As someone who graduated from high school in 1990, you could say Tina Turner was a huge part of my teen life. I remember every song that was produced by this “older” singer, who along with Huey Lewis, made big waves in the 80’s due to their ages. So, when I saw that Tina Turner was at EJ Thomas this year, I knew I wanted to experience that teenage feeling again. And I have to say, something deep inside of me transpires every time I hear Proud Mary. Every. Single. Time.
As I was perusing the Tina Turner merchandise booth and contemplating what I must purchase, I met the most interesting woman who told me her story. She was looking at the Tina Turner t-shirt that I purchased, a solid black shirt with the face and hair of Tina in the center. This musical was quite meaningful to her. Tina Turner was the first rock concert she had ever seen without her parents at age 16 at the Cleveland Coliseum in 1985. I was intrigued instantly to hear more of the story.
When it was in Cleveland last year, she and her husband had missed the show, and when it came around to Akron, they knew they must attend.
Julie Werren, of Canton, informed me that in 1985 she purchased the tickets for her and a neighbor friend at Macy’s, but when she told her parents, they told her that in no way, shape, or form was she going to drive to Cleveland and that she had to get the neighbor boy to drive.
She ended up riding in the car with her neighbor and a few other friends and had a memorable teen experience. Nothing like the memory of a rock concert without your parents to feel cool and hip. Julie and her husband are not season tickets holders at EJ, but they do love the theater, as they just saw Les Misérables in Cleveland four days before the Tina Turner Musical.
She did not buy the t-shirt. She was not fond of the material of the printed picture, so she decided to pass and told me that she had interest in a vintage Tina Turner t-shirt she saw on the internet.
During intermission, I heard the story of the two audience members sitting directly to my right. It was a mother and daughter, which always makes me happy to see, as typically I love to see shows with my own University of Akron daughter, who could not attend that evening.
The mother, Lynn, was celebrating her birthday with her daughter, Sam. Sam had purchased the tickets for them. The daughter Sam had been a season ticket holder at EJ last season and really enjoyed the shows at EJ and the overall theater experience in Akron. “I think it is a good price for the shows in comparison to Cleveland Playhouse,” Sam said with a smile.
Daughter, Sam saw the Tina Turner Musical last year in Cleveland, and Lynn’s sister saw it on Broadway, therefore Sam and Lynn felt it would be a great birthday memory for them to participate in for 2024. They were thrilled that it was brought to Akron.
Sam learned about Tina Turner mostly from the show Glee, and that was her true introduction to Tina’s music and style. As a mother whose oldest child is in his mid-thirties, Lynn grew up with Tina’s music and had heard about her from previous generations.
Though Sam and Lynn did not graduate from The University of Akron, upon deeper conversation I found out her two sons are Zips, with lovely careers in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration thanks to Akron. They drove about an hour to come to see the show, and it was obvious to me that this would be a memory that would stay with them for a lifetime.
