Touring Broadway production at the Denver Center a fitting tribute to a legend
Tina – The Tina Turner Musical, now playing at the Buell Theater, is a touring production about the life and times of superstar Tina Turner. The production is directed by Phyllida Lloyd and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast and comes to Denver straight from a successful Broadway run that garnered multiple awards. In this jukebox musical, the audience is treated to many of Turner’s hit songs along with the back story of her life that may surprise and even inflame those who were unaware of her once-brutal reality.
We are first introduced to Tina (Ari Groover) as her young self, Anna Mae Bullock (Symphony King), bouncing around between her mother, Zelma (Roz White), and grandmother, Gran Georgeanna (Wydetta Carter). Her childhood is less than ideal; however, one thing Anna Mae has going for her is a powerhouse voice that reverberates through the rafters whenever she sings.
Encouraged by Gran Georgeanna to move to Memphis and record an album, Anna Mae meets and marries singer and band leader Ike Turner (Antonio Beverly), who changes Anna Mae’s name to Tina Turner. Performing with the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, Tina’s star is rising, but she is now the victim of domestic abuse at the hands of Ike. It is a violent relationship that lasts many years until Tina decides she’s had enough and finally walks out on the marriage.
With barely a penny to her name, Turner encounters the frightening new reality of starting over in her mid-40s. She is confronted with everything from racism, ageism and sexism as she claws her way back from the bottom. Moving to Europe at the suggestion of Australian manager Roger Davies (Zachary Freier-Harrison) she meets and falls in love with Erwin Bach (Max Falls), a German music producer, as her newfound career blossoms into a raging success as the “Queen of Rock and Roll.”
The music makes the show by showcasing all of Turner’s hits — from “Let’s Stay Together,” “Proud Mary,” “Private Dancer,” “What’s Love Got To Do With It” and “We Don’t Need Another Hero.” There are more than a dozen other songs throughout that move the storyline along with their perfect coordination with the plot. Overseen by music director Anne Shuttlesworth, the music comes from a large on-stage orchestra that strikes all the right notes of the classic Turner tunes.
In the role of Tina Turner, Groover is nothing less than sensational, working tirelessly to bring to life the essence of Turner through her music and dance. Her energy is boundless as she portrays the violence of her relationship with Ike to the worldwide superstar success she finds later in life. It is a performance that draws the audience in and holds tight for nearly three hours.
Beverly, as Ike Turner, is a frightening force in Tina’s life. He does everything to manipulate her and ends up nearly destroying her along the way. Beverly gives a strong performance as the unsympathetic Ike while at times crossing the line from man to beast.
Young Anna Mae played by King is an example of having a larger-than-life voice in a pint-sized package sending every note beyond the balcony with perfect pitch and intonation. As Zelma, Roz White could be considered a villain in the story. She rejects Anna Mae at an early age and later sides with Ike following Tina’s divorce from him. White is appropriately misguided and delivers a strong representation of Tina’s mother. Gran Georgeanna is a more sympathetic character played by Carter who approaches the role with just the right amount of warmth and wisdom, encouraging Anna Mae to capitalize on her unique singing voice. Both Freier-Harrison and Falls as Roger Davies and Erwin Bach add a strong presence alongside Turner as she is reborn as the larger-than-life superstar.
The direction by Phyllida Lloyd and choreography by Anthony Van Lasst give the production a heart-pounding sound from start to finish. They have mapped out Turner’s life with detail and realism including representative fight sequences between Ike and Tina that are difficult to watch. Everything leads up to the stunning staging of the final song as Turner reaches the peak of her success. Together Lloyd and Van Laast have successfully taken a true-life story and moved it on stage into a dramatic interpretation that gives the audience a sense of knowing the factual story of Tina Turner through words and music.
The late Tina Turner and her husband Erwin Bach are the executive producers of TINA – The Tina Turner Musical and have brought to life the story of her rise to superstardom leaving no stone unturned.
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