"Tina: The Tina Turner Musical," show #910

Jukebox bio-musicals offer audiences a chance to experience an artist’s story and music performed by a cast of dedicated performers who can imitate the legend(s) while adding in their own touches. Meghan Dawson, currently rolling along the country as Tina, achieves this exact criteria; she is fiercely talented and naturally compelling as the famous performer while infusing her own dynamics to the singing legend. She’s leading a widely gifted and committed cast placed in an overstuffed, far-too-expositional musical where the music stands as the star among a book that is a bit too big for its britches.

The exciting prospect to seeing a Tina Turner musical is that there’s a plethora of hit songs, and many plot-moving lyrics to warrant a jukebox musical. The book by Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar, and Kees Prins is superb in its dialogue, especially the Stars scene shared between Dawson and Sterling Baker-McClary’s incredibly engaging Ike Turner, is pristine in its verbiage and set ups for songs. However, there’s simply too much scene work. Act One itself has at least three natural finale moments, none of which end as such. Act Two is a bit more tight in its pacing and structure, but there’s no one musical that can ever capture an entire life of a star like Tina Turner, even though this show sure makes an effort to do so.

Supporting highlights come from Mya Bryant as Alline, Tina (whose birth name is Anna-Mae), Nia Simone Smith as Zelma, mother to Anna-Mae and Alline, and Deidre Lang as Gran Georgeanna. These three women are dominating presences in Tina’s life, and director Phyllida’s Lloyd’s staging of their moments and songs with Tina are prescient in showing how their influence in Tina’s life is affective and long-lasting; the musical often jumps time and the use of these three characters in particular serves that structure well. These three stalwart actresses give much-desired grounding to what is otherwise a very over-animated supporting company. While Dawson and the above mentioned women are very real, down-to-earth executed characters, everyone else appears to have been directed a full step above of Real. Line deliveries, physicality, and both comedic and dramatic turns are played with an almost campy quality that often breaks what could be seriously funny or deeply poignant moments. 

Anthony Van Laast’s choreography is spectacular, honoring Tina and company’s dance talents, nostalgic moves, and exciting formations perfectly. When such tunes like “Shake a Tailfeather,” “I Want to Take You Higher,” “River Deep–Mountain High, ” and obviously “Proud Mary” make up your dance card, the dance turns and staging better live up to expectation, and Laast ensures it does.

As Tina: The Tina Turner Musical continues touring the country, audiences can look forward to some superb arrangements and additional music by Nicholas Skilbeck, an effort that doesn’t betray the timeless music many are accustomed to hearing, while making the tunes sound just as sweet for musical audiences. And, of course, the benefit of seeing Dawson lead an incredible company in a demanding role is worth the price of admission. Tina’s story lends itself to musical dramatization, to be sure; audiences just need to buckle up and settle in for what's going to be a long ride.