Biographical retellings of iconic lives, like in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical must inevitably overcome a pair of challenges: can you cast a star who possesses the same prowess and charisma as the generational talent who they will depict; and how do you add suspense and emotional resonance to a story that is already known? With Tina Turner, the challenge is escalated because many of the behind-the-scenes revelations have already been definitively told by the remarkable 1993 biopic, What’s Love Got to Do With It? starring Angela Bassett as Tina, and Laurence Fishburn as her abusive husband and early-career musical partner Ike.
In the Adelaide production of the 2018 jukebox musical, written by fellow Tennessee girl Katori Hall based on interviews she conducted with the late soul and rock icon, the mountain high first challenge is surmounted with ease. Ruva Ngwenya’s voice, and the backing band and vocalists, are so spectacular, so goosebump inducing, that you never feel like you are witnessing a mere imitation. You can be assured you will receive a musical replica of a 60s era Ed Sullivan show performance or a early 90s stadium rock concert.
Regarding the second challenge, Katori Hall’s book does add some poignant elements to Tina’s story, including an exploration of her Buddhist spirituality, and intimate revelations about her death bed conversations with her mother, Zelma Bullock (Ibinabo Jack). This scene, as well as the moment where Tina makes the catastrophically consequential decision to marry Ike, are emotional highlights. The latter scene, set in the 60s, is soundtracked by Tina’s 80s hit ‘Better Be Good to Me’, as Ike stands frozen. It is like a memory of a life-changing decision, a regret, replayed over and over in the mind. Similarly, Tina’s conversation with her dying mum explores the torture of being impregnated and, therefore, trapped with the wrong man in the wrong place.
The constraints of the jukebox musical genre, though, are not necessarily the best forum to depict the full horror of Ike’s abuse in Act One: a naturalistic biopic like the 93 film, does this better. Tina doesn’t have a ‘I Dreamed A Dream’ worthy pit-of-despair lament in her back catalogue to accompany these moments. Not all the show’s songs are Tina’s- Al Green features, for example, so maybe show creators needed to explore the blues songbook a bit further.
Tina’s triumph, though in Act Two- her denim jacketed phoenix ascent from the ashes of her divorce to stratospheric global superstardom- this couldn’t have been done better. The grand finale gets the seated theatre audience to its feet quicker than you’ve ever seen it before. It’s simply awe inspiring; or the best. Ngwenya is supported well by an ensemble cast, including Giovanni Adams (Ike), Deni Gordon (Gran Georganna), Adelaide’s Nadia Komazec (Rhonda Graam) and Jayme-Lee Hanekom (Alline) but it’s Tina’s show. Only the young Tina/Anna Mae, played by Lucy Bowyer, is able to steal the spotlight, with her church time shoulder shrugging and gospel singing.
One year on from her passing, and as a domestic violence pandemic sweeps the nation and the globe, the time has never been riper for Tina Turner’s remarkable story of survival and rebirth to be told on stage.
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