She lived the pain, fought through the chaos, and rose to unimaginable heights—so when producers brought her life to the stage, Tina Turner didn’t hold back her reaction; from her quiet fears about reliving trauma to her emotional first viewing of the final performance, what the Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll really thought about TINA – The Tina Turner Musical might surprise you. Click the link to read more.

When Tina Turner was first approached about turning her life into a stage musical, her response was far from enthusiastic. “Do we really need another version of my story?” she asked, half-laughing in an early development meeting. After decades of surviving public scrutiny, personal trauma, and tabloid attention, Turner had become protective of her peace. The thought of watching someone else act out her darkest moments? “Terrifying,” she admitted.

And yet, several years later, as she sat quietly in a theater in London during early previews of TINA – The Tina Turner Musical, something shifted.

“I cried,” Turner told an interviewer in 2019. “Not just because it was my life up there, but because it was honest. It was real. And I saw how many people in the audience were crying with me. That’s when I knew it had to be done.”

The musical, written by Katori Hall and directed by Phyllida Lloyd, does not shy away from the gritty chapters of Turner’s life. It shows the abuse, the betrayal, the brutal realities of fame and marriage. But it also pulses with triumph, reclaiming the arc of Turner’s life through powerful music, layered performances, and storytelling that balances rawness with celebration.

“It’s not a fairy tale,” Tina once said. “It’s my truth. And I wanted that to stay intact.”

Initially, Turner was reluctant to be involved in the creative process. “I didn’t want to relive everything,” she admitted. “I thought, let the team do it and I’ll stay away.” But the producers insisted she participate, and when she met Adrienne Warren—the actress who would go on to originate the role of Tina on both West End and Broadway—Turner felt something shift.

“She had my fire,” Tina recalled. “She wasn’t copying me. She was channeling something. It was almost scary to watch her perform.”

Tina Turner gave her blessing to the script early on, but she was clear about one thing: nothing should be softened for comfort. “If you’re going to tell it, then tell all of it,” she told Hall. “The good, the bad, the ugly, and the redemption too.”

Despite her reservations, Turner eventually embraced the project. She sat through rehearsals. She gave notes. She even opened up about specific memories the writers hadn’t included—moments from her childhood, fears about motherhood, her complicated relationship with religion.

Still, she stayed away from opening night. “I didn’t want to be a distraction,” she said. “This show isn’t about a legend watching her own legacy. It’s about giving people something they can see themselves in.”

Eventually, Tina attended the London premiere quietly, slipping into a seat far from the press cameras. What she witnessed moved her deeply.

“I felt like I was outside of myself, watching this other woman live my life,” she said. “And I wanted to reach out and hold her hand.”

Turner also praised the way the musical presented her spiritual journey, including her embrace of Buddhism and the power of chanting. “That part is so important,” she explained. “It saved me. I wanted people to understand that I didn’t get here through luck—I got here through work, through belief, through spirit.”

When the musical opened on Broadway, Turner made a rare public appearance to attend the launch and support the cast. In a short speech, she told the audience: “This is not just my story. This is a story about all of us. About surviving, about dreaming, and about not letting anyone take away your voice.”

Her reaction to the Broadway production was equally emotional. “I was overwhelmed,” she said. “It’s one thing to live a life, but to see it interpreted through the eyes of another artist—that’s powerful. It helped me see things in myself I hadn’t noticed before.”

She especially appreciated how the show honored the music. “Every song in that show has weight,” she said. “It’s not just there to entertain. It’s there to speak.”

When asked if there was anything she would change about the musical, Turner laughed. “Maybe fewer scenes with Ike,” she said with a dry smile. “But no—if I asked them to take those out, it wouldn’t be my story anymore, would it?”

For Tina Turner, the musical became something more than a retrospective. It became a gift. Not just to fans, but to the next generation. She received hundreds of letters from young women, survivors of domestic violence, and artists who said the show had changed their lives.

“It’s strange,” she once mused. “Sometimes I think the musical is stronger than I ever was. Because it’s not afraid to show the whole truth. And it sings it loud.”

In the final years of her life, as Tina Turner lived in relative privacy in Switzerland, she would occasionally reflect on the show’s impact. “It gave me closure,” she said. “It gave me pride. And maybe… it gave me a kind of peace.”

So how did Tina Turner rate her own musical?

With tears. With applause. With gratitude.

And with the quiet confidence of a woman who had finally told her story on her own terms—stage lights blazing, music pounding, and the whole world listening.