Julieta Cervantes
TINA – The Tina Turner Musical has hit the road again for its second North American tour with a very quick stop at Washington DC’s National Theatre. The show has been a hit in the West End since it premiered in 2018, and had a successful run on Broadway from 2019 to 2022, earning 12 Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, and winning Lead Actress in a Musical for its star Adrienne Warren. Tina Turner, with her husband Erwin Bach, was involved with the creative process and approved every detail of the production so we can have faith the story doesn’t stray too far from facts, but while playing an icon like Tina Turner may be the role of a lifetime, it’s also got to be extremely difficult because almost everyone coming to see the show knows who Tina Turner is, knows her looks, her style, and her unmistakable voice. It has to be a daunting task to bring such an well-known artist to life on stage.
TINA – The Tina Turner Musical begins, actually, at the end as Tina is about to go on stage in Brazil where over 180,000 people are waiting to see her. Before she ascends the staircase to the stage she recites a Buddhist chant and we’re transported back to the 1950s where a young Anna Mae Bullock is bringing the roof down at church with her voice and attitude, much to the dismay of her mother. Embarrassed by this child she was forced to have, and fed up with the almost nightly beatings by her husband, Anna Mae’s mother Zelma packs up her older daughter Alline, leaving Anna Mae with a father who has no idea what to do with her except ship her off to her grandmother. Anna Mae is a teen when Gran Georgeanna encourages her to go to Memphis and cut a record, but a note from her sister brings Anna Mae to St. Louis to live with them … much to Zelma’s dismay. It’s not long before Alline drags 17-year-old Anna Mae to a local nightclub, and during a sing-along moment of a song by the club’s star performer, Ike Turner, everyone is stunned by her vocals, especially Ike who then shows up at Zelma’s apartment to announce that he is taking Anna Mae on the road with him, with the promise that she will send some of her earnings back to her mother. Ike renames his band Kings of Rhythm to The Ike and Tina Turner Revue, despite Anna Mae taken aback by suddenly having a new name, and one that made it seem like she and Ike were married. The relationship was tumultuous, with everyone from back-up singers to band members — including Raymond Hill, with whom Tina was also involved with behind Ike’s back — urging her to leave him before something terrible happened. But Anna Mae promised Ike she’d never leave him despite his violent tendencies and during one particularly brutal fight she announces she’s pregnant … with Raymond’s baby. But she stays with Ike, gives birth to a second son (Ike’s this time), but after one final, extremely violent fight that leaves Tina bloodied, she leaves him but that has a major impact on her career, and not for the better. Struggling to make ends meet while performing in Las Vegas — at a time when careers went to the desert town to die — she’s re-discovered by Roger Davies, who believes he can create a hit song for her and get her a deal with Capitol Records. Davies takes Tina to London to record a song and meet the execs, but she’s a harder sell than Davies could have imagined (and the record exec is pretty shockingly blunt as to why she’s not getting a record deal), and they all return to New York and she performs several nights at The Ritz … where David Bowie saw her and urged the Capitol exec to see her. He grovels at her feet to sign with them and her comeback is about to take off but … adversity still comes from her mother, Ike, and her kids. It’s going to take Tina putting her foot down once and for all to show them and the world the star she was all along.
Jukebox musicals are tricky things, having to build a story around a certain set of songs or construct a scene in which a particular song can be used to further the story. Sometimes it can fail spectacularly, as it did in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical with the ‘No More Tears’ scene that elicited laughter from some audiences during a pretty serious moment, but more often than not it all works pretty well. In TINA – The Tina Turner Musical, the use of Tina’s music is very well incorporated into the story (even if Tina singing about life ‘beyond Thunderdome’ after her mother’s passing is … odd, though the performance is magnificent). The show pulls songs from all different eras of Tina’s career to punctuate a scene, so don’t be surprised if you hear a pretty famous song from the 80s or 90s used in a scene in the 60s and vice versa. There are a couple of scenes in which Tina performs a specific song ‘on stage’ such as ‘Proud Mary’, ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’ and ‘The Best’ since those are key moments in her career, and it all works really well.
Julieta Cervantes
With a show about Tina Turner, you also need to have a performer who can embody the icon without simply imitating her. Tina had a look, she had the voice and she certainly had the moves. The actress playing her has to bring that essence to life on stage and Jayna Elise does just that in this tour (Mona Swain plays Tina at some shows as it is a very demanding role). Since most of us don’t know anything about the pre-Ike Anna Mae Bullock, Elise is able to give her own interpretation of the person and the character, which then allows the audience to accept her performance as she segues into the more well-known Tina Turner. Watching her as the character advances from the 50s to the 60s to the 80s, it feels like Elise is actually evolving into the Tina Turner of the Private Dancer era, the true comeback for the singer, her voice even becoming more like the familiar one we’ve all come to know. Of course she doesn’t sound exactly like Tina, no one could, but she makes you believe she sounds exactly like that Tina Turner. Her performance is also solid, showing all of the struggles, turmoil and triumphs of Turner’s life, giving us real insight into who Tina Turner was (and it just kills me to write about Tina in the past tense), and by the end at that concert in Brazil, you feel like you are watching Tina Turner perform. Jayna Elise is truly magnificent as Tina Turner. Also a big shout out to Taylor Brice, who brings down the house as young Anna Mae every time she opens her mouth to sing. She is amazing!
Elise is surrounded with a great cast, all of whom have outstanding voices. Sterling Baker-McClary has the tough role of Ike Turner, a man who has to be charming to get what he wants and then a monster when he doesn’t get his way. (And, yes, for those of you too young to know, like the young men I overheard after the show, Ike is the villain in this story.) Maurice Alpharicio is also good as Raymond, sympathetic to Tina’s situation but wanting more (and making us root for them to make a go of it). In a clever little twist in Act II, Baker-McClary and Alpharicio also play the sons of their respective fathers. Elaina Walton as Zelma is almost as much of a villain as Ike in the way she treats Anna Mae, while Deidre Lang is the tough but caring Gran Georgeanna (with a spectacular voice). Kristen Daniels makes an impression as Rhonda Graam, first as Ike’s business manager who quickly becomes Tina’s protector, manager and ‘sister’, promising to always be there for Tina. All of the Ikettes — Mya Bryant (also Alline), Charis Michelle Gullage, Daniyah Jezel, Morgan Lewis — are terrific, all nailing that signature Tina Turner choreography. Many of the ensemble actors play multiple roles with Bear Manescalchi notable for a scene as Phil Spector, Hunter Torr as Capitol Records exec John Carpenter and Heaven 17 producer Martyn Ware, and Steven Sawan as Erwin Bach all stand-outs.
The production follows Phyllida Lloyd’s original direction, which keeps the story flowing, while Mark Thompson’s set design is augmented with projections by Jeff Suggs and lighting by Bruno Poet. Thompson also did the costume design, showcasing some of Tina’s most famous outfits, from sequined and bejewled numbers to the black leather and jean jacket outfit and her classic red leather mini. Non-equity shows sometimes get a bad rap for not matching the quality of the union productions, perhaps due to smaller budgets that often show in the sets, but the entire production of TINA – The Tina Turner Musical can match any big budget touring show. Everything in the production works well, the band (backstage for most of the show until the Brazil concert) sounds fantastic, the cast from leads to ensemble players are excellent and give it their all (some a bit too over-the-top at times though), and Jayna Elise is simply the best as Tina Turner. And a note to those of you who love to run out of the theatre during the curtain call. First, don’t, it’s rude. Second, don’t do it at this show because you will miss ‘Tina’ and the ‘Ikettes’ performing two more songs, ‘Nutbush City Limits’ and a full version of ‘Proud Mary’, with the entire cast joining in on the choreography. It all actually feels like a real concert at that point and you can’t help but leave the theatre feeling totally exhilarated. If you’re a Tina Turner fan, do not miss this show.
TINA – The Tina Turner Musical runs about 3 hours with one 20 minute intermission. Recommended for ages 14 and up. The production includes loud music, strobe lighting, haze, gun shots, scenes depicting domestic violence and strong language.
TINA – The Tina Turner Musical runs through January 26 at Washington DC’s National Theatre. Other cities on the schedule include York, Montreal, Ottawa, Sacramento, Vancouver, Albuquerque, Chicago, Charlotte and more. Visit the official website for more information. Use our Ticketmaster link to purchase tickets.
TINA – The Tina Turner Musical – North American Tour 2025
Crossroads Live
Check our Ticketmaster link for ticket availability.
