Review: TINA: THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL at Hershey Theatre
Welcome back to the Broadway Series!
After a year hiatus, the Broadway Series returns to the Hershey Theatre loud and proud with Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. The show is a triumphant celebration of the iconic singer and the struggles that she overcome during her accomplished life.
Darilyn Burtley stars as Tina Turner, she has the looks, the legs and the pipes for this role. Ms. Burtley is definitely a powerhouse on the stage and demands the audience's attention and appreciation. My sole criticism is that her vocal timbre isn't a perfect match for the iconic character. She lacks some of that trademark scratchy gruffness. Instead she projects amazing vibrancy and volume, more along the lines of a superstar like Beyonce.
Katrina Mayddit knocks it our of the park as Tina's mom, Zelma Bullock. She portrays equal amounts of strength and cruelty. She constantly holds back on recognition and praise of her daughter, which foreshaodws some of the dysfunctional relationships for the singer.
Speakng of dysfunctional relationships, Monty Kane is perfect as the viciously insecure, Ike Turner. Those who have seen What's Love Got to Do with It are well aware of her husband's constant physical and verbal abuse. Those aspects are a key part of the Act 1 story and her eventual split with him at intermission. The pacing of the first half of the show was a definite roller coaster ride to compete with the best of them down the street at Herhsey Park.
Act 2 was a bit of a let-down. The second half takes place during her comeback solo career of the 1980's. While it was still interesting and continued the narrative, the stakes were never as high as they were when she was under the thumb of her egomanical ex. Instead, we meet Roger Davies (Hans Jose Mueh) and Erwin Bach (Collin Kilfeather) two Europeans (with dubious accents) who help Tina get back on her feet, professionally and romantically.
The score is well-done, and features all of the artist's greatest hits. Sometimes they are performance based, while other times they drive the narrative. All are done very well.
Tina is one of the better biographical jukebox musicals. It is compelling, engaging and full of great music. What keeps it from being top-tier is it's tendency to run out of steam a little bit towards the finish line. Nevertheless, it is well worth the ticket for most audience members, regardless of your familiarity with the music or the story. It is playing now through March 29th.
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