AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Tina mom of two bathtub4/15/2024 ![]() ![]() Sometimes the audience reacts very viscerally to the situation and sometimes it’s complete silence because they are shocked at what’s happening. RW: From the moment that the curtain goes up and they see that silhouette of Tina they start screaming, and then they are taken on a journey through her life story. Usually the audiences are so into it that they yell back, “That’s right!” T: So much of Tina Turner’s music is beloved. RW: When I get to tell Tina to kick Ike’s butt. T: What’s one of your favorite moments onstage as Zelma? I try to play the humanity of her and not necessarily judge her, but just allow her to breathe and live on the stage and let the audience take from it what they can. And she was a catalyst for Tina’s success because she gives Tina the the fortitude to keep pushing through and to prove to her mother that she is capable of doing great things. RW: No one is all bad, so there’s got to be some endearing moments, some funny moments. (photo by Matthew Murphy) T: How do you approach Tina and Zelma’s tough relationship and how do you think about Zelma yourself? Roz White as ‘Zelma Bullock’ in the North American touring production of TINA – The Tina Turner Musical. Louis is) where Tina started her career with Ike Turner and the Kings of Rhythm. We’re talking about the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s so for African Americans it was extremely difficult, and she wanted a better life. Zelma was trying to get away from that life where career choices would have been being a maid or possibly a school teacher. RW: It gave me a better perspective of just how simple life was and what Zelma was striving for by leaving (Nutbush for St. T: How did that experience inform playing Tina’s mother onstage? ![]() And it was just amazing just to see that rural town where she used to run around and make up songs and see where she was living with her mother and her grandmother eventually. It was a farming community and we got to stand in front of the house where she grew up. ![]() RW: We were performing in Memphis and we got a chance to drive about an hour outside of town. And going to Nutbush, (Tennessee) where Tina Turner grew up, seeing her old elementary school and her memorabilia all over the place. She turned 92 that day, and she decided to spend her birthday with us, and I got to do the curtain speech that night. Roz White (RW): Definitely LA because our opening night was shortly after Tina Turner’s passing, but it was also the birthday of the legendary Molly Gibbs from The Jeffersons. Roz White as ‘Zelma’ in the North American touring production of TINA – THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL (Photo by Matthew Murphy) Tribeza ( T): What have been some of the highlights of this tour for you? Ahead of Tina’s stop at Austin’s Bass Concert Hall January 9-13, Tribeza asked White to tell us more about iconic onstage moments, what she’s looking forward to during her first visit to Austin, and how Tina decided how her story should be told. She has been a cast member in more than 200 plays and musicals playing iconic roles such as Effie in the touring company of Dreamgirls, and she’s currently touring dozens of cities with Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, as Zelma Bullock, Tina’s mother. Actress Roz White has been belting out songs on Broadway for 40 years.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |