TINA - The Tina Turner Musical is presented in association with Tina Turner herself and reveals the untold story of a woman who dared to defy the bounds of her age, gender and race. From humble beginnings in Nutbush to her transformation into the global Queen of Rock'n Roll, Tina Turner didn't just break the rules, she rewrote them.
The musical was basically the idea of Tina's husband Erwin Bach and the project began in 2015, as Tina first met the Dutch producer Joop van den Ende in The Netherlands. One year later on December 16, Tina was in London for the first workshop presentation of the show. In 2017, at the launch party in October, she introduced Adrienne Warren for the role as Tina Turner. To promote the musical, she was also guest at the Jonathan Ross Show on October 28 with her first full length interview in years.
The musical received it's world premiere on April 17, 2018 at London’s Aldwych Theatre, attended by Tina Turner together with her husband and many celebrities. It subsequently has broken all box office records in the West End and was seen by over 2 million people only in London.
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (as Ike Turner) won an Olivier Award on April 07, 2019 as „Best Actor“ and Adrienne Warren won a Tony Award on September 26, 2021 in the category „Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role“. She was also nominated for an Olivier Award for her work in the London staging.
Writer: Katori Hall
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Producer: Tali Pelman
Choreographer: Anthony van Laast
Orchestration: Ethan Popp
Act I
- Etherland / Sound of Mystic Law
- Nutbush City Limits
- Don't Turn Around
- Shake A Tail Feather
- The Hunter
- Rocket 88 / Matchbox
- She Made My Blood Run Cold
- It's Gonna Work Out Fine
- A Fool In Love
- Let's Stay Together
- Better Be Good To Me
- I Want To Take You Higher
- River Deep, Mountain High
- Be Tender With Me Baby
- Proud Mary
- I Don't Wanna Fight
Act II
- Private Dancer
- Disco Inferno
- Open Arms
- I Can't Stand The Rain
- Tonight
- What's Love Got To Do With It
- We Don't Need Another Hero
- The Best
- Finale: Nutbush City Limits / Proud Mary
„I asked myself what’s next? I knew I was finished with stage performance - all of me had changed. But this is big and in order to make it as good as possible I must be involved“.
London
After one year of sold out shows, a new cast was introduced on April 15, 2019 with Nkeki Obi-Melekwe playing the role of Tina, while Adrienne Warren recreated her celebrated performance in New York on Broadway. In September 2024, the musical in the West End was seen by over 2 million people. In 2025, the musical will go on tour in England and Ireland, with performances at least until 2026.
The musical was promoted in several TV-Shows and festivals over the years, like The Royal Variety Performance in 2018 (after Tina Turner was already a musical guest in 1989) with a wonderful interpretation of the classic track River Deep - Mountain High from Adrienne Warren and repeatedly at West End Live.
Venue: Aldwych Theatre
Opening Night: April 17, 2018
Cast: Karis Anderson, Zoe Birkett, Elesha Paul Moses, Kristina Love, Aisha Jawando, Chanel Haynes, Adrienne Warren, Nkeki Obi-Melekwe (Tina) / Roland Bell, Okezie Morro, Kaleb Roberts, Jammy Kasongo, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Ashley Zhangazha (Ike)
Promotion: The One Show (February 19, 2018) / Britain’s Got Talent (June 03, 2018) / Andrew Marr Show (October 14, 2018) / Royal Variety Performance (December 11, 2018) / Olivier Awards (April 07, 2019) / Attitude Awards (October 09, 2019) / Zoe Ball Breakfast Show (January 10, 2020) / London Theatre Lockdown (April 20; 2020) / Behind The Curtain (October 02, 2020) / Musicals: The Greatest Show (January 31, 2021) / The Show Must Go On (2021) / Big Night of Musicals (January 24, 2022) / Dancing On Ice (January 29, 2023) / Magic at the Musicals (2021 - 2023) / This Morning (May 20, 2021 / August 11, 2023) / National Lottery’s New Year’s Eve Big Bash (December 31, 2023) / West End Live (2018 - 2024)
Germany
The German version of the musical started in 2019 in Hamburg, after Tina presented Kristina Love at the launch party on October 23, 2018 at the Mojo Club. Kristina also visited Tina in her Swiss home in November and was surprised by her singing „Happy Birthday“. At the end of the premiere performance at the Stage Operettenhaus on March 05, 2019, Tina appeared on stage with the entire cast. After four years in Hamburg, the musical relocated to the Stage Palladium Theater in Stuttgart in 2023.
Venue: Stage Operettenhaus (Hamburg)
Opening Night: March 05, 2019
Closing Night: August 18, 2022
Cast: Kristina Love, Aisata Blackman (Tina) / Gino Emnes, Dinipiri Etebu (Ike)
Venue: Stage Apollo Theater (Stuttgart)
Opening Night: March 16, 2023
Closing Night: September 22, 2024
Cast: Aisata Blackman (Tina) / Carlos de Vries (Ike)
Promotion: Radio Regenbogen Award (March 31, 2023) / Die Goldene Bild der Frau Gala (October 23, 2019) / Gottschalk’s Grosse 80er Show (October 26, 2019) / Fernsehgarten (May 29, 2022) / Beatrice Egli Show (November 11, 2023)
Broadway
Adrienne Warren recreated her celebrated performance in New York on Broadway with the premiere on November 07 in attendance of Tina, her husband and celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Whoopie Goldberg. At the end of the show, Tina thanked everybody on stage, which was Tina Turner's last public appearance to say 'goodbye' to her fans. The Broadway production had it’s last show in August 2022, because the musical went on a multi-year North American Tour.
New York, Broadway (USA)
Venue: Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Opening Night: November 07, 2019
Closing Night: August 14, 2022
Cast: Nkeki Obi-Melekwe, Kayla Davion, Adrienne Warren (Tina) / Daniel J. Watts (Ike)
Promotion: Macy’s Parade (November 28, 2019) / Late Show (January 13, 2020) / The Tonight Show (September 14, 2021) / Tony Awards (September 26, 2021) / Good Morning America (November 06, 2020 / October 22, 2021 / July 29, 2022)
Utrecht
The Dutch version opened at the Beatrix Theater in Utrecht with Nyassa Alberta, who played before the role of Tina in the German version as an alternate of Kristina Love. Opening night was on February 09, 2020, but unfortunately without the attandance of Tina herself.
Utrecht (Netherlands)
Venue: Beatrix Theater
Opening Night: February 09, 2020
Closing Night: February 19, 2023
Cast: Nyassa Alberta, Nurlaila Karim (Tina) / Juneoer Mers, Gino Emnes (Ike)
Promotion: De Wereld Draait Door (March 24, 2020) / Musical Sing-a-Long (August 30, 2020) / MAX Christmas Concert (December 25, 2020) / Musical Awards (August 29, 2021) / Tijd Voor Max (November 10, 2020 / November 04, 2022)
Madrid
In 2021, the Spanish version opened at the Teatro Coliseum in Madrid with Kerry Sankoh in the main role. The musical was promoted from the main actors in the New Year’s Eve special Feliz 2022 with the live performance of Tina’s signature song Proud Mary.
Madrid (Spain)
Venue: Teatro Coliseum
Opening Night: October 01, 2021
Closing Night: January 08, 2023
Cast: Kery Sankoh, Luna Manzanares, Astrid Jones (Tina) / Rone Reinoso, Jefry Xander (Ike)
Australia
In 2023, the musical came also to Australia where it smashes box office records in the pre-sale period. It sold more tickets than any other show at Theatre Royal in Sydney since it reopened. In 2024, it went on tour in Australia, starting with first performances in Perth.
The Australian cast promoted the musical Down Under at the NRL Grand Final at Sydney’s Accor Stadium in 2023 with a pre-game mini concert, marking 30 years since Tina Turner’s iconic performance at the 1993 Grand Final and celebrating her unique association with the Rugby League. Ruva Ngwenya filmed for this event a commercial on top of Sydney's Harbour Bridge, like Tina Turner in 1995, when she climbed to the top of the bridge at dawn, wearing high heels.
„Thirty years on, Tina Turner’s 1993 performance remains one of the great Grand Final moments. This collaboration is a perfect way for Rugby League to pay tribute to Tina and everything she did for our game, and it will be a special moment for fans amongst the outstanding entertainment on offer on Grand Final day.“ — NRL CEO Andrew Abdo
Sydney (Australia)
Venue: Theatre Royal
Opening Night: May 2023
Closing Night: January 21, 2024
Cast: Ruva Ngwenya, Jochebel Ohene McCarthy (Tina) / Tim Omaji (Ike)
Promotion: ARN Sound Lounge (April 26, 2023) / Dancing with the Stars (July 23, 2023) / NRL Grand Final (October 01, 2023) / Marie Claire Women of the Year Awards (November 21, 2023) / Carols In The Domain (December 16, 2023)
"It's really important to me to have the chance to share my full story. This musical is not about my stardom. It is about the journey I took to get there. Each night I want audiences to take away from the theatre that you can turn poison into medicine."
Musical On Tour
The tour started in September 2022 as a multi-year North American tour at the Providence Performing Arts Center with more than 600 performances until August 2024 in all major cities in the U.S. and Canada, with a second leg starting in September. Also in 2024, the tour was extended to Australia, starting with first performances in Perth and in 2025, it comes to England and Ireland with performances at least until 2026.
Regions: North America / Australia / UK, Ireland
Opening Night: September 11, 2022 (Providence, USA) / February 27, 2024 (Perth, Australia) / March 06, 2025 (Leicester, UK)
Cast: North America: Jayna Elise, Elesha Paul Moses (Tina); Sterling Baker McClary (Ike) / Australia: Ruva Ngwenja (Tina); Giovanni Adams (Ike)
Performances: 900+
„It has been years since I toured the U.S., and I am very excited that my own musical can now bring my music and story to my fans in their home cities across America. Together with the show running on Broadway, it’s a homecoming and that is very special to me.“ — Tina Turner
Cast Recordings
Three different cast recordings were released on compact disc and for streaming, starting in 2019 with the London Cast Recording. The 24-track album features all songs from the musical recorded in the studio from Adrienne Warren, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and the Westend cast. It was promoted with two singles, including River Deep - Mountain High (with an associated music video) performed by Adrienne and the track The Hunter performed by Kobna.
The Hamburg Cast Recording from 2020 feature a live recording from the Operettenhaus in Hamburg, Germany with Kristina Love as Tina, Gino Emnes as Ike and the entire ensemble, including some of the songs in German.
The Utrecht Cast Recording from 2021 features the complete performance from the Beatrix Theater in Utrecht, Netherlands. The songs are performed by Nyassa Alberta as Tina, Juneoer Mers as Ike and the entire ensemble, with some songs in Dutch. This recording is the first one to incorporate the songs added to the show for it's Broadway premiere, with „Rocket ’88“ (replacing „The Hunter“) and „She Made My Blood Run Cold“.
London Cast Recording
Release: March 2019 (Digital) / October 2019 (CD) / September 2020 (Vinyl)
Format: Digital, CD, 2 Vinyl (Gold)
Hamburg Cast Recording
Release: May 2020 (Digital) / June 12, 2020 (CD)
Format: Digital, CD
Utrecht Cast Recording
Release: July 2021
Format: Digital, CD
River Deep - Mountain High
was the first single to promote the London cast album. The song was recorded on January 28, 2019 at Angel Studios in London, performed by Adrienne Warren and the West End cast.
Tina Turner recorded River Deep - Mountain High in 1966, produced by Phil Spector as his ground-breaking masterpiece using his trademark 'Wall of Sound' music technique. Tina would later recall: "I must have sung that 500,000 times. I was drenched with sweat. I had to take my shirt off and stand there in my bra to sing”. George Harrison, who worked with Spector when he later produced „Let It Be“ for the Beatles, would later call it: „A perfect record from start to finish“.
The music video shows Adrienne Warren driving with a taxi to the studio to record the song together with the orchestra and background singers. The first part is filmed in black & white, but switches later to colour when Adrienne performs the last part of the song on stage of the musical.
- River Deep, Mountain High 3:29
Writer: Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich
Producer: Nicholas Skilbeck
Release: February 05, 2019
Format: Digital
Music Video: 4:03 / Brett Sullivan (Director) / Natalie Daniels-Browne (Producer)
At that very difficult time in my life, recording this song opened my eyes to possibilities. I felt liberated, excited, ready to challenge myself vocally. „River Deep, Mountain High“ introduced me to the way I wanted to sing. I am thrilled that Adrienne has picked up the mantle and not only risen to the challenge but made this moment one of my very favourites in the musical. It is so right that this is the first single to be released from our cast album. She makes me very proud.
The Hunter
was repositioned in the musical to be performed by Ike Turner (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith) and The Kings of Rhythm live at Club Manhattan in St. Louis in the 1950s, show-casing Ike’s musical genius and his role in creating the sound of tomorrow.
The Hunter, a cover song from Albert King, was originally released in 1969 as an over six minutes version from Ike & Tina Turner on the same named album The Hunter. The track earned the duo their first R&B Vocal Performance Grammy nomination.
- The Hunter 2:31
Writer: Al Jackson Jr., Booker T. Jones, C. Wells, Donald Dunn, Steve Cropper
Producer: Nicholas Skilbeck, Kurt Deutsch, Tom Kelly
Release: March 2019
Format: Digital