First look behind the scenes of the Tina Turner Musical with the Australian cast

With little over a month until the Australian premiere of The Tina Turner musical, Ruva Ngwenya (Tina) and Tim Omaji (Ike) give us a sneak peak at the Broadway muscial that’s swept the world.

From these pictures, you could not tell that Ruva Ngwenya has spent the last 40 minutes performing some of the most challenging songs in The Tina Turner Musical back-to-back.

The 30-year-old relative unknown said it felt great to be able to do something in front of an audience.

She and co-star Tim Omaji (who play music icons Tina and Ike Turner) are barely sweating, after a high octane dance workout that would have reduced the media contingent present to a foetal position.

Ruva Ngwenya, who plays Tina Turner, after rehearsals for the smash hit Tina - The Tina Turner Musical, at the ABC Studios in Ultimo. Picture: Jonathan Ng/The Daily Telegraph.

Tim Omaji, who plays Ike Turner, after rehearsals for the smash hit Tina - The Tina Turner Musical, at the ABC Studios in Ultimo. Picture: Jonathan Ng/The Daily Telegraph.

“The energy in the room was palpable and it gave us that glimpse of what show mode is going to be like,” Omaji said.

“I sing 20-odd songs, so it’s a marathon,” Ngwenya added.

Ruva Ngwenya singing She Made My Blood Run Cold by Ike Turner and The Rhythm Kings. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Coming from playing La Chocolat in Moulin Rouge The Musical, Ruva is determined to work

to get the role right, and has spent time in London with the international production team and the West End theatre troupe.

The stage musical was written by Pulitzer Prize winner Katori Hall with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins and originally had its world premiere in London in April 2018.

The Broadway production opened just under a year later.

For both lead actors, this show is a rare opportunity to tell an uplifting story of Black resilience. Picture: Jonathan Ng/The Daily Telegraph.

The Australian premiere, a little over a month away, “is going to be a relief,” Ngwenya said. “That’s the top of the mountain. I’d still say we’re not there yet, but that’s the reward at the end of the long journey, which we’re still on.”

Twelve-time Grammy Award winner Turner, 82, officially retired in 2009. She is one of the most successful female artists of all time and has sold more concert tickets than any other solo performer ever.

An early scene from the production shows a teenage Tina immersing herself in the local R & B scene in Missouri, where she meets Ike at a performance by his band the Kings of Rhythm in 1956. Picture: Jonathan Ng/The Daily Telegraph.

An early scene from the production shows a teenage Tina immersing herself in the local R & B scene in Missouri, where she meets Ike at a performance by his band the Kings of Rhythm in 1956.

“For me personally, being in a show where two African-Australian leads are leading the story, is very special,” Omaji told The Daily Telegraph. “Because it just doesn’t happen. I thought I knew their story, but I didn’t realise its depth and complexity. It’s going to be mind-blowing to finally give it to people.”

“I echo all that sentiment,” Ngwenya said. “It means getting to tell an uplifting and triumphant story of a Black woman and a Black people and Black people’s music.”

Tina — The Tina Turner Musical opens at Theatre Royal Sydney in May. (tinaturnerthemusical.com.au).