Review: TINA - THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL at Blaisdell Center

The curtain rises on Tina Turner (Jayna Elise) in her iconic red leather minidress and lioness mane about to ascend a set of stairs to a stadium of eager fans. She panics, steps back down the stairs, sits cross-legged on the floor, and begins chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, a Buddhist chant invoking inner strength and transformation of suffering. As she panic-chants, ghosts of her past join her, including her indigenous grandmother (Deidre Lang) shaking a rattle in time to a Cherokee chant, and her Baptist preacher father (Keemar Robert Davis) clanging a bell to call in his parishioners to church. The overlapping of these sounds is cacophonous, reflecting the storm of emotions the Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll must be feeling at that pivotal moment in her career, before the scene transitions into Ms. Turner’s childhood in the small farming town of Nutbush, Tenessee. While this biomusical opening scene of a megastar flashing back on their life before they take the stage at the height of their fame is a well-worn trope, Tina’s invocation of the different influences of the star’s own spirituality feels quite unique, and introduces us to the idea that the story of Tina Turner is not just a professional or musical journey, but ultimately a spiritual one. And love has everything to do with it.

Tina Turner’s legacy after a tumultuous life and career is a testament to her strength as a person and to her unwavering belief in the gift of her incredible voice and love of performing. It takes a serious mana wahine to tell her story, and leading lady Jayna Elise takes on the mantle with style and some serious chops. Ms. Elise barely leaves the stage in the nearly-three hour runtime, and to witness her tirelessly belting and shimmying and embodying all the emotional highs and lows through the entire story is breathtaking. But Ms. Elise is no stranger to stepping into the stiletto pumps of legends of the music world, having made a name for herself on two seasons of American Idol covering songs by Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, and Whitney Houston, as well as earning a Golden Buzzer on America’s Got Talent with Andra Day’s “Rise Up” when she was just 15 years old. Fans of Tina Turner will appreciate Ms. Elise’s interpretation of the diva, never falling into the trap of outright impersonation, but still serving the more iconic twangs and idiosyncratic moves that have become synonymous with Ms. Turner. Ms. Elise, like Tina herself, was clearly born to sing, and it was a delight to see her shine.

The show highlights many of the people who attempted to dim Ms. Turner’s shine, including a cold and abusive mother (imperiously played by Nia Simone Smith) and racist/sexist/ageist music execs like John Carpenter (Hunter Torr), but it is the infamous drug-fueled cruelty of ex-husband Ike Turner (Sterling Baker-McClary) that takes up the majority of villainy of Act One. The well-known abuse and cruelty Tina suffered at his hands echoes her upbringing, so it is a moment of triumph to see her actively (and violently) break that cycle of abuse intercut in a frantic rendition of their iconic cover of “Proud Mary”. Mr. Baker-McClary does an impressive job of playing such a loathsome character while still allowing for some vulnerable moments (that, as narcissists tend to do, are also used as a tool of manipulation), as well as playing Ike and Tina’s own son Ronnie in later scenes. When he took his bow amidst a theatre of spectators loudly (and lovingly) booing him, he provided a wonderful moment of catharsis for us all, actively encouraging the boos for Ike until we were ready to break into applause for Mr. Baker-McClary the performer. Playing a monster like Ike Turner for months on end is not for the weak of spirit, and Mr. Baker-McClary’s ovation was well deserved.

But it’s not all trial and hardship in Tina. There are several moments featuring a chorus of ancestors behind Tina during particularly difficult moments in her life: providing support as she debates her future with Ike in “Better Be Good To Me”, and a reminder that she is never truly alone even in her darkest moment, in “I Don’t Wanna Fight”. It was beautiful to see her draw strength from her ancestors, echoing the value we kānaka place on our own kūpuna. The Ikettes (Mya Bryant, Daniyah Jezel, Morgan Lewis, and Aiyana Smash) provide levity and electric dance moves (the “chicken dance” sequence in particular had the audience in stitches), and are stars unto themselves. We are also treated to a suave and kindhearted performance by Steven Sawan as German music executive Erwin Bach, who was devoted to Tina from the moment they met in 1985, marrying in 2013, and until her passing in 2023. Mr. Sawan provides some much-needed tenderness in Tina’s life story, and serves as the long-awaited antithesis to her lifetime of abusive men who would weaponize her passion in order to control her. Their private moment just before the end of Act Two is a loving tribute to Mr. Bach, who clearly was “simply the best” thing to happen to her at that point in her life. To see Tina finally be able to accept the love she deserved all along—love that had been twisted and withheld her whole life—elicited cheers from the audience, a satisfying end to her spiritual journey of self-love and inner strength.