Backstage with Roz White of ‘TINA – The Tina Turner Musical’

The year is already off to a roller coaster of a start. Between Katt Williams airing out all the dirty laundry to the King of Pop being linked to Jeffrey Epstein, it’s safe to say that there are tons of stories that need to be told. Thankfully, we have the stage, and icons ready for their stories to be told. Set to the soundtrack of some of her most electrifying hits, ‘TINA – The Tina Turner Musical’ tells the story of Tine Turner’s meteoric rise to become the Queen of Rock n Roll. Fortunately for us, I was able to talk with a core cast member before curtain call for the tour’s stop in Austin.

Roz White has been a professional actor since 1984, having earned her degree from Howard University. She’s performed all over the world including two national tours. The Washington D.C. native took time out of the busy rehearsal schedule to talk with me, and the conversation was amazing. While we spoke, White was able to take a moment to reflect on her career and appreciate what she’s accomplished.

Roz White. Courtesy photos

"I've had a successful career, but I didn't realize that until this year," she admitted. "You know, we're always striving to achieve something that's out there, to make 'it' whatever 'it' is, and I just realized that 'you've been a working actress for 40 years,' that is success. But because there's always something ahead of us money, more status, more recognition. I think that that's what it's like for me as a woman of color. We never quite can enjoy our success because we're always reaching for something more. For me, it's been a journey of trying to just be grounded and look around and see the beautiful, wonderful, talented people that I've been able to work with over the years and have been able to help as well, because I teach. So for me, as a woman of color in the industry, it feels like I am constantly teaching and constantly learning."

“I’ve done some great roles and for a long time Pearl Bailey was one of my favorite roles to play because I just felt so connected to her,” White recalled. “We share a birthday and I have a show that I wrote about her. So that was it for a long time, and nothing could top Pearl. I just was learning so much from her every day. And then I played a person that wasn't as well loved and that wasn't as well respected, and that didn't have the best time in her younger years, and then was definitely a hard woman. And now I understand what it means to really give yourself over to a role and to not judge the character and to not judge yourself. So I would say Zelma Bullock is my favorite right now."

Being a successful actor for as long as White has doesn’t come without its range of roles. While she has a sincere adoration for Pearl Bailey, and a captivation with Zelma Bullock, one of her toughest roles to date is shrouded in melancholy courage.

“A challenging role for me, I believe, was Emmett Till's mom, Mamie Till," White lamented. "The grace that she had to maintain and just the horror that she had to witness by seeing her son in the casket. I had to play that scene, and it just brought up emotions. I have two sons, so anytime I hear a little boy or a young man in distress, it just hits me in the gut. I think that was probably my most challenging role; to be able to just repeat. Repeat those emotions, night after night, and to bring them from a real place."

Tina is no stranger to emotional highs and lows according to White. In explaining the show, and her role in it, she was able to get some shed light on some of the darker times.

“The show begins with a fight and I get slapped — then I turn around and throw the first punch. So it is coming out of the gate hard to take for certain audiences,” she explained. “Then we get into Tina's story and we get into what makes her who she is. Her mother, as hard as she was, as hard to understand as she was, she was a catalyst for Tina's success because she gave her something to look at, to say, 'I wanna rise above those kinds of emotions. I know I'm in this bad situation right now, but my way of getting out is I'm gonna free myself.' And so, oh yes, Zelma is a character that people love to hate. So that is who I am in this show."

A show like this is bound to have the emotional highs and lows only present in a rock n roll life, but for Roz, she finds levity in even some of the hardest parts of the show — particularly, when her own character dies.

“It's very morbid, but my favorite part is her deathbed scene — I think because I don't move very much,” she admitted laughingly. "When we were in the rehearsal process, Phyllida Lloyd, who was the director, said to me, 'I Roz, your hands are so beautiful, but we need to calm them down.' I'm a student of vaudeville. I'm a student of the old school theater, and hands are very important in expression. I was using my hands way too much for a woman that was about to die. So I had to control my gestures and it took me back to college where my mentor, Michael Low, said to me, 'let's just do this song with no gestures,' And it helped me be such a strong storyteller to not use my hands unless I absolutely had to — it was involuntary. My hands moved and he was like, 'yep, that's an honest gesture.' So that's my favorite part of the show, because I have to use my acting chops from the time that I'm rolled out in that bed until they roll me off the stage."

With tickets going fast for the Austin tour dates, there’s bound to be a wide range of familiarity among the crowds, and White believes that this experience offers something special for everyone.

“To the audience member that sits in that audience, and has never heard of Tina Turner and her story: You are a blessed individual. You are about to go on the ride of your life,” she touted. “You're gonna see her life play out from age 10 to age 49, and you're gonna hear some of her best hits. And not just that, you are going to see about 30 people who are at the top of their game all come together to tell that story. You are getting a very unique experience in theatre, and you're learning about the icon of rock that is Tina Turner — so your life has just been made better. [To the diehard fans] I would say please don't place your own opinions of certain songs and what they mean on this show. Let this show be what it is and watch this show and experience this telling, because this is the story that Tina wanted told. She had her hand in this script. She had her hand in the rehearsal room of this show. So let Tina tell her story."

‘TINA – The Tina Turner Musical’ will be on stage in Austin from January 9 through January 14 and tickets are available here.