Appropriately for a larger than life figure, The Cher Show runs through 35 songs and and an unknown (but trust us, it's high) number of elaborate costumes just to tell the story of one Cherilyn Sarkisian who with laser like focus became a famous singer and movie actress.

The Tony Award-winning musical, now on its first national tour, is brought to Houston's Hobby Center by Theatre Under the Stars complete with Bob Mackie costumes straight from Broadway.

To underline this, the show has Cher played by three separate women, showing her at different times in her life. Morgan Scott is one of the three, playing the Star role which centers on her life in the 1990s and '90s. The Babe role (Ella Perez) presents Cher in the 1950s and '60s  and the Lady role (Catherine Ariale) takes place in the 1970s.

None of whom keep strictly to their own time lines but are interwoven into the fabric of the show.

"We have three versions pf Cher throughout the phone and mine starts out almost like your narrator so she's the one who kicks off the show and introduces you to her younger selves which is the Babe Cher, that's the young one. We see her kind of start off and realize her desire for performing. And then  Middle Cher which is named Lady takes over to work with Sonny for the Sonny and Cher show and then you get me to finish it off with the icon we know her as now," Scott says.

Asked why she wanted to be in the show, Scott starts laughing. "I mean why not. Who would not want to play Cher, right? It's pretty crazy. I pinch myself on the daily."
"
Scott says she has been a wedding singer "for a very long time along with acting. "Probably five years ago on the wedding playlist for the requests from the bride and groom was 'Believe' and I said to bandleader 'Do you think it would be cool if I kind of like did it as Cher?' And the bandleader said, 'Yeah, sure, why not? 'I did it and people loved it. So anytime I would see 'Believe' or 'Turn Back Time' at a wedding I would go ahead and do it as her."

So when auditions opened up for the national tour Scott decided to give it a go and got the role.

Scott got her start in performing at a young age with her first professional job (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)  in her hometown of Memphis when she was about 10. "It was a very big shock to my parents because I was super shy as a kid,"

She was in theater at her high school and a nearby all boys high school that sometimes needed females in their productions. That's how she got to play Eva Peron in Evita. She went to University of Tennessee at Knoxville, graduating with a BA in theater and right after, moved to New York City where she has remained ever since. 

Arriving in NYC she discovered her previous experience didn't necessarily move her to the top of the list in auditions. "The background is a wonderful foundation. But it doesn't make a difference in terms of the timing of things, I started going to those cattle call auditions." Looking around the room at that time she didn't feel she had the same level of commitment to performing as other people auditioning did and took a break from performing.

But she grew to miss performing so she took up wedding singing and eventually that wasn't enough, deciding  "Nope, I need to be on stage and started auditioning again. At that point I had the commitment. I knew what I could offer."

Asked why she thinks Cher is such an icon, Scott replies: "I think the re-invention of herself is what makes her absolutely so incredible. We're talking about someone now who has had a No. 1 hit for seven decades. That is just unreal.

"I always talk about how I was first introduced to Cher in terms of TV and I think back to when I would watch Nick at Nite and see reruns of The Sonny and Cher Show but how I didn't connect that that was the same person that I was seeing on VH1 in the 'Turn Back Time' video. Because she just reinvents and creates these new personas and new ways to present herself but they're still authentic to her.  They're so different and just an incredible thing and something to admire."

The biggest challenge Scott says she faced in doing the show was not to be concerned about getting an exact imitation or impersonation. "This isn’t a tribute show or an impersonator show. So it was about finding the sincerity. Because I don't know what it's like to be around paparazzi all day.  I don't know what it's like to be an icon."

She says she had to find something to relate to. "To me that was the human part. She has fear. She has self worth issues that are discussed. She has humor. I identify with all those things.. So that's what I had to focus on."

People don't have to be Cher fans to enjoy the show, Scott says. "It's a really uplifting and empowering show to go to." Fans or not, Scott says you'll find out things you didn't know about Cher and will walk away with appreciation for all she's accomplished.

But if you are a Cher fan and know her songs, you and others might catch yourselves mouthing the words if not outright singing along. "There's definitely people who sing along," Scott says. "We always have them on their feet by the end of the show with the big finale. Everybody's just ready to jump out of their seats and sing along, clap and cheer. It's been really, really incredible."

Performances are scheduled for April 16-28 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and Sundays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays at the Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For more information, call 713-558-8887 or visit tuts.com $40-$139.