‘Rolling down the river’: Tina Turner musical set to kick off at Lincoln’s Lied Center

Lincoln, Neb. (KLKN) – Tina Turner has performed her songs of empowerment and resilience at some of the most prestigious venues around the world.

Now, her true-life story is launching its North American tour.

The tour plans to bring the traveling Broadway musical to over 60 cities across the nation, with its first stop at Lincoln’s premier performing arts center, The Lied Center.

“Lincoln, Nebraska, has been the best place for us to start the tour,” said executive producer Jayna Neagle, “From the stagehand talent that you have here, then just the facility itself here at the Lied center, it’s just A-Plus, Top notch!”

A shiny disco ball — in Turner’s honor — hangs above the nearly 2,500 seats of the Lied center’s theater, ready to be filled for opening night.

“Tina, The Tina Turner Musical” was first written in 2018 by Pulitzer Prize writer Kato Hall, with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, along with Turner herself.

“She was adamant that this story, this musical, not sugarcoat anything,” said Neagle, “You get the tragedy, you get the trauma but then you get the triumph.”

The musical was filled with heavy topics like ageism, sexism and racism, depicting the variables that Turner had to overcome to be known as the Queen of Rock.

Although the singer passed away in 2023, her influence remains in this production.

“Just relieving her story night after night, it just brings her energy,” said Neagle, “Tina really embodied spiritual, beautiful energy that comes across the stage into the audience.”

Performances are being held Oct. 8 through 11, and will cover all stages of her life from growing up as a child in rural Tennessee to performing on Las Vegas stages in the 1980’s.

The cast and crew are representing all these periods with design, “Through costumes and wigs,” said Neagle, adding that the production here is very much like Broadway.

“You can expect the same storytelling,” she said. “It’s the same story, it’s the same production values, the same sound from the band.”

Neagle says audience members will also be able to get a sneak peak of the live band after the performance is done, just like on Broadway.

The crew backstage were all in smiles, motivated by Turner’s legacy to keep ‘rolling down the river.’

Tickets are on sale through the Lied center and can be accessed here.