“I am proud to present West Side Story… I will be playing all the parts”

December 22, 2022 11:18 AM

In 1978, ABC aired a 12-minute version of West Side Story. Cher played all the roles.
(previously in 2008, but all the links have rotted.)
posted by Going To Maine (18 comments total)

I...have no words. This is simply beyond amazing.
posted by davidmsc at 11:22 AM on December 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

Somewhere there's a half-floor of a building with a portal into Cher's head.
posted by Catblack at 11:51 AM on December 22, 2022 [16 favorites]

Awesome, thanks for posting!
posted by daisystomper at 11:53 AM on December 22, 2022

Fantastic — Cher is amazing!

Now I want to see other variations of this, like a young Matt Damon performing all the roles of The Music Man.

SHIPOOPI!!
posted by darkstar at 12:03 PM on December 22, 2022 [3 favorites]

Now I want to see other variations of this

Anthony Rapp (Rent, Star Trek: Discovery) is doing a one-man musical.
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:12 PM on December 22, 2022 [4 favorites]

Cher would’ve made such a cute lesbian.

It’s weird that we never see Tony and Maria together.
posted by Comet Bug at 12:45 PM on December 22, 2022 [6 favorites]

This is my favorite thing
posted by thivaia at 2:12 PM on December 22, 2022

This is so much more awesome than I thought it would be. Thank you for surfacing it!
posted by OrangeDisk at 3:01 PM on December 22, 2022

I head asploded. What even is this? I need some context.
posted by newdaddy at 3:44 PM on December 22, 2022

1978. A year too late to have put this on the Voyager probes. Alas.
posted by Capt. Renault at 5:24 PM on December 22, 2022 [10 favorites]

I was 10 years old, completely in love with Cher, and remember this from when it aired!! I was so impressed, I thought she could do anything (and I was right).
posted by MoxieProxy at 5:26 PM on December 22, 2022 [3 favorites]

Meh. I could do better. I only enjoyed A Boy Like That/I Have a Love.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:03 PM on December 22, 2022

Now I want to see other variations of this

In what form? I know off the top of my head that Phil Collins and Paul McCartney have done similar things. Oh, and Local H too.
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:01 PM on December 22, 2022

Thank you. I just sent this to my sister as her Christmas gift.
posted by Trivia Newton John at 5:05 AM on December 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

This was...amazing. Maria's a soprano, for heaven's sake -- I had no idea Cher had such a strong falsetto/upper range.
posted by lhauser at 8:22 AM on December 23, 2022

Imagine you spent your adolescence putting on one-girl-shows of West Side Story for your cats and grandparents, then became rich and famous.
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 9:26 AM on December 23, 2022 [3 favorites]

I clicked this expecting it to be nothing but solid cringe, and...It's the Being John Malkovich of musical theatre. It should never have worked, but that breathless introduction lets you know you're in on the joke with her and it's amazing.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 9:59 AM on December 23, 2022 [3 favorites]

Hearing Maria sung in a darker, more powerful tone is really interesting. I sent it to a friend who immediately demanded a Cher Little Shop of Horrors, which I am on board for, too.
posted by EvaDestruction at 7:19 AM on December 28, 2022