Review: TINA TURNER MUSICAL at Walton Arts Center brings the essence of the Queen of Rock to NWA

I have had a love for Tina Turner for a very long time. In 1993, I had the joy of seeing the actual Queen of Rock in concert, and the power and showmanship she possessed during that concert has not been matched in any other concert I have seen since. So, when I went to Walton Arts Center, 495 W Dickson St, in Fayetteville, last week to see the Tina Turner MUSICAL, I had high expectations. Could they embody Tina’s essence, Tina’s spirit, Tina’s sensualness? The night I went, Parris Lewis took the stage as our heroine..........and absolutely rocked the house. She had the finesse, the drive, and the vocal prowess that had me feeling like I was in the presence of the real diva. I loved it! 

With Book by Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, the show opens with Tina and Gran Georgeanna (Wydetta Carter) praying to the ancestors, and then they take it back to church in Nutbush, Tennessee, where Young Anna-Mae (Symphony King), sings her heart out and embarrasses her mother Zelma (Roz White). Once home, Zelma fusses at Anna-Mae and her father Richard (Kristopher Stanley Ward) steps in to protect her. When her parents get in a fight, Zelma moves out and takes Young Alline (Daelyanna Benson) to St. Louis, leaving Anna-Mae with her father. He, too, abandons Anna-Mae, leaving her with Gran.  

When Anna-Mae is 16 years old, Gran sends her to St. Louis to live with her mother and sister. Shortly thereafter, she goes to a nightclub with Alline (Gigi Lewis), where she sings for Ike (Wildlin Pierrevil). Ike is so impressed that she adds Anna-Mae to the band and changes her name to Tina Turner. She has relations with Raymond (Gerard M. Williams) and gives birth to Craig (Andre Hinds). Ike kicks Raymond out of the band and has Tina marry him. Then, they have Ronnie (Antonio Beverly). During Ike and Tina’s time together, they make music, tour, and have a tumultuous marriage.  

After Tina leaves Ike, she performs in Vegas, meets Manager Roger Davies (Zachary Freier-Harrison) and goes to Europe to record. There, she meets Erwin Bach (Max Falls), who ultimately becomes the love of her life. During this time, she has the biggest career launching songs like “Private Dancer,” “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” and “We Don’t Need Another Hero.” 

Directed by Phyllida Lloyd and Choreographed by Anthony Van Laast, the performances of these brilliant artists brought the story so alive, we were all in our feels. When they got to the pinnacle of the Ike drama, our hearts were broken and were cheering for Tina when she finally got away from him. Also, her mama drama just tore us all up. White did an awesome job as Zelma making us all so mad at her. I know she gave a reason why she gave up Tina, but honestly, we were not buying it. And then, when Zelma teamed up with Ike at the hospital, it was enough to infuriate my whole row.  

I loved the mini concert at the end. I wished there were a little more of that. Lewis and the rest of the cast looked like they were having a blast. It was super cool that she highlighted Guitarist Ralph Agresta and had little Symphony come out and sing her heart out. The whole cast were all first-rate entertainers.  

That Orchestra kept the show moving on. Keeping the Tina tunes going were: Music Director-Anne Shuttlesworth; Associate Music Director-Patricia “Tish” Diaz; Guitars-Ralph Agresta; Bass-John Toney; Drums-Taurus Lovely; Keyboards-Anne Shuttlesworth, Patricia “Tish” Diaz; Electronic Programmers-Phij Adams, Lucy Baker; Music Coordinator-John Miller; Synthesizer Tech-Randy Cohen, Cohen Keyboards.  

Before we entered the theatre, we took a stroll around WAC’s Winter Nights, which was a beautifully lit patio area where you could rent a cove and order drinks, a kit to make smores, and other delectable treats. We also were able to party with the Friends of Walton Arts Center, where there were tasty hors d’oeuvres in the lounge.  

Walton Arts Center would like to thank their sponsors: Broadway Series Sponsor-Procter & Gamble; Premier Broadway Series Support-Bob & Becky Aleander; Broadway Series Support-Friends of Broadway; Show Sponsors-Choctaw Casino & Resort Pocola and Stout Executive Search; Show Underwriters-Candace & David Starling; Media Support-CitiScapes Magazine and KNWA.  

Who’s Who In The Cast: Ari Groover-Tina Turner; Parris Lewis-Tina Turner; Wildlin Pierrevil-Ike; Wydetta Carter-Gram Georgeanna; Roz White-Zelma Bullock; Sarah Bockel-Rhonda; Daelyanna Kelly Benson-Young Alline, Young Craig; Antonio Beverly-Ronnie; Ben Bogen-Swing; Karen Burthwright-Dance Captain; Aliyah Caldwell-Ikette #1; Brianna Cameron-Young Anna-Mae; Max Falls-Erwin Bach; Zachary Freier-Harrison-Roger Davies; Gordia Hayes-Swing; Andre Hinds-Craig; Takia Hopson-Ikette #3; Crystal Joy-Alline's Friend; Symphony King-Young Anna-Mae; Kendall LeShanti-Ikette #2; Gigi Lewis-Alline; Natalia Nappo-Young Alline/Young Craig; Nia Nelson-Williams-Swing; Shari Washington Rhone-Swing; Eric Siegle-Phil Spector; Christine Suddeth-Ensemble; Jeff Sullivan-Fight Captain; Rowan Vickers-TV Host; Kristopher Stanley Ward-Richard Bullock; Gerard M. Williams-Raymond; Tina Turner-Queen of Rock n Roll; Katori Hall-Book; Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins-Book; Phyllida Lloyd-Director; Anthony Van Laast-Choreographer; Mark Thompson-Set & Costume Design; Nicholas Skilbeck-Original Musical Supervision; Bruno Poet-Lighting Design; Nevin Steinberg-Sound Design; Jeff Sugg-Projection Design; Campbell Young Associates-Hair, Wigs & Makeup Design; Alvin Hough Jr-Tour Music Supervision; Ethan Popp-Orchestrations; Anne Shuttlesworth-Music Director; John Miller-Music Coordinator; Sharika Niles-Associate Director; Janet Rothermel-Associate Choreographer; Sordelet Inc-Fight Directors; The Telsey Office-Casting; Bespoke Theatricals-General Manager; Juniper Street Productions-Production Manager; Neurosport-Physical Therapist; Eric Sprosty-Production Stage Manager; Caitlin Kellermeyer-Stage Manager; Lily Archambault-Assistant Stage Manager; The Booking Group-Tour Booking Agency; Bond Theatrical-Marketing & Publicity Direction; Stage Entertainment-Producer; Tali Pelman-Producer; Tina Turner/Erwin Bach-Executive Producers; Feste Investments B.V.-Producer; Nattering Way-Producer; Paul Dainty AM-Producer; David Mirvish-Producer; Mark Rubinstein LTD.-Producer; Warner Chappell Music-Producer; Marc David Levine-Producer; Peter May-Producer; Roy Furman-Producer; Carl Moellenberg-Producer; Caiola Productions-Producer; Jamie deRoy-Producer; Wendy Federman-Producer; Independent Presenters Network-Producer; John Gore Organization-Producer; Albert Nocciolino-Producer; No Guarantees-Producer; Iris Smith-Co-Producer; Sony Music Publishing-Producer; Universal Music Publishing Group-Producer; Catherine Adler-Producer; Eva Price-Producer; Anita Waxman-Producer. 

Coming up January 2, Les Misérables hits the stage through the Jan. 7, then Comedian Tammy Pescatelli for one night only Jan. 11, and Jagged Little Pill Jan. 23-28. For more information and tickets, visit their website at https://waltonartscenter.org. 

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