She opened inTinaso badly hurt she could barely walk.
Then came another mountain to climb.
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She just knew she was in pain.
They fed her chicken to get her protein.
Backstage, Daniel J. Watts, who plays Ike Turner, held her upright.
No one knew the extent of the injury at the time, she says.
I had to get through.
Tony season was in April and May, and people were predicting a win.
It was the moment you wait for forever, she says.
And then the track just disappeared.
At first, the shutdown was a relief: She could rest and heal.
She considered, and publicly spoke about, quitting the stage.
Yet on October 8, Warren will play Tina Turner again this time on her terms.
When we meet for dinner in late July, she has returned to the gym to prepare.
Shes adamant that she will be heard as the production makes decisions about safety.
She has brought up the idea of making unsold seats available to New Yorkers in need.
When I ask if that means months or weeks, she pauses to consider.
I think it may be weeks.
(If the world stops again … IM RETIRING, she tweeted recently.)
What happens to them is on a completely different scale, but I relate to that, she says.
We were so confused and angry and felt like we were silenced, Warren says.
It was like they didnt see us.
I was like, Ive just been fighting six times a week.
Now I have to fight this battle?
Still, she did.
Her outlook was not always this hopeful.
I meant every word, she says.
I was prepared not to come back.
The members of BAC were honored and baffled.
We werent even listened to, and now were being handed a Tony?
Warren says, laughing.
I think Britton said, This doesnt mean were gonna shut up!
She has other things on her mind anyway.
Shes working on music of her own, too.
I will be spending a lot of time helping to get everybody ready for me to leave.
The show doesnt need me, Warren says.
Contrary to what many people think.
Tina: The Tina Turner Musicalwill return October 8.
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