Before Tina: The Tina Turner Musical officially opens on Broadway November 7, the cast of the new bio-musical took the Good Morning America stage November 6.
Led by Tony and Olivier nominee Adrienne Warren as the titular Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, members of the cast sang the famous “Proud Mary.”
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."
The GMA performance also features Daniel J. Watts as Ike Turner and Skye Dakota Turner as young Anna-Mae Bullock.
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.