Feb 20, 20233 min read

Tim Omaji to play “IKE TURNER” in Tina Turner Musical

THE PRODUCERS OF TINA – THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL

ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE

TIM OMAJI WILL PLAY “IKE TURNER”

IN THE AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

MAY 2023, THEATRE ROYAL SYDNEY

________________________________________________________

The producers of TINA – THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL announced today that the role of Ike Turner will be played by Australian triple threat and multi-platinum selling performer, Tim Omaji, when the award-winning smash hit musical premieres at Theatre Royal Sydney this May.

Tim will play Ike Turner opposite to previously announced rising star Ruva Ngwena who has been cast in the role of Tina Turner.

Tim Omaji is an Australian of Nigerian heritage who is an actor, singer-songwriter and dancer, and who has performed to great success on both stage and screen. Tim’s theatre credits include one of leading roles, Toulouse-Lautrec, in the original Australian cast of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, the standout role of Benny in the critically acclaimed and sold-out season of the Hayes Theatre Company’s production of In The Heights and the lead role of Tyrone Jackson in Fame The Musical. Tim’s other impressive credits include Sam Onatou in the Australian tour of MADIBA The Musical – A Celebration of the Life of Nelson Mandela, Monty in the Australia tour of Saturday Night Fever and the charming Benny in RENT for the Sydney Opera House.

Tim rose to fame as a stand-out dance contestant on So You Think You Can Dance Australia, and as a powerful singing contestant on Australia’s Got Talent. As Timomatic, Tim signed with Sony Music Australia and went on to become a four-time platinum recording artist and a Logie-nominated Judge on Australia's Got Talent.

On landing the role of Ike Turner, Tim said “I am humbled and excited to step into the role of Ike Turner. The Tina Turner story is one of triumph over immense tragedy and I am honoured to take up the gauntlet from the amazing Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, who won the Olivier Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Ike in the original West End production.”

Produced by Paul Dainty/TEG DAINTY in special collaboration with Stage Entertainment, Tali Pelman and Tina Turner; the musical reveals a comeback story like no other, of a woman who dared to defy the bounds of her age, gender and race to become the global Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll. TINA – THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL is a celebration of resilience and an inspiration of triumph over adversity.

Written by Tony Award nominee and Pulitzer Prize winner Katori Hall with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, TINA – THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL is directed by Tony Award nominee Phyllida Lloyd with choreography by Tony Award nominee Anthony van Laast, set and costume designs by Tony Award nominee Mark Thompson, musical supervision, additional music and arrangements by Nicholas Skilbeck, lighting by Tony Award nominee Bruno Poet, sound by Tony Award nominee Nevin Steinberg, projection design by Tony Award nominee Jeff Sugg, orchestrations by Tony Award nominee Ethan Popp and wigs, hair and makeup design by Drama Desk Award winner Campbell Young Associates.

This new musical based on the life of legendary artist Tina Turner and presented in association with Tina Turner herself, received its world premiere in April 2018 in London’s West End, where it opened to five-star reviews and continues to break box office records at the Aldwych Theatre. In March 2019, the German production opened at Stage Operettenhaus in Hamburg, the Broadway production followed in November 2019 and was nominated for 12 Tony Awards including Best Musical. The Dutch production opened at the Beatrix Theater, Utrecht, in February 2020. A third European production opened in Fall 2021 at the Teatro Coliseum in Madrid, Spain and the North American Tour commenced in September 2022. In 2023 alongside the Australian production, there will be another European Production in Stuttgart, Germany opening in March.

One of the world’s best-selling artists of all time, Tina Turner has won 12 Grammy Awards and her live shows have been seen by millions, with more concert tickets sold than any other solo performer in music history. When she was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in October, 2021, Tina Turner became one of only three women in the institution’s history to be inducted twice (she was initially inducted in 1991, alongside Ike Turner).