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On Stage: Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

It’s hard not to start a review of Tina – The Tina Turner Musical with the clichéd statement: “It’s Simply the Best.” But these words perfectly sum up the performance of Ruva Ngwenya as the pop musical legend. The standing ovation she received on the show’s opening night at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre suggests the audience agreed. Ngwenya perfectly captured Tina’s voice, on stage energy and dance moves in what must be a very demanding role given the production features 23 of Tina’s hits encompassing her towering vocal range. Equally as demanding is presenting the subject matter covered in the two and a half hour musical. As we quickly discover much of Tina’s early life was an emotional juggernaut as a result of family violence, racism and sexism. When Ngwenya first appeared on stage the audience went wild, most likely in anticipation of the performance of one of Tina’s many hits. But then it quietened as the musical explored her very difficult early years. The exception being the loud and well-deserved cheer for Zoe Desmier, who played the young Tina (or Anna Mae Bullock as she was known before her name change) singing Nutbush City Limits. A violent father and unloving mother, who left the family home taking only Tina’s sister Alline with her, resulted in Tina spending a number of years with her grandmother before eventually being reunited with her mother and sister when she was 16. As we learn, her life and name changed when she met Ike Turner. The first part of the show then follows the highs and lows of her time with Ike. While musically there were plenty of highs, on a personal level it was a terrible time for Tina thanks to Ike’s appalling behaviour including acts of physical violence – which are portrayed on stage. Having finally made the decision to leave Ike, Tina then has to deal with having no money and two boys to look after. A meeting with Roger Davies and her determination to overcome appalling discrimination (which is also portrayed on stage) to create her own sound eventually paid dividends and resulted in her becoming one of the most loved and successful artists of all time. While Ngwenya is without question the star of the show she’s ably supported by a talented supporting cast including Giovanni Adams as Ike Turner, Ibinabo Jack as Tina’s mother Zelma Bullock, Deni Gordon as Tina’s grandmother and Nadia Komazec as Ike and Tina’s manager Rhonda Graam. The show also stars Jayme-Lee Hanekom as Tina’s sister Alline, Augie Tchantcho as Tina’s father Richard Bullock, Rishab Kern as Tina’s first love Raymond Hill, Matthew Prime as record company marketing manager Erwin Bach and Mat Verevis as Tina’s manager Roger Davies. The costumes, staging and choreography further add to the show’s appeal. There are over 215 main cast costumes (Ngwenya has 20 outfits, Adams 10) and 300 costumes for the supporting cast. Ngwenya’s finale dress has 3,100 Swarovski crystals hand sewn onto it and 2,030 glass beads on the fringing. A hard-working and talented ensemble bring to life many of the songs featured in the show including Don’t Turn Around, Shake a Tail Feather, Better Be Good to Me, River Deep Mountain High, I Can’t Stand the Rain and We Don’t Need Another Hero. While the excellent band was unseen for much of the show, their appearance on stage with Ngwenya for a final high energy presentation of Simply the Best, Proud Mary and Nutbush City Limits, ensured a joyous and upbeat end to a show which didn’t shy away from the emotional and professional hardships Tina experienced during her life. Tina the Musical is playing at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre until January 26. Visit Tina- The Tina Turner Musical website for tickets and more information. *Photo credit: Daniel Boud. Jenny Burns attended the opening night of Tina- The Tina Turner Musical as a guest of the producers.