By Tracy Zollinger Turner
For The Dispatch

As divas go, Cher is the sovereign of campy spectacle. On her farewell tour, she sets out to make sure no one forgets it.
Blowing through Nationwide Arena Wednesday night, she took the audience on a high-tech trip through her career's songs, hairstyles and fashions, and TV and movie clips.

Three screens teased with images, video and album covers of the past 35-plus years with samples of If I Could Turn Back Time in the background, then a gauzy curtain was raised and Cher started into U2's I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For while being lowered to the stage on a chandelier. She wore a queenly velvet robe and sparkling headdress, which were quickly removed by two backup dancers dressed in Mongolian Dr. Seuss outfits. Underneath, she was a rhinestone genie ready to share the "one world, loved by Cher'' philosophy of her latest techno-pop record, Living Proof.

The unveiling of two costumes within the first five minutes set the over-the-top swan song tone of the evening.
Cher switched into a dozen creations by her longtime fashion guru, Bob Mackie. She wore a harem suit while riding a fake elephant, donned a gigantic black-and-burgundy Indian headdress while she sang Bang Bang and dressed as herself circa 1967 while doing a medley that included her first hit, Bob Dylan's All I Really Wanna Do, along with Half Breed; Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves; and Dark Lady.

A pack of acrobatic backup dancers ventured through many costumes themselves, working as a living, gyrating backdrop while Cher sang, or sometimes performing as filler during her costume changes. They hung and spun from drapes, rings and bungee cords while the crowd contemplated which hit song, as well as which section of

Cher's otherworldly bod (still, at age 56) might be revealed next. And yes, 1987's curly-haired, rump-revealing, sailor-loving Cher also made an appearance.

The drawback of the grandiose production was that it included little of the swearing, shoot-from-the-hip Cher that's usually visible on the red carpet at the Oscars or in interviews with Barbara Walters. There was nary a spontaneous live moment. The most personal flashes were in the video montages that played during costume changes, including her singing I Got You, Babe with then-hubby Sonny Bono, or cutting it up with Lily Tomlin; Sweetums, the 8-foot Muppet; Liberace; and the Jackson Five.

Cyndi Lauper opened with a far more earthbound, earnest set.
It was split between new tunes and the must-do hits of the '80s, including a dulcimer version of Time After Time and a faithful Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. She wrapped herself in a rainbow flag in honor of Gay Pride Month and got teary-eyed as she said: "Thanks to so many of you for sharing your stories with me through the years. The music just gets richer because of you.''