Fall in New York promises many events to entice the citizenry out of its summer reverie, and a New York Pops season kick-off concert is one such ticket that always delivers. The highly anticipated Simply the Best: A Tina Turner Tribute with Adrienne Warren promises as much and makes good on expectations.
The evening begins as such concerts always do, with an overture featuring the splendid New York Pops orchestra, this time with a collection of various Tina Turner tunes. The gorgeous blend of instruments peppered with distinctive saxophone and xylophone notes give a perfect introduction to the show. Smiling, charismatic director and conductor Steven Reineke announces that the evening marks the 332nd concert since the orchestra’s 1983 founding, and his 100th with the elite group of musicians.
When Reineke introduces special guest Adrienne Warren, we learn that Tina Turner herself hand-picked Warren for the West End and Broadway’s Tina: The Tina Turner Musical; the house celebrates this choice with a resounding burst of applause upon her entrance.
Garbed in dazzling black and sequins and elevated on lofty stiletto boots, Warren immediately treats us to Ike & Turner classics “I Want to Take You Higher” and “Nutbush City Limits.” “Fool in Love” is sassy, playful, and hip; “Son of a Preacher Man” gets a sultry, smokey start, and as for the ending, Warren wails it and nails it.
Turner’s record-breaking album Private Dancer is celebrated, not only for its music but for Turner’s comeback as a stand-alone talent, independent of former husband and music partner Ike Turner. Warren turns out a gentle yet impassioned “Better Be Good to Me” and “Private Dancer,” which starts low and husky, breaking into full power when it jumps up the octave. Warren owns the stage with a funky “I Can’t Stand the Rain,” strutting back and forth across the stage and interacting with talented back up singers Shonica Gooden and Carla R. Stewart. “Let’s Stay Together” demonstrates a yearning beginning and a triumphant finish, replete with electric guitar flourishes. “What’s Love Got to Do with It” is a resounding success, as is “We Don’t Need Another Hero.”
Born Anna Mae Bullock, Turner’s rise from shy and awkward seventeen to the “Queen of Rock” could have molded her personality in many diverse ways, yet Warren cites Turner as one of the most loving, kind, funny, and honest mentors she’s ever known. Warren shares from the heart how Turner declared not long before her death, “I’m going to give Tina to you, I’m going to be Anna Mae now.”
Warren completes the song fest with a Turner medley, featuring “The Acid Queen” from the rock musical Tommy, “Addicted to Love,” “Disco Inferno,” “Simply the Best” and others. Turner’s distinctive vocal sound and style can often be heard throughout Warren’s performance, especially in the thrilling encores with “Proud May” and “River Deep, Mountain High,” without which the evening would not have been complete, dancing and all.
It’s important to note that while some audience goers might have come to the event to hear more sounds of Tina Turner, they were nevertheless treated to the personal talents of Adrienne Warren, whose own flair and vocalizations can be heard amidst the recognizable Turner stylings. While Warren’s lower notes are not as edgy and distinctive as Turner’s, her higher ranges are perfection. Warren is the real deal and no imitation; she’s smoke on wheels, luminous when unbridled, and her performance gives goosebumps.
Simply the Best: A Tina Turner Tribute with Adrienne Warren (October 18, 2024)
Carnegie Hall, Isaac Stern Auditorium
161 W 56th Street, in Manhattan
For more information about New York Pops, visit https://newyorkpops.org/