INDIANAPOLIS — Tina Turner, also known as “Anna Mae Bullock,” was known for her tumultuous relationship, starting with her mother, Zelma.
When Turner was 11 years old, her mother left her, her father, and her siblings to start a new life.
Actress Roz White, who plays Turner's mother in “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical,” scheduled to run at the Murat Theater from April 30 to May 5, says this has strained their relationship. He said he brought it.
White said she was trying to give viewers a glimpse into the “why” behind Bullock's decisions.
Turner later joined her mother in St. Louis.
White said their turbulent relationship indirectly led to another tumultuous relationship.
If she hadn't moved to live with her mother, she never would have met her then-soon-to-be husband, Ike Turner.
The two formed Ike and Tina Turner, which became the starting point for Tina's musical career.
The Turners had several hits, but their biggest hit was “Proud Mary,” a fast-paced rendition of the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic.
On stage, they were a dynamic duo. Offstage, they were a toxic pair as Ike repeatedly abused Tina.
Although the film depicts such abuse, White said it can be difficult to watch because it is so familiar to her.
White remembers watching her mother and grandmother in an abusive relationship.
She described Turner as a “comeback kid” who rose from the proverbial ashes of a failed marriage and former career to find success as a solo artist.
The musical is also about Turner becoming a powerful woman who can stand on her own two feet.
White summed up the play's message to women succinctly:
“Everything you need is within you,” she said.