Laura and Samara spend their days as non-profit unicorns and fill every spare minute exploring the world of musical theatre as BFFs (that’s Broadway Friends Forever). Follow @bffs613 on Instagram and Facebook.
While many people are quite familiar with the Queen of Rock ‘n Roll’s amazing music, a lot don’t know her triumphant journey and comeback to claim that title. Broadway Across Canada has you covered with TINA – the Tina Turner Musical, playing now at the National Arts Centre until Feb. 16.
Despite now being one of the best-selling artists with dozens of well-known songs, Tina faced immense challenges in her life. If you know only one thing about her personal life, it’s likely her troubled time with husband and musical partner Ike Turner. The importance of these defining moments and the strength it took for her to leave and rebuild is a large focus of the show. Though the violence is an integral part of her story and the show, it felt almost overused and overly choreographed, losing the intended impact.
With Tina’s career starting early and through a comeback lasting decades — there is a lot for the show to cover. It’s always hard to capture ones’ life in a stage show, especially as Tina’s life and the barriers she faced were complex, however this show doesn’t always seem to hit the mark. The pacing, especially in the first act, felt like it could be a bit tighter.
A shining piece of this production is the cast. You can see them putting a bit of themselves into each performance. It’s a demanding show with heavy emotion, challenging vocals and high-energy dance moves, and the talent of these performers is undeniable. Taylor Brice as Young Anna-Mae Bullock (ie. young Turner) has an incredibly powerful voice that you just won’t believe is coming out of a 10-year-old body. Jayna Elise will leave you awestruck as Tina Turner belting out her signature hits as though it is effortless and beautifully bringing Tina to life on the stage.
Jayna Elise as Tina Turner. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.
This is the first show we have seen where audience members were audibly cheering for the lead’s success — and not just after a hit song. Whether it was finally getting that number one on the radio post-Ike, walking away from an abusive marriage, standing her ground or just a really good one-liner, the audience was so invested in Tina, the person. Cheers could be heard rooting for her successes and triumphs throughout the entire piece.
This show is definitely built for the fans. Tina’s signature outfits and dance moves are on full display, with a look at every sparkle and iconic hairstyle through the decades. And of course, showcasing some of Turner’s biggest hits including Proud Mary, What’s Love Got to Do with It?, We Don’t Need Another Hero and (Simply) The Best. The orchestra and band shift between Tina’s early career soul music into her signature rock and roll sound and elevates every performance throughout the show.
Tina Turner’s inspiring story is one of power, perseverance and resilience. On top of it all she was an out of this world performer and the cast of TINA – the Tina Turner Musical impeccably follows in her footsteps.
Broadway Across Canada’s presentation of TINA – the Tina Turner Musical takes place from Feb. 11 to 16 with 7:30 pm evening performances from Wednesday to Sunday and 1 pm matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday. TINA runs for 2 hours and 40 minutes with one intermission.
