Turner Vision

Words by Shelton Hull

 Tina Turner, who died May 24, 2023, was born Ida Mae Bullock in Brownsville, Tennessee, dying in a Swiss chalet some 83 years later. An entire world lay between those locations, and that world was greatly influenced by her career, which began when she met Ike Turner in St. Louis in 1956. She made her first record at 19, and their first as an act in 1960. That partnership lasted for 16 years, which, of course, was much longer than it should have. 

The details of their relationship — and her subsequent rebirth as a solo artist — was the basis of “I, Tina”, a 1986 book with a fascinating butterfly effect: “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” the 1993 movie based on the book, helped launch the careers of stars Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne, while the book’s co-writer, Kurt Loder, was later tapped to develop what became MTV News. It also helped establish the musical biopic as a lucrative mainstream film genre, the ripple effects of which can be seen (literally) in cinemas right now. This second phase of her career, which lasted about triple the time of the first, is the period of time which most fans today will be most familiar with.

After her passing, Tom Szaroleta of “The Florida Times-Union” did the yeoman work of combing through the digital record of Turner’s tours, noting 30 concerts between 1970 and 2008. Amazingly, Tina Turner herself never performed in Jacksonville, but local audiences are now being graced with the next-best possible thing: “TINA: The Tina Turner Musical,” showing March 5-10 at the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts.

The lead role is being split across the eight shows in this run with Ari Groover and Paris Lewis each playing the protagonist across every era of Turner’s long and lucrative career. Roz White plays her mom Zelma Bullock in a cast also featuring Wydetta Carter as Gran Georgeanna, Sarah Bockel as Rhonda, and Deon Releford-Lee as Ike Turner. The ensemble includes Daelyanna Kelly Benson, Antonio Beverly, Ben Bogen, Karen Burthwright, Aliyah Caldwell, Brianna Cameron, Max Falls, Zachary Freier-Harrison, Reyna Guerra, Gordia Hayes, Takia Hopson, Geoffrey Kidwell, Symphony King, Gigi Lewis, Natalia Nappo, Wildlin Pierrevil, Gerard M. Williams, Nia Nelson-Williams, Terance Reddick, Shari Washington Rhone, Eric Siegle, Kristopher Stanley Ward, Christine Suddeth and Jeff Sullivan.

Written by Pulitzer Prize winner Katori Hall with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, the musical debuted in London’s iconic West End in April 2018. Hall is also a past Tony Award nominee, as are director Phyllida Lloyd, choreographer Anthony Van Laast, costume designer Mark Thompson, lighting director Bruno Poet, sound director Nevin Steinberg, projection designer Jeff Sugg and orchestrator Ethan Popp. It has since been featured in Germany, Spain, Australia and the Netherlands, as well as the US, where it ran on Broadway (receiving 12 Tony nominations in November 2019), pausing after the pandemic brought the entire industry to a halt in 2020. It resumed in October 2021 before ultimately closing in August 2022, after some 509 performances. Many of the cast and crew of the production in Jacksonville were part of its original Broadway incarnation, so they know this material like it’s second nature.

These types of tribute shows, which the FSCJ Artist Series specializes in, are really well done with leading professionals on board in every position. In the post-pandemic era, touring productions like these can be very profitable, while giving the talent national exposure in between their various stints on and off Broadway. It’s practically become its own circuit, in a way, with new shows coming through almost weekly, and plenty of room for more.

Turner won 12 Grammy Awards in her career (with 25 nominations), and she’s been enshrined, inducted, ensconced in every hall of fame and walk of fame and critical “best of” list that one can think of. This production occurs with consent and cooperation with Turner’s estate, and she personally approved of its production during her lifetime. Its success certainly helps ensure that Tina Turner and her legacy will never be forgotten, but let’s be honest: There was never any chance that she will ever be forgotten.