TINA Broadway Opening Celebrated with GREAT PERFORMANCES at Jazz at Lincoln Center

The bright lights of Broadway were focused on Manhattan's Jazz at Lincoln Center on Thursday night, Nov. 7 for the party celebrating the opening of the new Tina - The Tina Turner Musical, the compelling life story of the legendary Queen of Rock n' Roll. Some 1200 audience members, cast and crew made their way from W. 46th Street's historic Lunt Fontaine Theater to the fifth floor of the Time Warner building, where Jazz at Lincoln Center's dramatic Ertegun Lobby and Appel Room welcomed them with their stunning views of Columbus Circle, Central Park and the Manhattan skyline. There, they feasted on butlered hors d'oeuvre and a grand buffet by Great Performances, one of New York City's most celebrated caterers, as they discussed the show and speculated about which Tony Awards categories Tinawould be nominated for. The consensus being that Adrienne Warren as the show's namesake is a shoo-in for Best Actress in a Musical.

While Tina Turner attended the opening performance with her husband Irwin Bach (their love story a touching component of the musical's book) and Oprah Winfrey, but chose to skip the post-show party in favor of a private dinner at her hotel with Winfrey and Warren. However, most guests seemed not to notice while savoring the food, which included the likes of Chicken Schnitzel, apple raspberry sauerkraut, Short Rib Tostada, corn tortilla, radish, cilantro, chipotle crema and chili demi glace, and Rare Seared Tuna, Hawaiian black sea salt, apple celery root remoulade and gaufrette among the hors d'oeuvre. The savory morsels were passed by Great Performances' service staff, whose black uniforms matched the black-clad table enlivened by exquisite arrangements of rose n a spectrum of coral hues and glimmering gold and glass votive candle holders.

Chicken Milanese, baby arugula, heirloom tomato and pickled shallot and Poached Salmon, sauce verte and dilled cucumbers were the stars of the buffet. They were complemented by a supporting cast of accoutrements, such as: Multi-Colored Roasted Cauliflower, toasted garlic bread crumbs, Parmesan and lemon; Char-Grilled Carrots; Potatoes au Gratin; and Beet and Orange Salad.

Warren made her appearance to enthusiastic applause prompted by the buzz of universally rave reviews by the critics for her performance just before midnight. She was in time to sample the tempting selection of mini desserts, including: Blueberry Crumble Tartelette; S' Mores Cone; and Cinnamon Churros, dulce de leche.

As a nod to Tina Turner's long-time vegetarianism, the evening's menu was offered a number of with vegetarian dishes, like two of the hors d'oeuvre - Burrata Pepperonata Tart and Samosa, green mango chutney - along with the four accoutrements noted above, Great Performances' Signature Bread Basket and the five desserts, one of which, the Chocolate Cake was also gluten-free, while the Carrot Cake, vegan and gluten-free.

It was a night of great performances on the stage and on the palate!

For more information on Great Performances, please visit: https://www.greatperformances.com/.

For more information on Jazz at Lincoln Center, please visit: https://www.jazz.org/.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Great Performances

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