Tina: The Tina Turner Musical opened November 8 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, where the show received a special visit from the icon herself. Tina Turner appeared during the show’s curtain call and joined the cast for an emotional speech. Watch the video above to see the speech and the star-studded opening night audience including Oprah, Bernadette Peters, Whoopi Goldberg, and more.
Tony Award nominee Adrienne Warren (Shuffle Along...) leads the cast in the title role, having earned an Olivier Award nomination earlier this year for her work in the London world premiere of the musical. Nkeki Obi-Melekwe plays Tina at select performances.
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd and written by Katori Hall with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, the musical charts the life of Turner from her hometown of Nutbush, Tennessee (where she was born Anna-Mae Bullock), her initial rise to stardom, the abuse at the hands of Ike Turner, and her eventual reclamation of her name and image. Incorporated into her story are several of her hits, including "River Deep Mountain High," "Private Dancer," and "(Simply) The Best."
Flip through photos of opening night below:
Rounding out the company are Steven Booth, Nick Rashad Burroughs, Gerald Caesar, Holli’ Conway, Kayla Davion, Leandra Ellis-Gaston, Charlie Franklin, Judith Franklin, Matthew Griffin, Sheldon Henry, David Jennings, Ross Lekites, Robert Lenzi, Gloria Manning, Rob Marnell, Mehret Marsh, Jhardon DiShon Milton, Destinee Rea, Mars Rucker, Jessica Rush, Allysa Shorte, Carla Stewart, Jayden Theophile, Antonio Watson, and Katie Webber.
The production features choreography by Anthony van Laast, sets and costumes by Mark Thompson, musical supervision, additional music and arrangements by Nicholas Skilbeck, lighting by Bruno Poet, sound by Nevin Steinberg, projection design by Jeff Sugg, and orchestrations by Ethan Popp. Casting is by Telsey + Company.
