Tina Turner did not have an easy life. This is a gross understatement. This icon was handed the steep, craggy, dangerous and entirely uphill version of life at birth. She was also granted three super important gifts that would enable her to so marvelously persevere as she tackled this daunting climb: her spirit, her tenacity, and her voice. As I learned yesterday, Tina would not have achieved Tina just on her voice alone. It was her towering inferno of a spirit and remarkably unshakeable tenacity teamed with her powerhouse talent that launched the Tina Turner we know, admire and love in abundance today. We should all bow down out of respect for her hard-fought queen-dom.
One’s spirit is a delicate thing and Tina’s could easily have been crushed by just one of the following indignities thrown her way: parental abandonment, mental abuse, physical abuse, lack of financial freedom, racism, sexism, drug abuse, rejection, legal battles, ageism, and more. But thanks to her burning bright spirit she persevered and how.
Her shining quality of spirit is made abundantly clear in the opening scene where we get to meet a six’sh year old, feisty and bright-eyed Anna Mae AKA Tina. Adrienne Warren takes over from there as the lead and immediately sets the Tina tone that brings this icon to life for us. She unfolds before our very eyes the often disturbing and shocking, but in the end supremely inspiring story of Tina Turner. The show Tina: The Tina Turner Musical is on Broadway now and opens this evening.
I am confident Adrienne Warren’s spirit shines abundantly bright too. Her performance, where she is on stage about 95% of the time, is symbolic of the strength of Tina and the long haul challenges of her life. Ms. Warren will be nominated for a Tony. While a little too soon to call just yet, it is likely she will win.
This musical is most definitely something you should go see and experience for yourself. Requesting a batch of tickets for February 11th for the Grab Your Group and GO Theater Group TODAY. Who’s with me?
