Latest / The BSB Podcast / 'TINA- The Tina Turner Musical' Music & Stagecraft | The BSB Podcast

Transcript

'TINA- The Tina Turner Musical' Music & Stagecraft | The BSB Podcast · The BSB Podcast

• 0:00
  Welcome back listeners to part two of our Tina, the Tina Turner musical here on the BSB podcast.
• 0:05
  We promise to be tender with you as we continue our discussion of this touring biopic, this time examining the music and stagecraft.
• 0:12
  Spoiler warning.
• 0:13
  RG and I will be breaking down the stage magic of Tina.
• 0:15
  So if you want to experience the blinding lights of Hollywood for yourself, then pause this video and return once you've seen Tina.
• 0:21
  If you're still with us, let's get right into it.
• 0:23
  In our last episode, we covered the story and the characters of Tina, the Tina Turner musical, which is truly just an exploration of the queen of rock and roll and her humble
• 0:33
  beginnings to the, I don't want to say end of her life, but until like the rise of her career again, her resurgence in the eighties and the nineties.
• 0:41
  We saw
• 0:42
  her as a child be abandoned.
• 0:44
  saw her go through the Ike saga as I call it, because I couldn't think of anything else.
• 0:48
  It's such an important part of her life and how she got out of that and found herself again, found herself a new love too, which I also didn't know.
• 0:56
  ah In fact, I don't think anybody knew because even mom said, well, she remained married to him, even though they weren't together until the end of her life.
• 1:02
  And I was like, actually, I can tell you differently.
• 1:04
  uh But all that to say that it was a truly inspiring story of strength and resilience and one that
• 1:12
  probably is going to be very inspirational to most people who go and see it.
• 1:16
  That being said, we are going to jump into the music, which RJ, I know you traditionally have a disdain for jukebox musicals.
• 1:24
  They're not always your favorite.
• 1:25
  I think your favorite, I'm going to take a gamble here and you tell me if I'm wrong.
• 1:29
  I think your favorite of jukebox musicals is probably & Juliet and that's still a stretch to say it's your favorite, like it's nowhere near your favorite.
• 1:35
  But is that correct?
• 1:36
  Is that your favorite jukebox musical?
• 1:38
  Um, technically...
• 1:42
  Beautiful might beat that out, but I don't know if I have yeah, that would be a jukebox musical So the carol king musical would would win over & Juliet but & Juliet is a Good one
• 1:55
  one of the better ones.
• 1:57
  I'll say
• 1:58
  What's interesting is that I have yet to see beautiful.
• 2:02
  I have never seen a production of beautiful.
• 2:03
  Yeah, you gotta, you gotta, I, also I think I just, I love, I have a strong bias towards Carole King.
• 2:12
  So I think that is a whole other, I just enjoy her music.
• 2:16
  I enjoy her as a human being.
• 2:17
  And so naturally I lean towards that rather than away.
• 2:24
  Fun fact, did you know that Carole King was not only the, her song was not only used as the theme song to the Gilmore Girls, but she also has a part in Gilmore Girls?
• 2:32
  I did not know that because I have not watched Gilmore Girls.
• 2:37
  Well, that's your first mistake and obviously how are we still friends at this point that you have not seen Gilmore Girls uh Listeners if we get a thousand likes on this video he
• 2:49
  will watch Gilmore Girls ah
• 2:58
  specifically listens to us, probably, honestly.
• 3:02
  we'll get there, don't worry.
• 3:03
  um So this is to say that I'm actually looking through the list of um Jukebox musicals.
• 3:10
  And obviously you know I love a Jukebox musical.
• 3:12
  Mamma Mia, ah I love Moulin Rouge.
• 3:16
  There's so many I haven't seen.
• 3:18
  Like how have I not seen the Jagged Little Pill yet?
• 3:20
  That's a crazy one.
• 3:22
  I didn't realize that there was another Tina Turner musical that is out there.
• 3:26
  um So that's interesting.
• 3:29
  But there's so many Jukebox musicals.
• 3:32
  And so we always want to kind of look at like, what is it about a show such as this that speaks to it?
• 3:39
  I should say Beautiful Noise.
• 3:40
  That might be one of my favorite biopics that we've ever seen.
• 3:43
  But, you know, I loved the Cher Show.
• 3:45
  I walked away from that show loving that one.
• 3:47
  But I'm also a Cher girly, as the kids would say.
• 3:52
  But a Beautiful Noise is in a watch with Neil Diamond.
• 3:54
  I love that show, too.
• 3:55
  But all that to say is, what do you think is so?
• 3:59
  Why do you think?
• 4:00
  biopics like this work?
• 4:02
  Like, why do you think that, like, what is it about, like, is it the music?
• 4:05
  Do you think it's the music that makes these shows work?
• 4:07
  If done correctly, yes.
• 4:11
  I think you have to hit the ones that people want, which most of the time they have.
• 4:17
  uh
• 4:20
  but make it fit into this story, which is the hardest.
• 4:23
  That's where these usually go wrong as well.
• 4:26
  So it's a right and wrong.
• 4:28
  Like if you get the right songs with the storyline that fit, great.
• 4:32
  If you don't.
• 4:33
  Missing out.
• 4:34
  So this is where I'm going to, wow, I got to bring up Glee a second time.
• 4:38
  So the thing about Glee is, oh and I'll connect it, I promise it all makes sense.
• 4:43
  So the thing about Glee is I love season one because all the songs fit in perfectly with the storyline.
• 4:48
  And then when we got to season two, we started having songs that were thrown in there and the storylines were trying to be built around them.
• 4:54
  And so I do think it's interesting when you say that of like a show that has built, like the music is built into the show, the storyline.
• 5:02
  And with a lot of these, feel like recently,
• 5:05
  I'm specifically gonna use three of them, okay?
• 5:07
  I'm gonna use uh The Cher Show, I'm gonna use A Beautiful Noise, and I'm going to use Tina, The Tina Turner Musical, is that the songs are not built into the show in a
• 5:20
  narrative way, but more in a timeline concert-y way.
• 5:24
  Is that a good way to describe that?
• 5:28
  Yes.
• 5:29
  Okay.
• 5:31
  It's like we are sequentially following through their life and the songs that they hit at those points.
• 5:35
  But a of times it was like she was singing to an audience that maybe wasn't connected with her at that moment.
• 5:40
  Like she didn't know that, but it was like, I'm a stand here.
• 5:42
  I'm a singing on a dance.
• 5:43
  I'm going to give you all the things you want from that decade.
• 5:46
  But it wasn't, it wasn't like the like, I'm singing the song cause it actually fits the storyline or that it's built into that timeline.
• 5:52
  Yeah, they well this one specifically.
• 5:57
  I felt it felt very like we were really pushing to make it work in any way.
• 6:07
  ah But I think that's because the lyrics are so unique and the song like every song is so unique that it's not something you can just throw into a storyline.
• 6:20
  Whereas a lot of songwriting is storytelling based and she obviously rock and roll feels a little bit different.
• 6:28
  Like it just, it's not so ballad songwriter-esque.
• 6:35
  It's just, I mean, it's rock and roll.
• 6:39
  Truly, yeah.
• 6:40
  I think that, so let me ask you this.
• 6:42
  So if a show like this is more like sequentially going through their life and not built into the story, is that a detriment to the show itself in your opinion?
• 6:51
  Or do you feel like it's, so this is, guess I'll take this one first.
• 6:55
  It feels like this is exactly what people wanted, even though it doesn't narratively give a reason that they're singing these songs.
• 7:00
  So like we have, you know, Shake a Tail Feather, but it's because at the time that's what she was supposed to be singing, you know, or.
• 7:07
  Proud Mary happens because at that point in her life, she was singing Proud Mary on stage and like, it's exactly what the audience loved.
• 7:13
  They were loving and they were, they almost didn't care about the story.
• 7:16
  felt like they were waiting for the song that they wanted, like a concert.
• 7:19
  They wanted to sing along to the songs that they knew.
• 7:21
  And by golly, did our audience sing along to the songs that they knew.
• 7:23
  And then during the narrative parts, they talked.
• 7:26
  Like, you know, there was like a disconnect with that one because it wasn't like a, like, it didn't fit the story to have the songs in there.
• 7:34
  Kind of like & Juliet where the
• 7:36
  The Chute Box musical isn't built on somebody's life.
• 7:38
  And so the songs are mixed up.
• 7:40
  They're scattered.
• 7:41
  They don't go by decade, but they're built into like, how does this serve the story?
• 7:47
  And as part of the story.
• 7:48
  And so I think that like, in a way, I don't want to say, I guess that's the wrong word, but it feels like it doesn't serve the story.
• 7:55
  And therefore people were tuning out when the story was happening.
• 7:58
  Yeah, like it was a very like on and off, like when the music came on, people were interested.
• 8:04
  And again, this is just from the perspective of someone sitting where we were sitting.
• 8:12
  It could have been totally different up in the balcony or mezzanine.
• 8:15
  ah
• 8:17
  The music happened, people were excited and into it and, I love this song.
• 8:22
  And then the narrative happened and I'm not sure when it got lost or again, as we kind of referenced in episode one, there was so much darkness and so much happening that it was
• 8:35
  almost too much for people to keep up with.
• 8:38
  And so the music felt like a reprieve, like, okay, like onto the next, onto the next.
• 8:44
  And also it was so...
• 8:47
  There were so many songs, too.
• 8:50
  Not that we did all of, a lot of it wasn't full song.
• 8:53
  was like, here's a verse or a chorus, here's a verse or a chorus.
• 8:57
  uh Or here's a transition piece.
• 9:00
  uh But I mean, that's what happens when you have a catalog that's massive.
• 9:05
  But yeah, an interesting, I appreciate what they were trying to do with the story.
• 9:12
  I don't know that it was delivered in a way that
• 9:15
  was moving and I think I even heard people behind us kind of say like they ultimately were getting bored or it was slow.
• 9:25
  um So then the songs picked it back up.
• 9:29
  uh Which can happen with any show but this show specifically it was like the scenes were so long.
• 9:37
  And then you got like a verse and then you got this another full scene and then you maybe got like a chorus or a line.
• 9:46
  Um, so we weren't really getting full songs, but again, we had like, don't know what 30 different songs in here.
• 9:54
  There was a lot.
• 9:55
  Act One was significantly longer than Act Two, as we talked about that night.
• 9:58
  But I do think it's interesting too, because again, I'm going to use the people that were sitting on my left.
• 10:02
  But when River Deep, Mountain High came on, they were excited, they were excited.
• 10:07
  And then when it ended, because obviously they must have looked up the track list before they came in, much like a concert.
• 10:14
  And they said, okay, this is our moment so we can be back by Proud Mary.
• 10:17
  And then they got up and they left and they had done that quite a few times.
• 10:19
  They hit like all of the important ones.
• 10:21
  And then they'd get up and they'd leave and they'd come back.
• 10:23
  And that's something that's very reminiscent in my, in my years of going to concerts where people will get up and they'll leave during the songs that they don't like.
• 10:29
  They'll go get a drink.
• 10:30
  They'll go get a snack.
• 10:31
  They'll go to the bathroom.
• 10:31
  They'll come back.
• 10:32
  They'll jam to the songs that they like, and then they'll leave again.
• 10:35
  And this is kind of what it felt like it was turning into was like a concert or like when she legitimately was talk texting on her phone to get her friend to come back before Proud
• 10:44
  Mary was over, because that was the song they wanted to see.
• 10:47
  And like, this was like the, the barriers to.
• 10:50
  Broadway or theater were broken in that one because this truly felt like almost Concert-esque instead of a like this wasn't like a Moulin Rouge where every story had a
• 11:02
  purpose.
• 11:03
  That being said, I want to talk about standout moments from the singing of the show.
• 11:08
  And I'm to go right out and say that if you listen to part one, but if you're also RJ, you've heard it so many times in the past week, that River Deep Mountain High is my
• 11:16
  absolute favorite.
• 11:17
  So for me, this was one of the highlights of the show.
• 11:21
  Although I'm glad there's not photographic evidence of me dancing to Proud Mary at the end, because that could have been devastating for my ego.
• 11:29
  But those are two really standout moments to me because those are the songs that I really knew from her But for you what were some standout moments?
• 11:35
  Musically from Tina the Tina Turner musical
• 11:39
  Um, gosh, I mean, favorite song wise, but again, I'm biased just to the song itself.
• 11:46
  Uh, the best.
• 11:52
  and I mean, there's so many that we just know, right?
• 11:55
  Because of course it's Tina Turner.
• 11:57
  Um, but there were a few where.
• 12:01
  It went from storytelling to concert mode.
• 12:03
  Like some of them were story-ish and they were, they felt quiet, reserved and not full Tina.
• 12:10
  Um, and then when we did get, I mean, of course, Proud Mary and, um,
• 12:17
  I'm trying to think of my favorite like ballad.
• 12:22
  I know of one, can I say it for you?
• 12:25
  Because you actually noted it to me, because you noted it because you're like, I know that you probably liked that one, was Let's Stay Together between Raymond and Tina.
• 12:34
  Because our Raymond, uh Lamar Burns, was one of the best vocalists on stage.
• 12:41
  And he, this was one of those moments where they actually got to have like a song that felt important to the storyline as well.
• 12:48
  And the narrative and the storyline really worked.
• 12:50
  But he had some moments in that song.
• 12:52
  that was kind of ballad-ish.
• 12:55
  And that was the one that you noted at intermission that I still couldn't have been like, you should probably mention that on the podcast.
• 13:00
  like, that's, I don't want to speak for you and say that was your favorite, but I know that was one that you definitely mentioned as a favorite.
• 13:09
  Well, yeah, and when we talk about specific voicing and vocal agility for that character, like, and I don't know what his career went on to be or is.
• 13:22
  um But the actor, I mean, the sheer vocal control, he was just like going at it with like runs and just delicate, delicate.
• 13:39
  ornamentation of vocals.
• 13:43
  and I think throughout the house, I mean, this, this song is probably like halfway through act one and you just hear, mean, you know, it's good when the audience, even in the quiet
• 13:55
  moments has to vocalize what they're thinking.
• 13:58
  And so there was a lot of kind of like not hooting and hollering, but just like, I don't even know how to express what the audience was feeling, but they were vocalizing it.
• 14:07
  And,
• 14:08
  That's always a good moment.
• 14:11
  I can imagine for him to as an actor to hear and feel that because I mean, you're doing something right.
• 14:18
  It means you're making people feel something.
• 14:20
  um But again, that's the balance that we get.
• 14:26
  The dangerous balance of live theater and concert ish theater is this we're breaking that third wall or that fourth wall.
• 14:35
  uh
• 14:37
  a little bit more frequently than we typically would.
• 14:40
  And the actors kind of play into that too.
• 14:43
  But yes, that duet, Raymond and Tina, um smooth.
• 14:50
  His voice was incredibly smooth.
• 14:53
  So two things I want to note about this.
• 14:55
  off that his, this was his first national tour, but his regional credits include Once on this Island, Dreamgirls and Beautiful, the Carole King musical.
• 15:05
  He played a drifter in that one.
• 15:07
  um But all of, but what I love about this too is that was the moment that I actually, the thought, wow, he's taking us to church really came into mind because people were feeling
• 15:19
  it.
• 15:20
  The way that they were,
• 15:21
  reacting to his runs, the way that they were almost doing like a callback, which I feel like that happens sometimes in church, you know, like that, like that callback of just
• 15:29
  like, is speaking to my soul on a way of like a, like a mute, sometimes I think of music as a religion.
• 15:36
  And I don't know if that makes any sense, but like to me, sometimes it just speaks so much to me and just like, I can feel it through my body.
• 15:43
  And he was somebody that I felt through my body.
• 15:45
  He was somebody that I, his voice just cut through.
• 15:51
  every nerve, you know?
• 15:52
  And so I think that he was really beautiful.
• 15:54
  And I wish that he actually had more singing parts in the show, because I think that it would have been a little more dynamic.
• 16:00
  But a lot of the show focused on Tina and Ike and their dynamics.
• 16:05
  And honestly, I get it.
• 16:07
  It's the Tina story.
• 16:08
  It's like Tina Turner story.
• 16:09
  But like he has such a voice that I almost was waiting for Act 2 to be like, okay, when is the sun going to sing?
• 16:16
  When is the sun going to have a moment?
• 16:18
  Like
• 16:19
  I want him to sing again, you know?
• 16:20
  So I do think that's really telling about his ability.
• 16:23
  Yeah, and I think they did get like a line, maybe two, in the background when they were performing with her for like two seconds.
• 16:32
  But yeah, I mean, obviously this will not be the last time that we see him in something.
• 16:40
  Because it was just, it was a standout performance, especially considering like, this is not a small cast.
• 16:48
  Like you've got what, 20 to 30 people in there.
• 16:51
  and he had one solo and it was probably one of the best ah of the show.
• 17:00
  So this next piece, feel like I want to talk about the ending, but I feel like to talk about the ending, we also have to talk about the set.
• 17:05
  So I'm to do this in two pieces.
• 17:07
  I hope that it makes sense.
• 17:08
  it's listeners, I promise we're going to get there.
• 17:11
  But the setting, the set of Tina, the Tina Turner musical was relatively simple.
• 17:17
  Things rolled in, things rolled out.
• 17:19
  There wasn't huge set pieces.
• 17:21
  There was doors, there was cabinets, there was certain things, there was tables.
• 17:25
  A lot of it was relying on the digital screen in the back, which is fine.
• 17:28
  This one seemed to make really good.
• 17:30
  use of it.
• 17:31
  ah Well, two things I should say, the one that really stopped to me was when they were at the motel.
• 17:36
  And that scene really stood out with me the digital screen.
• 17:39
  And then I loved how they used River Deep Mountain High to use like the like the digitizing aspect of the music.
• 17:44
  ah So quickly before I connect the two, what was your kind of take on the set and the digital screen?
• 17:51
  I know we're not always a fan of the digital screen.
• 17:53
  I thought that this one was okay.
• 17:56
  It was it did its job and there was nothing super
• 18:00
  spectacular about it.
• 18:01
  Yeah, I would agree only from the standpoint of like, don't know what else they would have done.
• 18:06
  Um, because they were covering so much ground in regards to, like, I don't think many scenes were in the same place more than once.
• 18:17
  And so when you run into that, like, obviously there's a limit on how much you can carry of a tour, right?
• 18:24
  Like just, there's only so many bands and so many trucks and so much space.
• 18:29
  Um,
• 18:31
  And yeah, and while it's not my favorite, I mean, I didn't love just the black curtains on the side.
• 18:39
  Don't ask me what I would have thought, but there instead, um, it just kind of felt not polished.
• 18:48
  If there's a better way to put that.
• 18:49
  Um, even if it had been like just something that felt more Tina, like it just, it just felt like a regular stage.
• 19:00
  bland black curtains.
• 19:02
  um
• 19:05
  It's interesting as we were walking out, you and I got separated a little bit because there was lots of crowds, right?
• 19:10
  And there was a person that was walking right by me and he was talking with his wife.
• 19:14
  I shouldn't assume.
• 19:15
  I'm assuming that it was his wife, but he was talking about like how he was disappointed specifically in the sets.
• 19:22
  And he had noted, and I wish I could have seen this beforehand specifically because it was at different location.
• 19:27
  He said, last time they rolled in in 2023, they were at the opera house, which right there off my head, I was like, okay, something super different about that because
• 19:34
  Opera houses do shows that are big and don't usually fit on that of the Fisher.
• 19:40
  And he said, and the sets were more grand and this one was really simple down and it didn't, it didn't feel as like as Tina Turner, as you would kind of describe for the sets.
• 19:51
  So it makes me wonder.
• 19:53
  Granted I know cost is a big thing here.
• 19:56
  Trans, transporting is a big thing here, but I do want to know, like in my head, I was like, I want to know what that set was like, because I'm wondering if there were bigger
• 20:02
  set pieces.
• 20:03
  that they rolled in and out, like this studio in London.
• 20:06
  Was that a bigger piece that they rolled in and out and they didn't have that?
• 20:09
  ah So that's just something that sits in the back of my mind now.
• 20:12
  Will haunt me forever because I will never see an old production of Tina, the Tina Turner Musical.
• 20:16
  But it makes, it's interesting to note that it was at the opera house last time.
• 20:20
  Yeah, and I mean, honestly, I feel like the first time I saw it, it was the same, but that was only, I mean, what, was two years ago.
• 20:29
  Um,
• 20:30
  Which the first...
• 20:32
  Because the 2023 one probably would have been the first touring production of it.
• 20:37
  Because it came out in 2020.
• 20:39
  Yeah, uh I'm gonna have to do some some recon on that because really I don't know what you would...
• 20:47
  do.
• 20:48
  I think we got it right for what it was.
• 20:51
  But again, with these type of shows, when you think about jukebox musicals,
• 20:55
  Most of the time the focus, especially the show is so primarily on The singer or the the person that's being impersonated That that's where the money is going.
• 21:08
  You're not you're not spending money on a curtain.
• 21:11
  You're not spending money on a set ah Not to say digital screens very expensive.
• 21:16
  So there's there is that but ah Between that and the amount of transitions that would have had to happen or did happen
• 21:26
  I'm not sure how it would look different, but I can understand for honestly from a from a setup perspective or from like a production perspective, but also from an audience
• 21:37
  perspective of it was okay
• 21:39
  Right.
• 21:40
  I will say this too.
• 21:41
  think before I get to, wow, I connected it.
• 21:43
  Now I have another thought.
• 21:44
  Sorry.
• 21:44
  ADHD is acting up.
• 21:45
  Follow along here.
• 21:46
  Um, but you talked about the front and centerness.
• 21:49
  And I think that part of that felt very apparent in the blocking of proud Mary where Ike is on the back bed doing drugs.
• 21:59
  And for us, we couldn't see it for the first half of that song because Tina is front and center singing proud Mary with her, with her ikettes you know, around her.
• 22:08
  And so I thought that was a very interesting choice because it's like, yeah, obviously is the Tina story.
• 22:12
  Obviously you're putting the money there, but like the blocking wise to you couldn't see what was going on behind her.
• 22:18
  And that I feel like the people in the balcony could see that, you know I mean?
• 22:21
  Or like on the mezzanine, they could see that.
• 22:23
  And so it's interesting that like they literally had her front and center in some parts where you maybe could have, maybe the staging was different when it first rolled around
• 22:31
  here in 2023.
• 22:32
  But that being said, want to talk, I think the biggest part staging wise and probably one of the best parts of the show was the part where it actually was a legitimate concert.
• 22:43
  At the end, um right before the best, Tina has a little moment with her current beau you know, her current boo, and she goes up the stairs and then the black curtain rises and she
• 22:57
  comes down the stairs and it's a legitimate concert set in Detroit.
• 23:01
  And so for me, though, they do a finale, they do an encore, which again, very concerty.
• 23:06
  She's talking straight to us.
• 23:07
  The breaking of the fourth wall is gone.
• 23:10
  And she wants us to get up and dance.
• 23:11
  She wants us to get up and party.
• 23:12
  wants us to engage.
• 23:14
  And to me, I feel like that was the energy that everybody, the audience was looking for in that moment, because they had been trying to sing with her and dance with her the entire
• 23:21
  night.
• 23:21
  And they finally had permission to do so.
• 23:23
  And I do feel like that was the moment that I really was like, OK, this is like to me, that was the best part.
• 23:29
  And like not to say that.
• 23:30
  the whole story of Tina Turner wasn't great.
• 23:32
  But musically, that was the part besides the songs that I knew that I really had fun with this Tina show.
• 23:39
  Would you agree with that?
• 23:41
  Yeah, I mean, from an entertainment perspective, the most entertaining part of the show is the ending.
• 23:48
  That's not to discredit the writing or the songs or anything of the show itself.
• 23:52
  The show is very historical.
• 23:55
  It's very true to who she was and her life.
• 24:00
  ah And as we know, sometimes life isn't always glamorous and it's not always exciting.
• 24:10
  And it can be really hard.
• 24:12
  And so it covered all of those things.
• 24:14
  And it was almost like a, this is what you now get for sitting through all of that.
• 24:20
  uh Not just from the perspective of an audience member, but also herself, right?
• 24:25
  Like she peaked because she, you know, was strong in herself and her identity and what she wanted to do and where she wanted to end up.
• 24:35
  um And she did the thing, right?
• 24:39
  So we,
• 24:40
  Yeah, and for those, I'm just gonna say right now, if this show comes to a theater near you and you go, do not leave at curtain call.
• 24:54
  I know that there are people for many shows who gotta get to the parking garage.
• 24:59
  And I'm telling you right now, you will miss the best part of the show if you do not stick around and you'll regret it.
• 25:07
  And honestly, that's for every show though.
• 25:09
  And I have friends who do this, so I'm calling y'all out right now.
• 25:12
  ah It's not worth it.
• 25:14
  I promise you the extra five to 10 minutes to get home.
• 25:19
  Like you paid for your seat, stay in it or stand up.
• 25:23
  Cause we were all standing up and we were dancing and singing and having a great time.
• 25:27
  um But yes, that is the absolute um best part of it.
• 25:34
  And the part that I think felt the most also Tina.
• 25:39
  Like the Tina that the public knows and loves.
• 25:44
  It's interesting because I feel like people did that with Mamma Mia as well, but like Mamma Mia also kind of, they kind of kept us hostage.
• 25:49
  They're like, okay, we're doing three, four songs.
• 25:52
  But with Tina, it was, it was very short and it's interesting too, because the guy who noted about it being at the opera house also noted that the last time they did this, the
• 26:00
  wait between Tina coming out was longer to have that moment.
• 26:03
  So more people left.
• 26:04
  And he's like, this time they really shortened it to let people know, don't leave, we're doing it.
• 26:07
  And she even said, do you want a few more songs?
• 26:09
  And he said,
• 26:10
  some of that wasn't there.
• 26:11
  so it made it mean like I knew what was coming is what he was telling the person he was with.
• 26:16
  But they shortened it so that people also knew what was happening too.
• 26:20
  I think that's happening across Broadway.
• 26:23
  think, um and I hate to say that, but it is also so telling of our times where time is so of essence that people feel the need to flock out of there before the curtain falls.
• 26:41
  um it's the same thing, by the way, with people getting there on time.
• 26:46
  There is often a hold.
• 26:50
  for the beginning of a show and you're missing two to three songs or more.
• 26:55
  uh And also wrecking the experience for the people that you have to walk through.
• 27:01
  uh But yeah, the gap between the final scene, the final song, the final bow, and then the encore, they used to, I mean, they used to completely clear stages and have second, like
• 27:17
  full pauses.
• 27:20
  before people would come back out.
• 27:24
  But like these things are not true.
• 27:26
  They are scripted, right?
• 27:28
  Like this is written, we know it's gonna happen.
• 27:30
  Like you said, Mamma Mia, Six kind of, Six is definitely scripted.
• 27:37
  The mega mix, all these mega mixes, Grease I think had one.
• 27:44
  There's a lot of shows that have these.
• 27:48
  I mean, I think almost every single biopic that I can think of.
• 27:53
  Carole King, Beautiful Noise, every page of the Cher Show.
• 27:59
  ah
• 28:01
  Even Ann Juliette had it and that's just a, like there's always, I think part of this is that we're getting into the concert culture of it as well because concerts used to be that
• 28:11
  when people had encores, it was almost a surprise, but now it is the expectation that there's going to be an encore.
• 28:18
  Well, and as someone who recently went to a live concert, it didn't feel like an encore, even though we all kind of, there was a wait, because there was a costume change or a
• 28:29
  wardrobe change.
• 28:30
  Um, but we, and we did chant and we did clap and it was elongated because again, full costume change.
• 28:39
  ah
• 28:41
  And that's usually why they used to take so long.
• 28:43
  And now I think they're like, Nope, you got a strip.
• 28:47
  got to get it off, get it on, get back out there because people aren't waiting around anymore.
• 28:53
  And then you lose.
• 28:55
  You either I've had it happen when I was ushering, you lose half the audience because they're already out the door or it's awkward because people are filing out.
• 29:06
  And then the person comes back on stage and you're like, this feels weird.
• 29:11
  But they aren't gonna not do it.
• 29:14
  Like it's, it is going to happen either way.
• 29:17
  But obviously it feels less energy if the people are like halfway out the building.
• 29:24
  Correct.
• 29:24
  Which is one of the things about Mamma Mia where they have the ensemble come on and start singing before the actual people come in because they are still doing their costume
• 29:31
  changes.
• 29:32
  But like for a lot of these shows that are songs that are jukebox musicals, it almost, I feel like it's become almost synonymous to be having an encore, kind of like a concert.
• 29:45
  yeah, RJ's completely right.
• 29:46
  Stay, you do not want to miss the best part of the show.
• 29:50
  Like truly the way it ends, it ends on a high note.
• 29:52
  truly is.
• 29:54
  That's the Tina that everybody has come to know and love.
• 29:56
  She is there on stage.
• 29:57
  um So you want to be there to see that.
• 30:01
  I know that we are getting close on time, but I do think that we need to talk about costumes real quick and give a shout out specifically to not just to the costumes, but to
• 30:07
  the wigs and the costumes for Tina, because holy hell, mad props to whoever is pinning um those wigs on, especially the fact that it is the cast pinning the final wig on Tina.
• 30:21
  And that thing does not come off while she's shaking her head.
• 30:25
  So most shows have, um I'm sure this one does, dressers.
• 30:30
  that's tip usually, and correct me if I'm wrong, um literal like that is their, they just dress people.
• 30:38
  They dress you off stage, they dress you on stage, they dress you before, after, whatever.
• 30:44
  um And that includes, I mean, your makeup, and then you have hair and makeup on standby for...
• 30:51
  All of those changes this show specifically was probably the one that I've seen the most wig changes like you just mentioned and they weren't like similar wigs.
• 31:01
  They were like completely different.
• 31:05
  and again, if for anyone who doesn't know Tina's signature moves, I mean, you are doing full full body head banging.
• 31:15
  Um, so imagine just having, I don't know, maybe
• 31:21
  less than 10 seconds to get this wig on your head.
• 31:27
  By the way, while you're stripping down, changing your full costume, possibly other jewelry, you've also got a microphone or two in your head and making sure that that
• 31:40
  doesn't get ruffled up too much on top of getting a wig and or a hat or whatever accessories.
• 31:47
  uh Truly the unsung heroes.
• 31:51
  like many of the crew backstage.
• 31:54
  So shout out to Broadway crews and tour crews everywhere because it is such an unappreciated art when you look at the time management that's required because there is no
• 32:10
  time for there to be a mistake.
• 32:12
  um But it was, yeah, absurd.
• 32:17
  Because when you speak about the energy of the show, she is literally dancing, shaking her head, throwing it around.
• 32:24
  these dresses and everything, they have all the sequins in the right places.
• 32:27
  They are copycats of Tina.
• 32:30
  So obviously, this is something that is inspiring, just awestruck to see.
• 32:38
  And they did a really, really good job.
• 32:39
  ah All right, RJ, it's time for our favorite part.
• 32:45
  Who is Tina Turner for and is it for us?
• 32:48
  Yes.
• 32:48
  I mean, I think it's for anyone who appreciates music in any type of way.
• 32:52
  think it's historically a very important show.
• 32:55
  Um, if you want to get to know the queen of rock and roll, and if you want to get to know the real, if you're not just here for the glitz and the glam, but you're here for the
• 33:07
  reality of what it took at that time to become the Tina Turner of today.
• 33:16
  so.
• 33:18
  Yeah, I think it's for everybody.
• 33:20
  mean, with a PG-13 rating, let me preface that with just no, like obviously as previously mentioned, like drugs, alcohol, sex, rock and roll, like expect that out of this.
• 33:36
  So maybe don't bring like, I don't know, your seven year olds, but.
• 33:41
  Correct.
• 33:42
  Would you see it again?
• 33:44
  I mean, I feel like we've actually spoken very well about the show for the last two episodes.
• 33:50
  I don't know, like I already saw it and then I saw it again and I didn't remember quite that I saw it the first time.
• 33:57
  So I don't know that I need to see it again.
• 34:00
  I would agree with.
• 34:01
  So this is, this is, this is the thing I want it really for a second.
• 34:04
  We're going to, let's make eye contact, look into my eyes.
• 34:09
  This is not a slight against anybody in the cast or the crew.
• 34:11
  did a fantastic job.
• 34:13
  It was a great show.
• 34:15
  This is not one I would personally seek out again to see unless somebody really wanted to see this.
• 34:22
  So I preface this by saying like, my mom mentioned she'd like, that would be a good show to see.
• 34:27
  However,
• 34:28
  She doesn't always go see a lot of shows, but if this was one she wanted to see, I would go see Tina Turner, the musical with her.
• 34:33
  ah This is not like a six in my head where I'm like, every time it's in the city, I want to see it four times.
• 34:40
  This is not RJ and SUFFS.
• 34:43
  Nobody knows this yet because it hasn't come here yet.
• 34:46
  RJ probably has plans to see it, if not twice, at least seven times.
• 34:52
  No, but like truly.
• 34:54
  Like there are some shows that like you're like every time it's here, I have to see it.
• 34:59
  Every time I go to New York, I have to see it.
• 35:02
  God damn.
• 35:03
  I'm so sorry to everybody that when, when death becomes our tours, I'm going to be the most obnoxious.
• 35:11
  Yeah.
• 35:11
  I'm gonna be so insufferable.
• 35:13
  I am going to see it multiple times.
• 35:15
  I'm going to take everybody I can.
• 35:17
  I'm going to going to poor RJ that week is going to have to listen to me singing the songs.
• 35:22
  Like I think I can be on Broadway.
• 35:24
  as one of the two leads.
• 35:25
  I just want to that I am not being Ernest Menville.
• 35:28
  We'll just make it a TikTok.
• 35:29
  You all can enjoy it.
• 35:31
  oh If you want to see that, let us know.
• 35:33
  But like that's the kind of insufferable I would be.
• 35:35
  This is not the insufferable.
• 35:37
  Like I didn't turn insufferable about the show.
• 35:39
  Did I sing Proud Mary walking out of the theater?
• 35:43
  Yes.
• 35:44
  Did RJ note that I'm probably listening on the way home?
• 35:46
  Yes.
• 35:47
  Did I listen to it on the way home?
• 35:48
  Yes.
• 35:48
  But it made me appreciate Tina and her music.
• 35:51
  It didn't make me want to go and see the show multiple times.
• 35:54
  I don't know if that makes any sense.
• 35:56
  Well, again, like it's kind of like sitting through a history lesson.
• 36:01
  You probably not going to reread that chapter too many times, but that doesn't mean that you didn't appreciate learning about that chapter.
• 36:08
  So while I deeply appreciated and did think back to and remember the things that we learned, um the entertainment perspective from, not from a talent area or even
• 36:23
  a story because obviously the story is real.
• 36:26
  ah Sometimes you just, but I would say that the same thing about uh Beautiful Noise.
• 36:35
  Like I'm not jumping at seeing the Cher Show multiple times.
• 36:40
  That's just me, I know some people are.
• 36:42
  Let's let's just note real quick audience that let's just note real quick audience that he did see the Cher show twice when it was here just saying
• 36:51
  It wasn't for me though, it was for others.
• 36:54
  But same thing.
• 36:56
  Yeah, yeah.
• 36:57
  Like I think it's important to take people who haven't seen it because there is, there's an educational historical piece of this ah that truly makes you appreciate.
• 37:09
  I think that's the point of the show.
• 37:12
  I think that's what they want the takeaway to be.
• 37:15
  Yes.
• 37:16
  you're dancing in the aisles on the way out and you're singing her songs as you should, but you're taking away the heartache and the brutality and the redemption of what it took
• 37:31
  to be her and what her life looked like.
• 37:35
  I agree.
• 37:35
  I think that's the perfect way to sum it up.
• 37:37
  ah And so on that note, we have concluded our Tina, the Tina Turner musical discussion, but stay tuned for future episodes of the BSB podcast.
• 37:46
  Thanks again for joining us here in our box seats until next curtain call.