Tina- The Tina Turner-Musical
Based on a book from Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar, and Kees Prins, associated with Tina Turner, the James M. Nederlander Theatre, the highly anticipated Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, illustrates the tragic beginnings of a child named Anna Mae Bullock, who became known as "The Queen of Rock' n' Roll," and one of the greatest icons known worldwide.
Anna Mae lived in Nutbush, Tennessee, a town where enslaved blacks were brought to work on cotton plantations, and was born in 1939. The same year, Victor Hugo Green published the Green Book to help blacks during the era of Jim Crow laws, which legalized discrimination against African Americans. Her love for music started as a young child singing in the church choir at Nutbush's Spring Hill Baptist Church. Anna Mae's road to stardom came when she and her sister Alline went to a nightclub and sang during the Kings of Rhythm featuring Ike Turner—where she eventually became the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.
Tina Turner The Musical starts with the sensational talented actor Ayvah Johnson as the young Anna Mae, her mother Zelma (Roz white), and her father Kristopher (Stanley Ward). After they leave the church, Anna Mae's mother reprimands her for singing too loud, which causes an argument between her parents. When the father slaps her mother for continuously badgering Anna Mae, she leaves with her daughter, Alline, leaving Anna Mae with her father— who eventually leaves her with her Gran Georgeanna (Ann Nesby).
The Two-act, 2 hours and 40 minutes with an intermission directed by Phyllida Lloyd, was the 200 performance of the North American Touring company. The musical features 24 songs, with hits like Nutbush City Limits, Proud Mary, I Don't Wanna Fight No More, Private Dancer, and the world-renown hit, What's Love Got To Do With It, tickets for this play were sure to be a must-have. The cast's overall performance was worthy of purchasing a ticket to see Tina; still, I never felt that magnetic presence you came to expect from a play detailing the life of an incredible, spectacular, and supernatural talent of an icon like Tina Turner. Nesby and White were outstanding, and Zachary Freier-Harrison was phenomenal as Roger Davies. In addition, Lewis provided an excellent performance as Anna Mae's big sister Alline.
My issue with this musical is that it never seemed to take flight and lacked that Tina flair. The main actors, Zurin Villanueva (Tina Turner) and Garrett Turner (Ike), never made you feel like you were watching and witnessing the life of Ike and Tina Turner. Villanueva is a talented actor with a beautiful and powerful voice. Her seemly unstoppable energy is outstanding, and she performs astonishingly, but you can tell she struggled to embody Tina and something slightly insignificant; her physique was too thin. I reviewed clips of others that played Tina, Ruva Nqwneya (Australia), Aisata Blackman(Stuttgart, Germany), and Kristina Love/Elesha Paul Moses(London), and none of them sounded or looked like Tina Turner. Garrett Turner had the slim body of Ike Turner and the process hairstyle as Ike; however, other than the abusive mental and physical behavior of Ike Turner, Garrett Turner's performance was not up to par.
Nevertheless, this play has some good, fun, and significant moments, like when Anna Mae receives a letter asking her to join her mother, Zelma, and sister Alline in St Louis, leaving Gran Georgeanna's after being encouraged to go and find herself during the touching song, ("Don't Turn Around"). And some of the distressing and dark reminders of abuse hit home with the audience when Tina, with the help of Roger, tries to transform her career but still struggles with the memories of Ike singing ("I Can't Stand the Rain"). Still, unfortunately, from beginning to end, it never has the full-body, high-spirited, electrifying, and sensational energetic feel similar to the movie based on the life of the legendary soul singer played by Angela Bassett. Hall’s storyline was disappointingly uninteresting and seemed to move away from Turner’s life to a more universal story of overcoming your past, which was partially relatable. The storyline towards the end when Villanueva and the cast came out to do a curtain call of songs— that five to ten minutes of singing at the end, where Villanueva sings, What's Love Got To Do With It and the encore was the best part of the musical.
Kudos goes to the creative team of Katori Hall, with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, Mark Thompson as set and costume designer, Anthony Van Laast as a choreographer, Nicholas Skilbeck as musical supervisor, Lighting and Sound Design, Bruno Poet and Nevin Steinberg, Music Director/Conductor Anne Shuttlesworth and Wigs, Hair and Makeup Design, Campbell Young Associates.
After several years of touring at small venues, Tina's launched a comeback with her 1984 multi-platinum album Private Dancer with
"What's Love Got to Do with It" won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, and she received 12 Grammy Awards, three Grammy Hall of Fame awards, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Tina Turner The Musical is entertaining, so if you love Tina, you will love this play.
Let's Play Theatrical Review Recommends Tina Turner The Musical.
James M. Nederlander Theatre
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
Book by Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar, and Kees Prins
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd
Choreographer Anthony Van Laast
March 14 - April 2, 2023
