Last night, I Tina Turner’ed back time by seeing Soul Sister, the hit musical based on the life and career of Tina Turner. Featuring all her greatest hits, it takes you on an emotional journey through her life. This is a jukebox musical that is not to be missed.
Having already performed a matinee version of the show, part of me had expected an understandably weary cast. How wrong I was. Full of energy from the word go, Sunderland Empire rocked as some of Tina’s greatest hits were belted out at various intervals throughout the production.
The musical immerses you into the story of Tina’s life by delving into a major turning point – following the end of her relationship with Ike, as she is about to embark on a solo career. After little dialogue, the years roll back to the 60s, and you begin to see how her opportunities for fame and fortune arose.
Her mix of luck and talent was expertly conveyed by Portia Harry, who had the moves of Tina nailed to a T. Sometimes throughout her songs, I had to remind myself this wasn’t the real Tina I was watching before me, such was the quality of the acting, dancing, and soulful singing. Her range was astonishing, and not once did she waver from a note during the entire production.
For much of her life, Tina was married to Ike, a horrible, set-in-his-ways type character who believed in subjugating women and having his wicked way with as many as he could handle. The man cast to be loathed by the entire audience was Chris Tumming, who performed the role with a great level of professionalism.
He accurately portrayed the various sides of his character with effortless control, switching from the cruel, seedy man to the performer and charmer the females swooned over in seconds. To play one character is difficult, but to play what seemed like two entirely different characters within moments of each other, took nothing less than an outstanding male lead.
What hooks me most about musicals, however, is not the songs, the leads, the script – it is the backing singers, dancers, and actors. That is the way to truly identify a well-rounded production. When there is talent bursting from the seams throughout the entire cast, not just front and centre.
On this occasion, the three young ladies who played the Ikette’s were nothing short of sublime. They sang, danced, and most importantly smiled their entire way through every routine. Watching them could not help but bring a smile to the face of anybody sitting in the audience, and the ladies were solely responsible for getting everyone clapping and dancing on more than one occasion.
What they added to the production was a level of enthusiasm that could not be delivered by main cast alone. Too often the backing singers/dancers don’t get noticed, but recognition of the highest order is no less than they deserve for creating the atmosphere in which Tina and Ike could flourish, and belt out some of the greatest numbers from across the decades.
I was lucky enough to be in the front row, and I would gladly pay again to see such a brilliant production, with a highly talented cast. The musical left me singing all the way home and beyond. This is one spectacle I am never going to forget. How would I rate it among all the shows I have seen this year? Simply The Best.
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