"Tina: The Tina Turner Musical" - An Homage to the Legendary Singer Like No Other

By James V. Ruocco
(Now on tour through August 4, 2024) 

It's an experience you're not likely to forget anytime soon.

"As long as I have people's attention, I can't stop. You can't put the public on hold, because they might not be there when you get back."

(Tina Turner)

Never have more truer words been spoken.

Watching the thrilling, megawatt-ignited National Touring edition of "Tina: The Tina Turner Musical" connect with pretty much every single person in the audience is just one of the many joys of this hypnotic British musical which, originally, got its start in London's West End back in 2018 and debuted on Broadway one year later only to be suspended in March 2020 by the COVID 19 pandemic and resume New York performances in October 2021.

Five years later - now on tour and still playing in London at the Aldwych Theatre - the spotlight continues to shine on Tina Turner with no chance of slowing down anytime soon.

"Tina: The Tina Turner Musical" thrives on that very notion.
As musical theatre, it's in a class by itself.

The production itself draws you in with seductive, brilliantly formulated theatricality. 
It's moving. It's emotional. It's uplifting. It's heartfelt.
The music solidifies the range, dynamic and emotion of the story.
The staging surges with electricity and impassioned explosion.
The concert vibe created night-after-night before an excited, appreciative crowd erupts with confidence, rush and impressive conclusion.
Everyone - principals, supporting cast members, ensemble - is exactly right for the roles they are asked to portray.
The entire production is a masterclass in musical theatre.
It is also executive produced by Tina Turner herself and her current husband Erwin Bach.
She wouldn't have it any other way.

Music, heartache, violence, domestic abuse, parental abandonment, prejudice, bad career choices, first love, waiting for the big break, touring, pop chart dominance, following your heart, crossing over - all that and more is part of the music legend's story.

Trying to make sense of it all, writers Katori Hall, Kees Prins and Frank Ketelaar fill the two-act musical with useful, challenging and interesting fragments from the singer's life that adapt nicely to the show's page-turning musical format.

It's all here: her early childhood years as Anna-Mae Bullock; her marriage to the hot-headed, abusive, womanizing Ike Turner; the birth of two sons, one of whom was the result of a romantic fling with a musician other than Ike; traveling the R&B and soul circuit in the mid-1960s; achieving moderate success in Europe during the 1970s but not in America; ending her marriage to Ike Turner; building a career with Australian record producer Roger Davies by her side; her pursuit of rock music; meeting music executive Erwin Bach who after 27 years of courtship became her husband; the European release of "Let's Stay Together" and "Private Dancer;" the recording of her first #1 single "What's Love Got to Do with It?" a song she absolutely hated to perform; her major comeback at the 1985 Grammy Awards.
Highs and lows aside, "Tina: The Tina Turner Musical" also comes replete with grim, not-so-pretty reminders about what it meant to be a black recording artist in the 1960's, from prejudiced commentary from white business executives to being denied hotel accommodations because of skin color or being subjected to the frequent use of the N-word. It's all inked and dotted accordingly with details, truths, observations and upsetting, hurtful moments interspersed between the production's vast, important musical numbers.

Billed as a "jukebox biographical musical," "Tina: The Tina Turner Musical" features song hits from the singer's own repertoire mixed with popular songs from the decades to portray her early childhood years in Tennessee and beyond to her eventual rise to stardom as music legend and award-winning rock star.
The songs - eclectic, driven, dynamic, exhilarating - give the story its pulse, set up and shout out, making everything that happens feel relevant and important to the accessible, traveling narrative.
They are (in order of performance): "Etherland -Sound of Mystic Law," "Nutbush City Limits," "Don't Turn Around," "Shake a Tail Feather," "The Hunter," "Rocket 88/ Matchbox," "She Made My Blood Run Cold," "It's Gonna Work Out Fine," "A Fool in Love," "Let's Stay Together," "Better Be Good to Me," "I Want to Take You Higher," "River Deep Mountain High," "Be Tender with Me Baby," "Proud Mary," "I Don't Wanna Fight," "Private Dancer," "Disco Inferno," "Open Arms," "I Can't Stand the Rain," "Tonight," "What's Love Got to Do with It?" "Don't Turn Around (reprise)," "We Don't Need Another Hero," "(Simply) The Best," "Finale: Nutbush City Limits (reprise), "Proud Mary (reprise)."

Flowing together with cemented revolution, liberation and major-key uplift, the songs themselves are assured and fitful, paraded in grand fashion and retreat, thus, fueling and complementing the legend herself and her complicated, sharpened, full-force musical biography. Music director/conductor Anne Shuttleworth ("Les Misérables," "Miss Saigon," "Jesus Christ Superstar") brings rhythmic extremity, flux and punch to the musical score, adapting a free-flowing, exhilarating orchestral style that befits the production's concert-like aura, its nostalgia undercurrents, its jukebox sound and its flavorful beats and percussions.
The conducting itself - bright, attractive, upbeat - keeps the musical afloat for its almost three-hour running time, all of which is fleshed and flung out with tremendous commitment, line and achievement. Vocally, the cast is in fine voice under Shuttleworth's tutelage giving rise to an epic musical journey of great style, tone and tremendous vocal energy.

The National Touring edition of "Tina: The Tina Turner Musical" is helmed by British-born Phyllida Lloyd who directed both the original London and Broadway incarnations of the popular musical. No stranger to theatre, her directorial achievements include "Mamma Mia!" "La Boheme," "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," "The Duchess of Malfi" and "Mary Stuart." Here, she crafts a pungent, consistent musical concert and biography that duly captures the persona of Tina Turner herself, her music, her private life, her success and her refusal to give up even when the cards were completely stacked against her.
The action, the story, the music, the mood swings and the shifting of scenery (the atmospheric set design by Mark Thompson is magnificent) is seamlessly kicked into gear by Lloyd whose staging style and technique complement the proceedings, its thematic flow, its passages of time and place, its live performance vibe, its biographical concept and the high-voltage mini concert at the end of Act II that gets everyone lathered up for the big finish and the standing ovation that quickly follows. It's everything you'd expect from a musical of this caliber and so much more.

Zurin Villanueva, the dynamic actress-singer who shares the lead role of Tina Turner with Ari Groover, channels the music legend's energy, song style, leggy persona and rangy wickedness with such superstar confidence and bravura, the real Turner would surely applaud her performance and participation in this production. As both actress and singer, she is persuasive and emotional, intuitively rising to the demands of the role musically and physically. She not only carries the show, but with a voice and range much like Tina Turner herself, she is truly magnificent.
Handsome, charismatic and completely in touch with his suave, leading man looks, Garrett Turner eases into the part of Turner's manipulative, abusive singer/husband with seriousness, rage, centeredness and chauvinistic standpoint. It's an important role and one he plays to the hilt, showing both the good and bad side of his character, his attraction to women and his need to be the center of attention regardless of the consequences.
Other standout performances are delivered by Ayvah Johnson as Young Anna-Mae, Roz White as Zelma, Lael Van Keuren as Rhonda, Parris Lewis as Alline, Carla R. Stewart as Gran Georgeanna and Max Falls as Erwin Bach.

As musicals go, "Tina: The Tina Turner Musical" is a showstopper of incident, emotion, excitement and roar. 
It's a great theatrical experience. The story is grounded in reality. It matches the energy of the iconic diva it celebrates. The music sizzles and zigzags through the decades. The performances are hot and steamy. And for those who buy a ticket, the payoff is boundless with jackpot proportions.

"Six The Musical" (Aragon Tour) - Is A Cynical, Pop-Fueled, Royal Celebration Times Six

 

By James V. Ruocco

(Now on Tour through July 26, 2024)

"What hurts more than a broken heart?" asks Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII.

"A severed head," chimes Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII who was beheaded on May 19, 1536, at London's Tower Green for adultery, incest and high treason.

No history lesson, here, as Henry VIII had six wives.
Who were the other four?
Catherine of Aragon. Anna of Cleves. Katherine Howard. Catherine Parr.
How did they die?
Who did what to whom?
Was it love that captivated Henry?
Or was he just looking for someone to bed, wed and give him the next heir (or heirs) to the throne? 

In "Six the Musical," all confusion as to who came first, who died, who survived and who lost their head is cleared up immediately with references to the popular British "Henry VIII Wives' Rhyme."

"Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived."

It's a fun fact - and one of the many - that keeps the slick and sassy "Six the Musical" spinning and turning front, center and sideways in all its spangly Renaissance glory for a full 80 minutes of crafty, ballsy and snarky entertainment that gets the pulses racing, the adrenaline flowing, the hands clapping and pretty much anything else you can toss into the mix.

This is theatre.
Smart.
Sparkly.
Speedy.
Sexy.
Strong.

Fueled by contemporary-styled pop music designed for the music industry's diva-of-the-moment experience, this musical showcase for Henry's perturbed, pissed off, often forgotten royal rejects, "Six The Musical" not only tends to set the record straight with fictionalized star turns - think rock concert - but gives voice to six very different women who time remembers mostly as the wives of Henry VIII and very little else.

As written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, the musical wisely opts for a modern telling of the lives of Henry VIII's wives set against the backdrop of a pop concert that becomes a competition of sorts.

Who suffered the most?
Who has the best story?
Who should become queen?
Who is the true winner?

With the groundwork laid, Marlow and Moss bring plenty of girl-squad power and imagination to their story, interspersed with juicy and playful tidbits about divorce, beheadings, miscarriages, church reformation, childbirth, sexual intercourse and the size of husband Henry's penis. What follows is a detailed, class-ridden investigation that morphs into absolute, sheer fun with biting commentary and deliciously wicked notoriety that never once disappoints or stops the action dead in its tracks.
Here, you get finite jest, cynical voice, targeted observation, marvelous stand-alone quotes and well-orchestrated moments that cut straight to the heart of the juicy drama between the six main female characters.

Musically, "Six The Musical" is told through 13 songs, which navigate the dynamic and rhythmic thrust of the score with distinct, impressive individuality, vamp and acoustic clarity. They are: "Ex-Wives," "Ex-Wives (reprise)," "No Way," "The One You've Been Waiting For," "Don't Lose Your Head," "Heart of Stone," "Haus of Holbein," "Get Down," All You Wanna Do," "I Don't Need Your Love," "I Don't Need Your Love (Remix)," "Six" and "The Megasix (Encore)."
Guided with a sure hand by Marlow and Moss, who wrote both the music and the lyrics, each of the musical numbers is well balanced and immaculately shaped, imbuing song styles and lyrics perfectly in sync with the story, its sarcasm, its irony, its fight for the spotlight, its strongness and its pop diva luster. The onstage band, aptly titled "The Ladies in Waiting" (Jo Ann Daughtery (conductor/keyboard), Janetta Goines (bass), Rose Laguana (guitars) and Paige Durr (drums), heighten that sensation with eschewed distinction, boom, flush and flow that smartly reflects the concert vibe and punch intended by the show's creators. It's affecting. It's splendid. It's telling. It's diverse.

Staging "Six the Musical," co-directors Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage create a perfectly proportioned, emotionally connected production of contrast and tempo that intrigues, delights and overwhelms with its whip smart blend of pop-fueled concert staging and atmospheric crescendo. It's rave and illusion, all rolled into one, offset by individual, animated moments of high-rendered, intricate blocking and staging techniques that change course from moment to moment and song to song. This directorial conceit is sustained throughout the production, and is nicely paired with the dance moves, patterns and synchronized beats and rhythms created by choreographer Carrie-Anne Ingrouille. Since no two numbers are alike, the end result is both splendid and beautifully expressed with masterful subtlety, form, position and invention.

 "Six The Musical" stars Khaila Wilcoxon as Catherine of Aragon, Storm Lever as Anne Boleyn, Jasmine Forsberg as Jane Seymour, Olivia Donalson as Anna of Cleves, Didi Romero as Katherine Howard and Gabriela Carrillo as Catherine Parr.
As the ex-wives of Henry VIII, each actress takes center stage with big, joyful, colorful interpretations that unfold with jolts of energy, charm, sexiness and whipped out diva power. Make no mistake, these women are ready to rock the Queendom, engage in Tudor wordplay, spill the dirt, shake you up and tell their story in liberated, intoxicating Broadway style.
They snark. They amuse. They sneer. They sing. They dance. They excite. They hypnotize.
They work as a team. They support one another. They reenact the spirit of sisterhood. They unite as one.
Musically, every one of their vocals and ensemble numbers are performed with absolute pulse and feeling, ignited by soul, heart, emotion and sincerity. It's the real deal - flawless, magical, feisty and bloody well brilliant.

A musical celebration of the highest order, "Six The Musical" is a colorful, explosive, confident work about six very cool, very outspoken queens who join together as one to sing, dance, chat and converse over royal history in glorious Tudor finery that complement and define their shout-out, volatile, pop-drenched musical stories.
It's front-row-center fun mixed happily with roar, glee and amped up messages of in-your-face feminism that glide across the stage in steamy, high-voltage Technicolor.
It tilts. It snaps. It seduces. It charms. It excites. It beckons.
It's kiss-ass entertainment - 21st century girl power recalling 500 years of British historical heartache and trauma - where the energy never falters, the spell is never broken and the concert vibe it creates lingers long after the six queens disappear into the darkness as the music swells.