Woodbury impersonator channels the ‘ultimate diva’
Woodbury resident Helene A. Masiko-Crews spent Sept. 8 at the Comcast Center in Philadelphia, on the set of a James L. Brooks movie that is filming in Philadelphia. A member of the Screen Actors Guild, Masiko-Crews is a passerby in the movie — and adds that she has never had a real job, and wouldn’t want it any other way.
Interested in show business since she was a toddler, though quick to say it was on her own accord, Masiko-Crews took the bus with her mother from their home in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia every Saturday to dance lessons in Germantown. She said she’s a born ham, living up to her initials.
“I loved it,” she said. “I always wanted to show off. My mom took me for dance lessons, and I couldn’t get enough of it. I was doing shows from the time I could walk.” Even though she said she enjoys singing and dancing, and even landed a gig touring with the Broadway show “Hair” 35 years ago, Masiko-Crews had something of an epiphany regarding her career in the ’70s.
While singing with a band, she got the feeling that nobody really cared to hear her put her spin on big, popular songs. Rather, they wanted to hear them done the way the original artist did them. And Masiko-Crews said she had the “rubber voice” to deliver.
In the ’80s, she performed as Cyndi Lauper, Barbra Streisand and Dolly Parton, adding visual cues including costumes and wigs. Her voices are spot on.
While Masiko-Crews was happy to be an impersonator, she really carved a niche for herself while performing with a comedy troupe out of South Jersey. One of the troupe’s skits was of Cher doing a benefit “for the homely and the cosmetically challenged.”
“I worked on the voice,” she said, “got the big curly wig and the boots, and the black cat suit, and people said to me, ‘Wow, you really got that down, and you’re a singer. Why don’t you start singing some of her stuff?’ So I said, ‘Why not?’”
Masiko-Crews eventually started singing Cher’s stuff, and booking gigs — one of her first was on a cruise ship along with an Elvis impersonator. All of this was before Cher made her comeback with “Believe,” and she adds that younger people would ask who she was supposed to be.
Following Cher’s comeback, Masiko-Crews got more work, though she still lives hand to mouth. “Almost Cher,” as she’s dubbed herself relies heavily on word-of-mouth recommendations, hands out a lot of business cards following her shows, and relies on internet bookings. Sometimes she’ll go weeks without a gig. Recently though, business has picked up. This summer, Masiko-Crews performed in Pittsburgh, sight unseen, and also performed in Minneapolis, Kansas City, Kan., and Cape Cod. She received some nice praise as well.
“After one performance, someone said to me, ‘You’re every bit as talented as Cher, but the only difference is you didn’t get a break,’” Masiko-Crews said, adding that she felt humbled by it.
Masiko-Crews did meet the real Cher prior to her “Almost Cher” persona while Masiko-Crews was working in the radio promotions business.
“Cher’s a living legend, and the ultimate diva — so glitz and glam, and has had hits in every decade,” Masiko-Crews said.
And, what sets Masiko-Crews apart from some impersonators is the fact that she knows she’s “Almost Cher,” and not the real deal. Masiko-Crews starts each show by entering to “If I Could Turn Back Time,” because the “sexy biker babe” look is her favorite, as well as a crowd-pleaser. Following that, she takes a couple of jabs at the diva.
“The first thing I do after my first song, when people are cheering and clapping, I tell them, ‘Oh it’s such a pleasure to be here with you. I almost couldn’t make it because I had a really hard time getting a sitter for my boyfriend,’” she said.
And she makes jokes about “real” Cher’s plastic surgery, saying that when she dies, she’ll have to go in a recycling bucket, rather than a casket.
“I realize that I’m not really Cher,” she said. “I know that there are a lot of impersonators who take themselves way too seriously.”
Masiko-Crews will perform Sept. 25 from 8 to 11 p.m. at the Silver Lake Ballroom behind the Irish Pub of New Jersey, 168 White Horse Pike, Clementon. Cost is $25 and includes a buffet dinner (and is decidedly cheaper than a Las Vegas show, Masiko-Crews said). The show will include songs from the ’60s through the present, and will feature wigs and replicas of Cher’s costumes. For more information call 856-627-0947.
Interested in show business since she was a toddler, though quick to say it was on her own accord, Masiko-Crews took the bus with her mother from their home in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia every Saturday to dance lessons in Germantown. She said she’s a born ham, living up to her initials.
“I loved it,” she said. “I always wanted to show off. My mom took me for dance lessons, and I couldn’t get enough of it. I was doing shows from the time I could walk.” Even though she said she enjoys singing and dancing, and even landed a gig touring with the Broadway show “Hair” 35 years ago, Masiko-Crews had something of an epiphany regarding her career in the ’70s.
While singing with a band, she got the feeling that nobody really cared to hear her put her spin on big, popular songs. Rather, they wanted to hear them done the way the original artist did them. And Masiko-Crews said she had the “rubber voice” to deliver.
In the ’80s, she performed as Cyndi Lauper, Barbra Streisand and Dolly Parton, adding visual cues including costumes and wigs. Her voices are spot on.
While Masiko-Crews was happy to be an impersonator, she really carved a niche for herself while performing with a comedy troupe out of South Jersey. One of the troupe’s skits was of Cher doing a benefit “for the homely and the cosmetically challenged.”
“I worked on the voice,” she said, “got the big curly wig and the boots, and the black cat suit, and people said to me, ‘Wow, you really got that down, and you’re a singer. Why don’t you start singing some of her stuff?’ So I said, ‘Why not?’”
Masiko-Crews eventually started singing Cher’s stuff, and booking gigs — one of her first was on a cruise ship along with an Elvis impersonator. All of this was before Cher made her comeback with “Believe,” and she adds that younger people would ask who she was supposed to be.
Following Cher’s comeback, Masiko-Crews got more work, though she still lives hand to mouth. “Almost Cher,” as she’s dubbed herself relies heavily on word-of-mouth recommendations, hands out a lot of business cards following her shows, and relies on internet bookings. Sometimes she’ll go weeks without a gig. Recently though, business has picked up. This summer, Masiko-Crews performed in Pittsburgh, sight unseen, and also performed in Minneapolis, Kansas City, Kan., and Cape Cod. She received some nice praise as well.
“After one performance, someone said to me, ‘You’re every bit as talented as Cher, but the only difference is you didn’t get a break,’” Masiko-Crews said, adding that she felt humbled by it.
Masiko-Crews did meet the real Cher prior to her “Almost Cher” persona while Masiko-Crews was working in the radio promotions business.
“Cher’s a living legend, and the ultimate diva — so glitz and glam, and has had hits in every decade,” Masiko-Crews said.
And, what sets Masiko-Crews apart from some impersonators is the fact that she knows she’s “Almost Cher,” and not the real deal. Masiko-Crews starts each show by entering to “If I Could Turn Back Time,” because the “sexy biker babe” look is her favorite, as well as a crowd-pleaser. Following that, she takes a couple of jabs at the diva.
“The first thing I do after my first song, when people are cheering and clapping, I tell them, ‘Oh it’s such a pleasure to be here with you. I almost couldn’t make it because I had a really hard time getting a sitter for my boyfriend,’” she said.
And she makes jokes about “real” Cher’s plastic surgery, saying that when she dies, she’ll have to go in a recycling bucket, rather than a casket.
“I realize that I’m not really Cher,” she said. “I know that there are a lot of impersonators who take themselves way too seriously.”
Masiko-Crews will perform Sept. 25 from 8 to 11 p.m. at the Silver Lake Ballroom behind the Irish Pub of New Jersey, 168 White Horse Pike, Clementon. Cost is $25 and includes a buffet dinner (and is decidedly cheaper than a Las Vegas show, Masiko-Crews said). The show will include songs from the ’60s through the present, and will feature wigs and replicas of Cher’s costumes. For more information call 856-627-0947.
