The storyline drags on slowly and steadily to the end. The songs are great, but the song list leaves you wondering... didn't she have more hits than this? Apparently not.
The Performers Adrienne Warren embodies everything about Tina Turner. She is phenomenal, and makes this show (and any future show she stars in) worth seeing. The Set What set? There is a tree in her childhood, a rack of clothing in her dressing room, and a bed in her mother's hospital room. There are also a lot of stairs for Tina to reckon with while wearing heels (probably explains the ankle brace Warren had on at the performance that we saw––and she still kills it). The Choreography According to this show, Tina was responsible for most of her own choreography and she has some great moves. Adrienne Warren nails them all (even with an ankle brace), and perfects Tina's mannerisms too. The Songs How many Tina Turner hits can you name? Probably not more than 5. Those 5 are in there, along with a bunch of other songs that she must have sung at some point. The Costumes Not very notable until the end, when we see iconic 80s Tina. The Story Not much happens other than people being mean to Tina––first her mother, then Ike. Character development is thrown out the window after the first 10 minutes. Tina marries Ike so they can continue not making hits together... for 16 years. When she finally leaves him, it's the 80s and Tina spends most of the second act figuring out what kind of music she wants to sing. The show turns into a concert at the end, which is fine because nothing was really happening anyway. Maria doesn't feel pretty anymore. There are a few other misses, but overall the 2020 production does a fantastic job of bringing this classic into contemporary times.
The Performers Maria (Shareen Pimentel) outshines the rest of the cast. This is compounded by the fact that Tony's voice (Issac Powell) does not match her strength and gets lost in their duets. Anita (Yesenia Ayala) also stands out, both with her acting and singing. The Set The stage backs up to a giant edge-to-edge screen, that opens (at times) to reveal 2 meticulously detailed set areas––the dress shop and Doc's bodega––that always feel too far away. The production uses the screen ingeniously most of the time, but fails on two counts: when filming dance scenes using a steady-cam on stage (very distracting, how many things can we look at?), and when filming scenes that take place entirely off stage. The Choreography This feels like a real missed opportunity to bring in some badass contemporary hiphop or break dancing moves. Nothing is very memorable. The Songs Even a short 30-second nod to "I Feel Pretty" would satisfy. The Direction Removing intermission, and dividing the 2-day story with timestamps works well to intensify and propel the action. The use of filming and screens to tell the story is mostly successful, especially the beautifully shot scenes of New York City and close-ups of the actors at emotional moments. The Story The story is the story. But the order of the songs is slightly shifted, highlighting the darkness of "Gee, Officer Krupke." The lack of set also confuses the time and place of where exactly Maria is (without her shoes on) when she meets up with Tony. |
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