Adrienne Warren stood in front of the microphone. Something about the way she moved her feet was familiar. Then she started singing the Diane Warren/Albert Hammond song Don’t Turn Around.
‘If you want to leave,’ she sang, ‘I won’t beg you to stay.’
It was uncanny. The Virginia-born Ms Warren was becoming Tina Turner before my eyes — and giving a masterclass in heartbreak.
Warren, who was nominated for a Tony award for her role in the Broadway musical Shuffle Along, portrays Turner in the musical Tina, which begins previewing at the Aldwych Theatre on March 21.