text: CLOSE Album of the Week: Cher's 'Dancing Queen' USA TODAY 
   
   Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West attend the opening night of 'The Cher Show' on Broadway. (Photo: Dominik Bindl, Getty Images) 
   
   Kim Kardashian West is a huge fan of Cher, but that didn't stop her husband, Kanye West, from being on his phone during the pop legend's Broadway show. 
   
   The Wests were on hand Monday for the opening night of "The Cher Show," a biopic musical that documents different chapters of the 72-year-old's life, including her iconic relationship with Sonny Bono. 
   
   But, apparently the rapper found his cellphone more interesting. Kanye's lack of attention caught the attention of Tony-nominated actor Jarrod Spector, who stars in the musical as Bono. 
   
   "Hey @kanyewest so cool that you’re here at @TheCherShow! If you look up from your cell phone you’ll see we’re doing a show up here," Spector tweeted. "It's opening night. Kind of a big deal for us. Thanks so much." 
   
   Related: Cher reveals Sonny Bono told her she wasn't 'particularly attractive' when they first met 
   
   Hey @kanyewest so cool that you’re here at @TheCherShow! If you look up from your cell phone you’ll see we’re doing a show up here. It’s opening night. Kind of a big deal for us. Thanks so much. — Jarrod Spector (@jarrodspector) December 4, 2018 
   
   West quickly issued an apology for his impoliteness. 
   
   "The dynamics of Cher and Sonny’s relationship made Kim and I grab each other’s hand and sing 'I got you babe,'" West tweeted Monday. 
   
   "Please pardon my lack of etiquette. We have so much appreciation for the energy you guys put into making this master piece," he continued. 
   
   the dynamics of Cher and Sonny’s relationship made Kim and I grab each other’s hand and sing “I got you babe” 
   
   please pardon my lack of etiquette. We have so much appreciation for the energy you guys put into making this master piece. — ye (@kanyewest) December 4, 2018 
   
   Hopefully there are no hard feelings between the Wests and Cher, because Kardashian West thinks the "Believe" singer "is seriously the most amazing beautiful person ever!!!" 
   
   Related: Kim K looks just like Cher, Aaliyah, Madonna in her stunning Halloween costumes 
   
   Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/12/03/kanye-west-apologizes-after-cher-actor-calls-him-out-over-phone/2199361002/ ||||| Choosing to recreate the spirit of the television variety shows that Sonny and Cher — and then Cher sans Sonny — headlined in the ‘70s is a choice that lands as flat as the jokes in Broadway’s latest jukebox bio, “The Cher Show.” Its attempt to celebrate the resilience of its “bad-ass” star and her half-century career of highs and lows rarely rises above that TV series’ taste for cliches, corn and cheese. Despite an icon with attitude, an armful of pop tunes and a can-do cast, the script never quite finds a satisfying style — or a genuine heart — as a winning stage musical. As Cher might say: Broadway’s a bitch. 
   
   You know a show’s in trouble when the moments that elicit the biggest applause of the night don’t even feature its title character. There’s a mini-fashion show featuring over-the-top outfits by original Cher designer Bob Mackie — who created the costumes for the musical — that’s a stunner of shameless excess. There’s also a dazzling number choreographed by Christopher Gattelli featuring a knockout dancer (Ashley Blair Fitzgerald) representing “The Dark Lady” of one of Cher’s songs. 
   
   As for the title character, a trio of actresses play Cher at various stages of the star’s career, echoing the threesome approach of the soon-to-be-shuttered Donna Summer musical. Here there’s a bit more banter in Rick Elice’s sketchy, every-scene-is-a song-cue script. The trio of cool babes wisecrack about each other’s life and career choices, buck each other up and repeat the same talking points again and again. (Cher’s really shy, but she’s also a “goddess warrior,” but she’s also a victim of manipulative men, but she also chooses her own destiny. Always, the songs make her strong, see? And they go something like this…) 
   
   “Star” Cher (Stephanie J. Block) opens the musical as if it were her TV show with “If I Could Turn Back Time” (minus the iconic cannon straddle), and then introduces her fellow selves to the audience — “My two very special guest stars: me and me” — “Lady” (Teal Wicks, representing mid-career Cher ) and “Babe” (Micaela Diamond, for the early years). 
   
   The tone of the show, directed by Jason Moore (“Avenue Q,” “Pitch Perfect”) veers from playfully self-aware to broad comedy to melodrama. (“Won’t you please stop drinking for my sake?” asks Cher’s mother, Georgia Holt, to her then-husband. “Who says I’m drinking for your sake?” he responds.) 
   
   What “The Cher Show” rarely does is get real, despite the tell-it-like-it-is attitude of its subject. It only takes itself semi-seriously, keeping genuine emotion at arm’s length. The audience witnesses all of Cher’s struggles — including the dip into infomercial-land — and triumphs, but is not especially moved by them, since it’s filtered through the obviousness of the script and the cool aloofness of its protagonist. 
   
   The pleasures in the show come from individual performances, including Jarrod Spector, spot-on as Sonny Bono and capturing the man’s charm, calculation and nasal twang. (But did he really have those abs?) Emily Skinner is terrific as Cher’s mother, the tough-but-tender Georgia Holt, but is bizarrely misdirected in a turn as a clownish Lucille Ball. Michael Berresse has flamboyant fun as Bob Mackie and Matthew Hydzik nails Gregg Allman’s sound — and a hair sway that rivals Cher’s. 
   
   Keeping the show afloat are the strength of its combined Chers, who each give us just enough of the low vocal treble to evoke the star while hanging on to her own individuality. Diamond highlights the freshness, excitement and naiveté of youth; Wicks, the deadpan humor and personal conflicts of mid-career Cher. Broadway veteran Block showcases seasoned assuredness and chops as the older, wiser Cher, who finally becomes a woman who finds the courage to live up to her empowering persona. ||||| the dynamics of Cher and Sonny’s relationship made Kim and I grab each other’s hand and sing “I got you babe” please pardon my lack of etiquette. We have so much appreciation for the energy you guys put into making this master piece. ||||| Hey @ kanyewest so cool that you’re here at @ TheCherShow! If you look up from your cell phone you’ll see we’re doing a show up here. It’s opening night. Kind of a big deal for us. Thanks so much.
target: – Kim Kardashian West was excited to attend the Broadway debut of The Cher Show, a musical based on the singer's life. Her husband was apparently less so, and he ended up apologizing for his fascination with his phone during the Monday show, reports USA Today. "Hey @kanyewest so cool that you're here at @TheCherShow! If you look up from your cell phone you'll see we're doing a show up here," Tony-nominated actor Jarrod Spector had tweeted during the performance. "It's opening night. Kind of a big deal for us. Thanks so much." "Please pardon my lack of etiquette. We have so much appreciation for the energy you guys put into making this master piece," West responded hours later, noting he and his wife joined hands and sang "I Got You Babe" at one point. "We had the best time!" Kardashian West added in a Tuesday tweet without mentioning West's distraction. "All of the actors were sooo good!" Spector did particularly well, according to Variety critic Frank Rizzo. "Spot-on as Sonny Bono and capturing the man's charm, calculation and nasal twang," he writes of the actor. (Kim and Kanye recently took flak for an "obnoxious" flight.)