''Soul Sister'' is a

jukebox musical A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known popular music songs, rather than original music. Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while others confine themselves to songs perfo ...

based on the life and times

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

and

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and 1 ...

, written by John Miller and Pete Brooks, with the original production directed by Bob Eaton.

Productions

''Soul Sister'' opened at the

Hackney Empire Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as ‘the most beautiful theatre in Lon ...

where it played a limited run from 14 April - 5 May 2012. The production transferred at the

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy Pala ...

in the West End on 23 August 2012, following previews from 20 August. It played a limited run to 29 September 2012. Emi Wokoma starred as

, for which she was nominated for the Whatsonstage.com Award for Best Actress in a Musical. The musical was nominated for 2013

Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical The Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1 ...

. The production, again starring Wokoma, toured the UK in 2013.

Critical reception

Reviews for the show were mixed, although with praise for Wokoma.

Henry Hitchings Henry Hitchings (born 11 December 1974) is an author, reviewer and critic, specializing in narrative non-fiction, with a particular emphasis on language and cultural history. The second of his books, ''The Secret Life of Words: How English Beca ...

in his review for ''

The Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' wrote, "The words "a star is born" can be hazardous, but Emi Wokoma, who plays Tina Turner in this 'bio-musical', is blessed with star quality and a voice that's rawly emotional yet also regal...As jukebox musicals go, ''Soul Sister'' is meaty. Yet the story never soars." Laura Thompson for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' highlighted the central performance, stating: "Wokoma is amazing, a strong-bodied yet vulnerable goddess. Singing fearlessly, and almost continually, she does a fine imitation of Tina Turner – that teetering sideways lean, those sexy washer-woman arms – but her performance goes way beyond the 'Tonight, Matthew, I will be...' of Stars in Their Eyes."

References

{{reflist 2012 musicals Biographical musicals Jukebox musicals Musicals set in the United States Musicals set in the 20th century Tina Turner West End musicals

Productions

Critical reception

See also

References