Aisha Jawando in Tina – The Tina Turner Musical at the Aldwych Theatre, London. Picture: Manuel Harlan
Rehearsals have begun for the reopening of the hit West End production Tina – The Tina Turner Musical which is due to resume performances at the Aldwych Theatre on 28 July 2021.
As previously announced Aisha Jawando and Jammy Kasongo will head the returning cast with Jawando (Motown The Musical, Shaftesbury Theatre, The Book of Mormon, Prince of Wales Theatre) returning in the title role she first stepped into full-time after previously playing Alline Bullock in October 2019. Another member of the original company, Kasongo (Grand Hotel, Southwark Playhouse, Hair, The Vaults) will follow-up his stints as Richard Bullock and Raymond Hill, by taking on the role of Ike Turner.
They will be joined by US former pop star Chanel Hayes (lead singer of New Orleans-based group Trin-i-tee) who will make her delayed London stage debut as the alternate Tina. The cast at the Aldwych will also include Joe Evans as Phil Spector and Terry Britten, Irene-Myrtle Forrester as GG, Francesca Jackson and Alice Bailey Johnson as Rhonda Graam, Rhianne-Louise McCaulsky as Alline Bullock, Matt Mills as Richard Bullock, Posi Morakinyo as Raymond Hill, Joseph Richardson as Erwin Bach, Garman Rhys as Roger Davies and Madeline Appiah as Zelma.
Ensemble members are Lori Barker and Kelly Hampson, Chris Grahamson who plays Carpenter, Paul Mukembo as Craig and Alex Okoampa as Ronnie. The Ikettes are played by Samara Casteallo, Mia Musak and Anu Ogunmefun and the swings are Derek Aidoo, Joshua Da Costa, Livvy Evans, Raquel Jones, DeeArna McLean,Michael Thomas, Saran Webb and Samuel J Weir.
The children’s cast is made up of: Tia Murrell (13) from Surrey, Rae Ann Quayle (11) from Redbridge and Poppy Cunningham (10) from Hertfordshire share the role of Young Anna Mae; Shai Codrington (9) from Barnet, Sophia Anne Angiama (10) from Sutton and Mia Jones (11) from Solihull share the role of Young Alline; Elias Agbodan George (9) from Havering, Remi Dabiri-McQuaid (8) from Hackney and Romell Barrocks-Bedeau (11) from Lambeth share the role of Young Craig.
Commenting on the return of the hit show, the musical’s superstar subject, Tina Turner added: “Music has had the power to pull me out of my darkest moments and rejoice during my happiest. To announce the re-opening of our West End show, where my musical had its premiere, means so much to me.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Tina family and our fans from around the world for their continued love and support during these unprecedented times. Let my story be a celebration, a reminder of our resilience and our ability to overcome hardship together.”
The reopening booking period which runs up to 26 June 2022 includes new Sunday performances. The critic and crowd-pleasing production received its world premiere at the Aldwych Theatre in April 2018 where it broke all box office records.
Written by award-winning writer Katori Hall (The Mountaintop) with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, the show’s creative team includes choreographer Anthony Van Laast, set and costume designer Mark Thompson, musical supervisor Nicholas Skilbeck, lighting designer Bruno Poet, sound designer by Nevin Steinberg, projection designer Jeff Sugg and orchestrator Ethan Popp.
As with all theatre productions the reopening plans are in accordance with Government directives and are therefore subject to change. Tina – The Tina Turner Musical is partnered with the Society of London Theatre’s See It Safely campaign.
In November 2019 the Broadway production opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. The production is due to resume performances on 8 October this year. The German production opened at Stage Operettenhaus in Hamburg in March 2019 while the Dutch production opened at the Beatrix Theater, Utrecht, in February 2020. A third European production is due to open at the Teatro Coliseum in Madrid, Spain in autumn 2021.
Angela Thomas
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