fun, then there's crossing that fine line to the downright silly. And more than once, the momentum of the concert moved perilously toward the latter.

Borrowing a page from Madonna's "Drowned World" tour last year, the 56-year-old pop icon relied in the beginning on frenetic MTV-like visuals to accompany such recent songs as "Song for the Lonely" and "Different Kind of Love Song." At the same time, she and her company of dancers cavorted across and above the stage in a brilliant display of choreography and acrobatics, dressed in costumes that seemed vaguely out of "Star Wars" or "Clan of the Cave Bear."

The concert was most effective during high-energy numbers at the beginning and the very end with her signature songs "If I Could Turn Back Time" and "Believe." In the middle, however, in a sequence that would make even Liberace blush, one endured the pop diva as Hindu princess, riding solemnly atop a huge puppet elephant to some strangely exotic sounding music.

Then there was "Cher, the Retrospective." In what seemed drawn out from an "A&E Biography" documentary with live musical interludes of the singer's earlier hits, the audience revisited clips of her singing with Sonny, excerpts of her numerous Barbara Walters interviews, selections of her films, and, yes, footage of her accepting the Oscar.

Lauper's opening act had more humility and crowd interaction. Lacking the special effects and costume changes of the main attraction, greater attention was spent on the music.

Particularly remarkable was an acoustic arrangement of "Time After Time" which Lauper played on a zither accompanied by guitar and an amplified violin. Also moving was her rendition of "True Colors" with a simple guitar accompaniment Lauper dedicated to Gay Pride Month.