close

Actor tries to bring nuance to role of Ike Turner in ‘Tina’ musical

By Brad Hundt staff Writer bhundt@observer-Reporter.Com 4 min read
1 / 4

Courtesy of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

“Tina – The Tina Turner Musical” is coming to the Benedum Center.

2 / 4

Photos: Courtesy of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

“Tina – The Tina Turner Musical” will be in Pittsburgh through Easter Sunday.

3 / 4

Courtesy of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

Garrett Turner plays Ike Turner in the musical “Tina.”

4 / 4

Courtesy of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

Actor Garrett Turner portrays Ike Turner in the musical “Tina.”

The history of rock and roll is packed full of heroes and villains, and Ike Turner has the distinction of being both a hero and a villain.

Turner was instrumental in the creation of “Rocket 88,” the 1951 slice of rhythm and blues that many experts pinpoint as the first rock and roll record. He was an adept guitarist and a canny talent scout and producer even before he pulled together the Ike and Tina Turner Revue that catapulted him to stardom in the 1960s. Together, the couple brought the world landmark hits such as “Proud Mary” and “River Deep, Mountain High.”

But Turner also was a profoundly troubled individual who was not easy for anyone to love or even like. Alleged to have been married 14 times, he was a serial abuser and sexual predator, a control freak and drug abuser who was arrested a handful of times in the 1980s for cocaine trafficking or possession. He ultimately died of a cocaine overdose in 2007, his health long shattered and his musical achievements overshadowed by his many misdeeds.

Turner’s volatility was recounted by Tina Turner in her autobiography, “I, Tina,” and brought to movie screens in 1993’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It.” In “Tina — The Tina Turner Musical,” it falls to Garrett Turner – no relation – to not only bring Turner to life, but give him nuance.

“Real people are real people,” the actor said on the phone last week from Chicago, where the tour of “Tina” had settled in for a 19-day run. He noted that for all his flaws, Turner “took care of his mom … he went from abject poverty to international acclaim by the force of his own will. He was the engine. He was the person who was ruthless enough to capitalize on (Tina Turner’s) talent.”

One of many jukebox musicals that has followed in the wake of “Jersey Boys” and “Mamma Mia,” “Tina” follows the singer’s rise from poverty in rural Nutbush, Tenn., through emancipated superstardom in the 1980s, when she was on her own and her husky, soulful voice dominated pop radio and MTV. The musical bowed in London in 2018 and made its Broadway debut the following year. A touring version has been making its way across the country since last September and will be at the Benedum Center starting Tuesday and continuing through Sunday, April 9.

A native of Florence, Ala., and a graduate of Emory University in Atlanta, Garrett Turner said he was familiar with the marquee hits of Tina Turner before he was cast as Ike Turner, but “I was far from a huge fan.” To prepare for the part, he read Turner’s autobiography, Tina Turner’s autobiography and a separate biography of Turner. He watched footage of Turner and his wife performing as well as interview clips.

“The best way to do that was to see his life through multiple vantage points,” he said. “There’s a kind of pressure that comes with playing someone who was alive, an actual person, but also was a major icon in his own right and very much in the public eye, and on top of that has been portrayed before. The research is very important to understand his cultural resonance.”

One thing he tried to avoid in his research was watching Laurence Fishburne’s Oscar-nominated portrayal of Turner in the 1993 movie “What’s Love Got to Do With It.” He had seen it years ago, but decided not to revisit it. He also sidestepped seeing “Tina” when it was on Broadway.

“I’m doing my own thing,” Garrett Turner said. “I was in the midst of building my Ike.”

When “Tina” was on Broadway it was nominated for 12 Tony Awards and won for best actress. It also won fairly strong reviews, with Britain’s The Guardian calling it “a heady celebration of triumph over adversity,” adding, “as bio-musicals go, this is as good as it gets.”

For tickets or information, go online to www.trustarts.org.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $/week.

Subscribe Today