On this edition of THE INTERVUE, Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a fellow Washingtonian, HBCU graduate, who is a vocalist and actress, a motivational speaker and a teaching artist. You may have seen her with her critically acclaimed cabaret “Pearl Bailey…. By Request”. She was in the movies “Black and Blue” & “How the Day Begins”. She performed as a featured vocalist with Yolanda Adams, Stevie Wonder and the late great Michael Jackson. She will be performing in her hometown at the National Theatre in “Tina – the Tina Turner Musical” starting this October 4th – 23rd and in Baltimore at the Hippodrome Theatre November 15 – 20th
Ladies and gentlemen, we have DC’s own Roz White!
Roz, welcome to The Intervue!
Thank you. Thank you for having me!
Absolutely, we always like to hype that if you’re from DC, Maryland or Virginia. You are among family, you know?
Yes, absolutely. I love the connection with the DC natives. And there’s another DC native in the show. We also have some Virginia folk and Baltimore, it’s going to be a DMV party!
Oh, definitely. Alright, I’d like to ask for those who have not heard of the “Tina Turner, the Tina Turner Musical”, give us a refresher on what it’s all about.
So, you are in for an emotional roller coaster of a show. It’s it begins with Tina at the top of her fame in Barcelona and it’s a huge concert. And then we go back into her memory into her childhood. And it takes us all the way through her life with Ike and back to her amazing, iconic status as the Queen of rock and roll. So, you get to know a lot about Tina’s family where she came from and up was Nutbush, Tennessee. You get to meet her grandmother, her mother, I play her mother, you get to meet her father see the family dynamic, really, really in depth her sister Eileen, that was also with her mother when her mother left Nutbush and left Tina at age seven to be raised by her grandmother.
And so, you get to see all of those things. And you also get to see some amazing choreography and, the songs that Tina Turner songs that you love. The writer, Katori Hall, has done an amazing job with the book and telling the story. And the way that the music is infused is that you get to hear Tina’s hits as storytelling devices, as opposed to just concert numbers. But do get the concert numbers. It’s like going to two shows at once. You get to see the theatrical part of it. And then you get this huge concert and it’s just everything. It’s everything.
It’s absolutely it feels like you have been to Tina Turner concert, even though you haven’t seen the real Tina but it feels like it. You play the role of Zelma Bullock – who is her mother. As we know, she’s been played by Jenifer Lewis in the biopic “What’s Love Got to Do with It” almost thirty years ago, and Dawnn Lewis did it in the Broadway show. I’d like to know first, what interests you about the role of Zelma & what will be your take on the role?
I’m going to steal everything from Jenifer Lewis. She’ll love that, though. So, the great thing about it is that I went to the movie theater in the 90s to see “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” And I was in the theater screaming my head off when Tina whupped Ike’s tail. Oh, I was so happy like screaming going crazy. For what really stuck out in my mind, two performances. Yeah, of course as Angela Bassett, Jenifer Lewis and Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, as her sister. It really gave me a picture of her family dynamic. And even though the play is not exactly like the movie, it’s really close.
So, what attracted me to Zelma was Jenifer Lewis, I got to be honest with you. She was so rich and invested in that stoic, kind of, I’m sticking to my guns even if I’m wrong kind of thing. And, I’ve worked with women like that in my family. I know what it’s like to have a like a hard person raise you. And then they really love you, they just don’t know how you know. So, they say kind of harsh things or its the toughest love that you would ever imagine. And sometimes leaving is the best way to love somebody. Oooh, man, somebody need to write that down.
I just think Zelma didn’t, she didn’t know how to raise a gifted child. And Tina was clearly gifted from birth, and had a special thing over her. And thank God for her grandmother that saw it in her but also pushed the relationship with her mother so that they could come back together. And because her mother, during that time that she met Ike, had she not gone to St. Louis, she would have never met Ike, she would’ve never become “Ike and Tina”. She cannot become Tina Turner, she would have been Anna Mae Bullock. She may have still been a singer, she may have still, you know, done some things but without that moved to St. Louis. And I know that I was horrible to her, but sometimes it’s the pain that really creates the beautiful arc.
And so, Tina, having found Buddhism in her late twenties, when she was at the worst of a time with Ike. That Buddhism helped her to find the strength to get through it to get out and then to move on to become the Tina Turner that we all know and love. Zelma is a part of Tina’s story. People will love to hate her and then they’ll love her.
You’re absolutely right. And it’s funny that you mentioned Jenifer Lewis because she was actually in town a couple of weeks ago, promoting her book and when I attend it, oh my goodness! It’s like you can’t stop laughing, you can’t stop crying. She is a firecracker. And it’s funny that I segue to that because one review of your performance says that “you portray her mother as a firecracker of woman”. I think that describes and describes your performance which I cannot wait to see hopefully soon.
Absolutely, we will be in DC October 4th and I cannot wait. As matter of fact, once again, Jenifer Lewis sent me a lovely message that she was very happy for me and that, you know, she was like, “go get them tiger”. So, I love her very much. I got to meet her briefly at Taraji P. Henson’s Foundation of Gala. I sang and she sat right in front of me while I was singing. And afterwards, she grabbed me and just oh, I just love Jenifer Lewis, I love her. And so, what a dream come true to be playing this role.
And I also love Dawnn Lewis. And, not to not mention Natasha Y. Williams, who took over for Dawnn Lewis after the show was revived on Broadway. I feel like I’m a part of a very elite club now of the Zelmas, there’s not many of us. So, I’m going to get a shirt with all his Zelmas on it, you know, those list shirts that they have? I’m really having a ball. I stay in the gym, because these kids are energetic, and they keep you on your toes, and they’re not gonna leave me behind. So, I’m in shape, I’m trying to get out, I just want to really show how much appreciation I have for still being able to work consistently.
I’ve been working professionally since I was twelve years old in this business. I got my first paycheck, as a preteen in this business. And so, to be fifty-two years old, and I’m not ashamed to say, still working in this business and still moving up and not plateaued somewhere or settling for, you know, just what I can get. I’m still getting more work that’s more fulfilling. So, I’m very, very grateful.
That is great. You have had a great staying power of a career. And that’s a good segue to my next question. As we mentioned at the start to show your DC native like I am, you graduated from the famous infamous Duke Ellington School of the Arts and H-U, Howard University. How the experience from both those schools prep you for career that’s lasted for decades?
Well, Ellington saved and changed my life, for sure. I was a little kid in southeast Washington DC. I had talent, I had the desire. I was working with Carol Foster and the DC Youth Ensemble as a preteen, and I heard about the auditions for Duke Ellington. And I begged my mom to let me go, we were actually about to relocate to New England. I said, “If I get into Duke Ellington, can I please stay?” And she was like, “if this is what you really want to do, if you get in you can stay.” So, I got in and my life has never been the same.
I was able to meet my longtime mentor, Mike Malone. He really just shows It’s my work ethic, about, you know, being disciplined and about knowing your job, knowing your skill set and being able to bring the best that you can to your skill set. After Ellington, I went on the road, I went on a national tour of Dreamgirls like right out of high school. I wasn’t planning on going to college just so happened I met a sister, Nicole Powell, while I was on the tour. She took me in in New York. I came to New York at nineteen with my suitcase, I didn’t know what I was doing. She was like, “Where are you staying?” And I was like, “I’ll figure it out” She was like, “You’re staying with me.” So, stay with her.
And then when we finished the tour, she was like, “What are you doing after the tour?” And I was like, “I’m gonna stay in New York or be a star. What you think?” She was like, “No, you’re not. You’re going to school, you’re gonna get your degree.” And she told me about Howard. And I was like, “I don’t have any money to go to school”. She was like, “Don’t worry about that. It’s gonna happen.” And sure enough, not two weeks later, Mike Malone called me and said, “I want you to come to Howard and be in the musical theater program.” And I was like, “I don’t have any money.” And Mike was like, “Don’t worry about that.”
If anybody can just pick up and just Google it. I was Miss Howard University 1992. I was Miss Collegiate African American 1994. I did every production in the College of Fine Arts, every theater production from ‘90 to ‘94. I had a lead role. I worked professionally while I was still in school. And so, Howard, Ellington, I just can’t even I still can’t believe I still I haven’t even breathed. I still cannot believe how much happened in that time. Debbie Allen, put the Miss Howard crown on my head, I had such a charm, college career. It’s amazing. Just I blessings, just blessings, blessings.
After college, I hit the road again, and ended up in another national tour of Dreamgirls. That one didn’t work out as well. I went down in history as one of the top five Effies of all time. It’s just in the blessings keep coming. And then my teaching career got off the ground. I started using what I’m learning in the business to help young artists hone in shape their gifts. And it’s just been very rewarding.
And I’m excited because I feel like there’s even more I mean, there’s more TV, there’s more film, there’s just different interesting projects. And it’s all as a result of “Thank you, mom,” who passed away last year on November for saying yes, to me going to Duke Ellington. With that, yes, my life took a turn that I would never have expected.
That’s a great story. Now, I wish you were one of my teachers growing up, to be honest with you. As a teacher, and you taught some very vital skills for the next generation, what is the one piece of advice you give your students to help them prep, if they want a career in theater, in front of the camera, or in front of stage, or behind the scenes, or wherever they want to do in life?
My biggest advice to young artists is to find people who are doing what you want to do, and be relentless about being around them. Learn everything you can from people who are already doing it and doing it well. That’s the best way for you to really get plugged into what you need to be doing. That’s a two-sided coin because some people that are doing things that are big things are not always living the best life possible. So, you want a well-rounded artist, to be your mentor, you want someone that is living a healthy life that is not doing damage to themselves and not doing damage to others.
You want somebody that is, grounded, focused. We are all flawed and make mistakes, but we don’t want somebody that is not a healthy person being your role model or your guide. It’s okay to choose flawed people sometimes because you can learn from their mistakes, if they’re willing to teach in that way. That’s my best advice. Quincy Jones said it best “Find somebody who’s doing what you like to do, and do it and go find them and be around them and or copy that.” You know, you can it’s okay to pick up.
That’s why I don’t mind saying I’m still Jenifer Lewis, because I pick up you know, things from people that are great. I love watching amazingly talented people. Sheryl Lee Ralph. Jennifer Lewis. Jennifer Holliday. Patti Austin. “Patti LaBelle” was my line name in college I pledged an organization called DIVA – Divine Intelligent Versatile Artists. We’re the premier society for Women in the Arts, and we have about two hundred members all over the world. One of our members Harriet D. Foy is on the show “P-Valley”. She is definitely my mentor. She handed me the role of Odessa in Shakespeare Theater Company’s The Amen Corner and because of that, that director recommended me to this director of Tina. When I walked to see your audition, that’s the first thing she said you come highly recommended.
So, I don’t know any other way to tell the students then to what one be good at your job. So please put in those 10,000 hours. That’s what the minimum requirement is to consider yourself a professional – 10,000 hours. And when I sit in counting hours, but if you’ve only been doing it for a couple of months, don’t think that you are a pro yet. Okay? Just because you got a check doesn’t mean you’re a pro. It takes years of work, and years of shaping and practicing. And for me to be where I am right now, it’s it takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of work. Work hard. Get around people that are doing what you want to do.
Great, brilliant advice. So, as you know, last year, live theater has started coming back. And now everything’s in full swing, we got several plays, musicals, including the one we’re about to see in next week. What is your favorite thing about live theater?
So, I think I have to come from the perspective of an audience member, is that a group of people get together and sit down in the dark to go on a journey. I think that’s my favorite thing. We trust each other for two hours to sit in the dark together and absorb and receive the story. And so, as an actor, it’s my responsibility to give the best experience possible to these people. If I’m supposed to make them cry, I want them to try to make them laugh. I want them to laugh. If I’m supposed to make them think, I want them to think. I never phoned it in. I’m never doing my B show my you know, my matinee, No.
It’s always going to be top notch like you gotta get because it’s more rewarding for Tina, specifically the show Tina. I’ve never seen audiences react to theater this way. Now, I saw MJ and it was brilliant but Tina has something special on it. And I think it’s the spirit of Anna Mae Bullock, even though she’s still alive. It’s like she’s indefatigable, you cannot beat her, you cannot wear her out. And so, the audience is on their feet for at least fifteen minutes. It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. They’re just like screaming and as my musical director, Anne Shuttlesworth says, throwing their babies at us.
It’s literally like being at a Tina Turner concert, and it’s the most uplifting feeling in the world. I feel like I’m part of her history now. I’m a part of Tina Turner’s history never would have imagined. For me theatre is that agreement of that group of people that sits down in the dark for a couple of hours to be told that story.
Absolutely, I agree. I definitely love the line of “throwing their babies at them” because I’m a child of the 80s and I first learned of Tina through my mother through “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” when she played Auntie. And it’s like, “Tina Turner, I cannot see anybody else in that role.” I don’t want to hurt her music with “What’s love got to do with it?” I was amazed of her prowess and performance and finding out that Mick Jagger learn how to dance from Tina. In your humble opinion, why do you feel Tina Turner resonate with people for now six decades?
Think because Tina, like I said before, is indestructible. I think she brings such hope to people. It’s such a pure spirit of never giving up even when you should, and, there’s a line that Tina says, “I’m a woman who never breaks her promises, even when I should”, because she promised Ike that she would never leave him. And that’s why she stayed for sixteen years, because she promised. When you have that kind of a pure spirit, eventually you’re going to be rewarded, right? You don’t do it for the reward but eventually that pure purity of hearts brings blessings.
You can find it in most religious literature. A lot of spiritual work involves having a pure heart, having a clean heart so that you can be of service to others so that you can receive blessings and I think that’s what makes Tina so poignant even still today. She has a pure heart. And she only wanted to just shine and be great and to make others happy and to spread love and so that kind of spirit you can’t break it is it is the principle that is expressed in Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, that lotus flower that only grows in the dank mud. If you put it in a pristine environment, it won’t flourish but in the deepest, darkest mud that you can find its rooms and it’s beautiful.
And I just think that represents life. When we have insurmountable seemingly challenges, that’s when we rise to the occasion. So, everything can’t be easy all the time. I think that’s what people resonate with. She makes you want to go out and take on your biggest challenge. She makes you want to go out and conquer the world. I think that’s why people still love her.
Of all the songs in the Tina Turner catalogue, which is your absolute favorite?
Oh my god. So, ask me this question every single day, because it’s gonna change every single day. Right now, I’m really like crushing on “Private Dancer”. I think because of the way that it is portrayed in the show. It’s a very dark and uncertain time in Tina’s life. She just Ike, she’s working in Vegas. She’s trying to figure out her life. And Ike is still kind of stalking her at this point. And “Private Dancer” got this dark feeling.
Also, when I was, I think fourteen or fifteen, that’s when the song came out. And my grandmother used to make me sing it for company when they would come drinking or playing cards. She’d come in and say “Sing that new song, that Tina Turner song”. Totally inappropriate for a fifteen-year-old to be singing, but hey, it was in my range. And so, I was like, “okay”.
And that was also the thing about “Private Dancer”. It showed the depth of her range, because she said starts very low in her register and then she goes to that raspy thing. So, I was like, “she sounds like me”. You know what I mean? I think that’s what resonated for me is that it sounded like me. So yeah, “Private Dancer“ right now will be my favorite right now. Ask me tomorrow though.
I’ll probably ask you again when I see you. My last question for you is this since we’re both Washingtonians for life, what is your favorite thing about the DMV, if you can pick one thing
It’s got to be crabs. I’m a child of the eighties and I love going to Fort DuPont park with a bushel of crabs and my best friends and family and sitting around picking crabs like that’s something that always makes me feel like I am home. And Go-go! So, I am developing a curriculum for Go-go music with DC public schools and Duke Ellington School of the Arts right now. We’re gonna teach kids about the history of Go-go music and how it has shaped the culture of DC and how it has filtered into other genres. A lot of these artists these days are sampling Go-go like Snoop. There’s a thing so there’s a connection. So yeah, crabs & Go-go.
We thank DC’s own Roz for the amazing interview, if you want to follow her – hit her up on
- Facebook: @seerozwhite
- Instagram: @rozwhitesings
- Twitter: @RozWhite94
See Roz as Zelma in TINA – The Tina Turner Musical at the National Theatre in DC October 4 – 23. Tickets are available at Broadwayatthenational.com or in person at the National Theatre’s box office and in Baltimore at the Hippodrome Theatre, November 15 – 20th. You can purchase tickets thru ticketmaster.com or the Hippodrome Box Office. Visit BaltimoreHippodrome.com for more information on the Baltimore stop.
Until next time, See You…. Out There!
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