“Childhood abandonment, domestic violence, losing everything in her divorce … and that’s before you even get into the sexism, racism and ageism she faced throughout her career. “The odds were stacked against her so many times in her life,” says Ngwenya. She is one of only three women in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and she’s been inducted twice – first with Ike Turner in 1991, and again as a solo artist in 2021. Turner went on to sell more concert tickets than any solo performer in the world. It ends on a triumphant note, the comeback that began with the release of 1984’s Private Dancer – the multimillion selling album that led to Turner being the oldest women to ever top the Billboard chart. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Preview audiences have been quick with the standing ovations, and the show rewards them with mega-mix encores. The audience can’t hold back from singing along, especially when the Australian connection kicks in – Turner had an Australian manager, Roger Davies, during the 1980s, she performed in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, her hit Simply The Best was a promo for the NRL, and she toured here many times. Photograph: Daniel Boud/Daniel Boud/Theatre Royal Sydney Ngwenya shimmies through the costume changes, from skin-tight red leather to spangly beaded minis. The vibe is smoking hot, and the costume changes blink-fast: cast mates might come on to quickly change a wig while Ngwenya wiggles out of one dress to reveal another, as she shimmies through the 1960s dresses to the skin-tight red leather numbers, the spangly beaded minidresses, and the huge fright wigs. Turner famously created her own moves and Ngwenya throws herself into the strutting, the swaggering, and the fast, jerky, hopping steps, all performed in high heels. She captures her range too – from the 17-year-old singer who turned Ike’s head, to the R&B belter, and, most expertly, the older singer with a raspier, husky voice stretching out her vowel sounds. She’s like an athlete pacing herself through the acting scenes (including difficult scenes of domestic violence), with the enormous vocal strength she needs to nail Turner’s exuberant and powerful style. The odds were stacked against her so many times in her life … She never gave upĪnd Ngwenya barely leaves the stage. The cast and live band smash out 20 of Turner’s biggest hits, including Nutbush City Limits, Better Be Good to Me, What’s Love Got to Do With It and Proud Mary, and – quite movingly – her earlier 1960s hits with Ike Turner, A Fool in Love and River Deep, Mountain High. The show follows Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock in 1939) from her troubled childhood in rural Tennessee, to her years on the southern R&B circuit with bandleader (and future husband) Ike Turner played by Tim Omaji it charts her rise to fame, years of domestic violence, and the career crash that nearly claimed her life. Photograph: Daniel Boud/Daniel Boud/Theatre Royal SydneyĪ jukebox musical that debuted in London’s Aldwych Theatre in 2018, TINA transferred to Broadway the following year – before pausing due to the pandemic. Ruva Ngwenya as Tina Turner in TINA: The Tina Turner Musical.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |