Her show does not need a name. Unlike Celine Dion ("A New Day"), Bette Midler ("The Showgirl Must Go On") and even Elton John (The Red Piano"), this experience needs only her moniker: Cher. I admit to my irrelevance at the outset. Cher's show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace is critic proof. This is the must-see show in Vegas right now and will probably be so until it closes. Get a running start if you want tickets, and don't expect any discounts.

I will tell you there are a lot of bad things to be said about the show called Cher. The reliance on footage you can see on YouTube during costume changes makes for significant drops in energy. Few have mishandled a Bob Dylan cover as inanely as Cher's halfhearted "All I Really Want to Do." A lot of the choreography is hopelessly stuck in the '80s, with flinch-worthy results. And, of course, there was the predictable duet with a video image of Sonny. At close to two hours, the show runs longer than the energy and ideas deserve.

But none of this matters. Cher has created a monstrously entertaining experience that (even more than "A New Day," which actually relied on a Cirque alumnae) captures a sort of ultimate state-of-the-art Vegas production show and places that in the midst of a Cher concert of resplendent diva glory. There are aerialists and contortionists clearly inspired from Cirque, eye-catching set changes of the sort passed off for illusions in magic shows on the Strip, a better use of the Colosseum's massive stage than any previous tenant. The sets head up to the lip of the audience, and the band glides on and off stage to make room for the props and dancers, and Cher comes to the stage via floating in a cage over the audience.

Unlike most divas, Cher is not possessed with a stellar voice capable of the big notes. But time has lowered her singing to a darker-hued sound that within her range is as powerful as a punch. And, her power is a large part of what makes the show so intense at its best points. She certainly does not hide behind her background singers and is game for mixing live vocals with hard choreography in ways that the Britney Spears generation abandoned long ago. Then there is Cher's insanely perfect appearance in an ever-changing array of Bob Mackie outfits that only Cher could get away with wearing. Perhaps, like Mick Jagger or Frank Sinatra does for men, Cher, 62, represents to her audience an ideal fantasy of aging.

I also tried to explore the Cher store but was turned back by so many clashing odors of overdone perfume worn by the adoring fans who filled the store that the place should have an air-quality warning from the health department.

Anyway, Cher is here. And, her show is the perfect Vegas spectacle. If there is a place in your heart for this style of entertainment, Cher offers a version that is light years (and a light show) in front of the competition, offering a more on-game diva than Midler is presenting in "The Showgirl Must Go On" and along with her massive star power, Cher is able to throw in plenty of examples of the mix of aerialists and acrobats that is often the main attraction of any Cirque production. You will get the complete old-school Vegas experience of entertainment with Cher updated to the best of 2008 taste and technology. Of course, at $250 for the best seats, remember that everything about Cher is outsized.

(Photo courtesy of Caesars)