INTERVIEW: Dr. Dawnn Lewis on her journey to understand Tina Turner’s story
Photo: Nkeki Obi-Melekwe stars in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. Photo courtesy of Manuel Harlan / Provided by Polk and Co. with permission.
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical has returned to Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in Midtown Manhattan, wowing audiences once again with the personal story of one of the most influential rock ‘n’ roll artists of all time. Turner, who produced the Broadway show, has lived a remarkable life, with many accomplishments and difficult struggles, and the musical tells her life story from growing up in Tennessee to her global dominance as a top-selling solo artist.
One of the pivotal characters in the show is the role of Zelma, Turner’s mother, played by the award-winning actor Dr. Dawnn Lewis, known for TV’s 911, Veronica Mars, The Boys, Major Crimes and A Different World. She originated the role of Zelma when the musical first opened on Broadway before the COVID-19 pandemic, and she has now returned to play the part again after the many months when the New York theater world was shut down. Joining her on stage are Nkeki Obi-Melekwe, Daniel J. Watts, Kayla Davion, Myra Lucretia Taylor and Jessica Rush.
“Well, I’m from New York, first of all, born and raised in Brooklyn, moved out to Los Angeles in 1987 when I started working on A Different World, so my entire career here in New York as a child and growing actor was doing music and theater,” Lewis said in a recent phone interview. “So I was really looking forward to an opportunity to be able to come back home and do a Broadway show, particularly an original Broadway cast, see my family again, etc, but this particular story is what actually was the most beautiful carrot for me because Tina Turner’s story is very much parallel to my personal story.”
Lewis opened up about the struggles her family had when she was growing up, and today she offers her story to fans so they might feel encouraged and empowered to speak up, seek help and take control of their lives. These sentiments track with the plot of Tina; in the show, which is based on real life, Turner faces abuse at the hands of her husband and musical partner, Ike Turner.
“I was also raised in a family that suffered from domestic violence at the hand of my father,” Lewis said. “And like Tina’s mother, my mother found herself having to remove herself from the environment in order to save her life, but in order to save her life meant that she left us behind. And we didn’t see our mother for about a year and a half, and by today’s standards, people would have negative opinions about a woman. ‘How could you leave your kids? I could never leave my kids.’ But that was a very different time back then where women didn’t feel empowered to leave when they weren’t necessarily successfully employed. You were taught you had to stay with the husband regardless, stay for the kids, stay through the infidelities, all those kinds of things. So our generation was the first where mothers decided, you know what, I’m worth more and went to save themselves.”
When Lewis takes the stage at the Lunt-Fontanne each night, she tries not to have Turner’s mother, Zelma, come off as villainous. Even though the character she portrays excuses Ike’s behavior and continually fights with her on-stage daughter, Lewis tries to go deeper, to better understand where those feelings come from, hopefully leading to a place of education.
“I knew that this woman was not a villain,” she said. “It’s very easy to portray her as a villain, but I wanted to honor my mom and women like my mom who were taught, or who eventually learned … to love themselves and save themselves from these horrible situations. Hopefully the example you set sets a better example for your kids.”
Lewis said that today she is in a happy place. She said her mission is to try and emulate her mother, in particular her ability to thrive despite difficult circumstances. “My journey just continues to soar and thrive,” Lewis said. “It’s my honor and I feel like my opportunity to hopefully shed some light and encouragement to someone else.”
To better prepare for the role, Lewis attempted to conduct some original research on Turner and her mother. The actor admitted there’s not a lot of information in the public sphere, but she found written articles and some footage to help her portrayal. Developing the character in an authentic manner was important for Lewis.
“There’s not a lot of video footage, but again trying to dial it back to the roots and what evidence there is,” she said. “Tina’s voice sounds a certain way, and more often than not, how we speak, how we sound is reflective of the environment that we lived in. So when I did finally get to see footage of Ms. Zelma Bullock, you learn she has a very deep and heavy voice, just as Tina has.”
At a recent performance, Lewis’ acting skills were on full display, showcasing her character’s sternness and difficult love, teetering between disappointment and dismay. Additionally, the actor’s impressive singing voice reverberated throughout the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
Lewis added: “When the show first opened, opening night, Ms. Turner was there. Backstage we were setting up for a photo with the company and Ms. Turner, and she grabbed my hand and pulled me over to her. She said, ‘I just want to tell you what an amazing job you did emulating my mother. You made me feel like home.’ I looked at her and, knowing the complications of their relationship, I said, ‘Well, is that a good thing?’ And she laughed, and she knew exactly what I was saying was that hopefully it wasn’t too harmful or triggering. She said, ‘No, no, no, you were spot on.’ So that is the one and only compliment I will ever need to get is the honor of Ms. Turner telling me how successfully I captured her mom and her mannerisms. That meant everything to me.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, featuring Dr. Dawnn Lewis, is now playing at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
