broadway is getting a taste of tina turner

Will all the highly anticipated Black-led, Black-produced stage shows and bio-musicals celebrating the ground-breaking careers of venerated Black figures opening or incoming, Broadway is turning into the Great Black Way. The latest entry will be a musical celebrating the remarkable journey of the Queen of Rock and Roll (and legs), Tina Turner. Tina: The Tina Turner Musical premiered on the West End in April at London’s Aldwych Theatre, and the hit production will making its way to Broadway in the fall of 2019. That’s a whole year to get your coins in order beloveds.

The show is a journey through the singer’s life, from the “Nutbush City Limits” of Tennessee, to stages around the globe where she established her legacy as the Queen of Rock and Roll. Turner collaborated with the West End’s Stage Entertainment to bring her story to life. She told Deadline, “I feel that it is in many ways a culmination of my career. London audiences have been and continue to be extraordinary. Now, the bright lights of Broadway are calling, and I’m very excited to share this beautiful show with New York audiences next year.”

“Working with the incomparable Tina Turner has been an exceptional experience,” said producer Tali Pelman. “She has made it her mission to tell her story with raw honesty and grit. She is an inspiration for all of us.”

The West End edition stars Shuffle Along Tony nominee Adrienne Warren, under the direction of Phyllida Lloyd, with the Juilliard-educated playwright Katori Hall writing the book with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins. The London show’s success has resulted in the announcement of a new booking period that will take the show through to July 2019. Germany will also get to enjoy Turner’s story, as a Hamburg version will premier sometime next year.

The influx of Black stories coming to Broadway are a dream-come-true for New York patrons who’ve been starved for melanin-rich stories. The West End has always been considered the more inclusive theatre scene, though now, finally, thanks to the undeniable gifts of Black artists, the Big Apple may be catching up.