- 54 minutes ago
Meet Keemar Robert Davis, a proud University of the Arts graduate, who plays Richard Bullock, Tina Turner’s father, inTina – The Tina Turner Musical. Keemar brings power and authenticity to a show packed with high‑energy choreography, emotional storytelling, and Tina’s biggest hits. Catch him at the Miller Theater during the musical’s limited run March 10–15, 2026, presented by Ensemble Arts Philly.
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00:0195.7 Met FM, I am Kristen Herman, and I am chatting today with one of the stars of Tina,
00:06the Tina Turner musical, Kimar Robert Davis. Hey, Kimar, how are you?
00:11Hi, Kristen, I'm doing good. How are you?
00:14Very, very good. Excited to see Tina, the musical. I've never seen it before,
00:19and coming to the Miller Theater March 10th to the 15th, so really soon next week. And
00:23you are no stranger to Philly, right?
00:26I'm no stranger to Philadelphia.
00:28Are you excited coming back?
00:31You know, I'm super excited. I went to University of the Arts right in Center City.
00:37I studied vocal jazz performance there, and I haven't been to Philadelphia. That was
00:4420. I don't want to tell you how long that was. I don't want to tell you how long that
00:48was.
00:48But no, that was 2014.
00:52So long that the school doesn't even exist anymore.
00:55You know what? I didn't know we were going to go there, but we were.
00:58Oh, I'm so sorry.
01:02No, but you know what?
01:03No, no, no. But it's so true. The school is no longer there. I think it's been a year since
01:07they shut down,
01:08which is very, very sad because there's some great artists in this industry. A lot of people on Broadway,
01:14a lot of people on music videos, and a lot of people, we turn on the TV and see a
01:18lot of along
01:18for New Arts, including myself. So it's kind of sad that it's not there, but the legacy lives on through
01:24the talent and the gifts that, you know, through the people that went through there.
01:29Absolutely. And a lot of people, you know, they go to school and they never use their degree ever.
01:34And here you are. I mean, you're living it every day.
01:36You know, and it's an honor. It really is. We have these conversations often, especially me.
01:43I'm 34 now. And like you said, some people just don't use their degree. I look around and I'm like,
01:48man, I know some really, which is kind of sad. I know some really talented people,
01:52but this industry is not easy at all. So I'm very happy to still be sticking around
01:57and get to go back to Philly, not just to be visiting, but to give the gift that was given
02:04back to me. The arts is a gift that keeps on giving. And so now it's time for me to
02:09give back
02:09to the city that gave to me. And I'm so excited. And so many gifts in Tina Turner's just incredible
02:15talent. And you play Tina Turner's dad in the show? Yes. Richard Bullock. Richard Bullock is a
02:22pastor. He's a minister. And out of Nutbush, Tennessee, Richard is a cool, chill, laid back
02:30guy. But you know, back then there was so many restrictions. So it's real. It's a fine line
02:35between cool. And now you have ticked him off just because he needs to bring back the order.
02:41So yeah, Richard is a cool guy, but don't play with Richard.
02:47And we all know about her relationship with Ike. I mean, very publicly, but what was her
02:52relationship with her father like? You know, when I read the book, I, Tina, to prepare for this
02:59role, it seemed like she came from a very nurturing family, a little bit like, you know, domestic
03:09abuse. But for some reason, you know, it seemed like that was just a common thing in that time,
03:16a certain type of discipline, which I think played a big part in her relationship with Ike.
03:23You know, maybe why she was so understanding, because she did see some type of abuse in her
03:29home. And it was just like, well, you know, well, I don't want to leave my home. I want to
03:34stay.
03:35So that's probably why she stayed with Ike for so long, because it did start in the home.
03:39But it was maybe a mental understanding of, well, this guy's abusing me, but he loves me,
03:47you know, which maybe have started with her father, just somewhat normal to her, because
03:53she grew up seeing it.
03:55This may be a normal thing, which she had to get out of that psyche as she grew to say,
03:59oh, this isn't normal. But I think that she got a lot of her sound from her father.
04:06If I had to, you know, there's no videos of back then, of when she was in that bush and
04:11her father's church and things. But I think she got a lot of her sound from her dad, that
04:16grunt, that soul. Yeah, I think that came from the church. So I'm honored.
04:22I read something that she used to sing, like, on the street, just for money to go to the
04:26movies. And I thought that was so cool.
04:27Just to go to the movies, you know? So, hey, you know, Tina was a hustler. But, you know,
04:33I think she had a great, I think, unfortunately, to say this, I think she had a good relationship
04:38with her father.
04:40And to do a show like Tina, you know, Tina Turner, the musical, you know, she had such
04:45a big personality. And, you know, as a performer, just like incredible stage presence. What is
04:51the actor that plays Tina in the musical? What are they like, you know, in real life and
04:55on stage? Does she sort of have that same performance presence up on stage?
05:01You know what? I maintain that she is fabulous, okay? Let's just give a hand for Daryl,
05:08because the idea of doing a three-hour show, and she has to stay on that stage. But as far
05:17as, like, comparing the personalities, this is the beautiful thing about acting.
05:24And stepping into a world that may not be you. You know, like, for myself, Richard is not
05:31me. You know, I have to be Richard. So, I don't think that, you know, there may be some nuances
05:38and some slight similarities between our main Tina and the Tina Turner. There is, we do have
05:48a few understudies. There's one Tina that I will say carries the Southern Charming accent
05:55that Tina has. Her name is Ty. And they're both from Tennessee. And I love just hearing
06:01this, the draw and the slur in Ty's speaking, which I think Tina had. So, that would be probably
06:07about it, maybe the language, the talking, you know.
06:11Yeah. And the Ensemble Arts Philly website, I was just kind of scrolling through and they
06:16had a bunch of reviews listed on there about the show. And I, again, haven't seen the show
06:20yet. And the New York Times, their quote was, I've rarely heard an audience with this mighty
06:25a roar. And so, I was like, well, that's a pretty strong statement. What song or scene
06:30do you think they were talking about in the show? Like, what do you think is the showstopper?
06:36Oh, I'm going to go with, unfortunately, the mega mix. Oh, everybody. So, at the end of
06:45the show, I don't want to give it away because you got to come to the show. But there's this
06:49special moment where after the whole story is told, you know, Tina comes with her girls
06:56and then we come as a cast and it's so powerful. The special thing about Tina Turner, the musical,
07:04is it feels like a concert. So, there's some, there's dialogue, there's these moments where
07:10you're like, oh, ah, whoa, that happened. And then you're like, oh, I've got a show.
07:15Woo! And so, it's just so many good moments. And I think that's why it's such a roar.
07:20Or, you know, the New York Times, they said, because you don't get that in a standard,
07:24you know, musical. Most times you go, you go to observe and, you know, you do your applause
07:31here and there, you know, you're taught certain theater etiquette. I think in Tina, certain
07:37theater etiquette just goes out the window because it's time to clap right in the middle
07:42of the song. Or it's just so many moments. And I think that's why they gave that review.
07:47And I would agree. I think the reverse, too, is that, you know, you don't, you get so much
07:51more in a musical versus a concert. You know, sometimes in a concert, the artists, they just
07:55play the hits. They never say anything, you know. They never say nothing. So, you get so
07:58much more in this musical. And I assume all of the costume changes and dancing and everything
08:03else. Nice. You guys are going to love Disco Inferno. We do Disco. Bye, baby, bye. And
08:11when I tell you, oh, you got to come to the show, the costumes are groovy, okay? They
08:18are, listen, it's velvet. It's a lot of velvet and a lot of sparkles. That's all I'm going
08:21to tell you.
08:23Very cool. And then, I mean, she had her memoir, which you mentioned. And I think a lot of people,
08:29just her being a public figure, they know a lot about Tina Turner. What would you think,
08:33if anything, the audiences learn from this show?
08:38I think a couple things. Resilience. And I think that it's never too late to start again.
08:52And honestly, we are taught that, you know, time is not on our side. But I think Tina
08:58taught that time is for you. You know, as she got older, she got more seasoned. She got
09:05more experience. And especially in the arts, you know, after your 30s child is over, it's
09:10a horror movie because it's just like, okay, you're 30. There's a time there for Tina to
09:18come back out at 45, 44, and come out with Private Dancer, the album, which had some of
09:26her major hits, including Private Dancer and what's love got to do with it. You know, that's
09:37amazing to hit a circuit where all the girlies are 19, 18, 20. At that time, Mariah Carey
09:44was just coming out. Whitney Houston's just coming out. And you got Tina Turner, 45, who
09:50is literally, you know, been out since she was those girls age. But now that's 20 years, 20 years
09:57ago. More concert tickets sold than any other solo performer in music history. And she's kind
10:03of Taylor Swift before Taylor Swift was Taylor Swift. Yeah. But after 45. And I think that's the
10:10most important thing. I think a lot of people leave encouraged. I know I do. This show encourages
10:15me even just being in it. It's never too late. And you can really start again. If you believe
10:20in yourself, you can really make something happen. That's such a great lesson. And you're
10:26right. Like, I mean, if you're not even at 45 yet, like you could begin 15 years from
10:30now. You can start 15 years. Yeah. And it can happen. Yeah. And I just wanted to mention
10:35because I looked at your bio, you were in Annie as Drake. You, when you wake ring for Drake,
10:41you were that guy. I was, I was. Yes. That was my. We watch the original Annie all the time
10:51for whatever reason. Like if she's just so hooked on it. In fact, her birthday was yesterday.
10:55She turned four. And like, that's what she wanted to do for her birthday. It's just happy
10:59birthday. Oh, thank you. Yes. I'm just so thrilled that we have a theater kid and you know, we'll
11:07be going to all of the shows one day. What is one role that you would love to play one
11:12day? What is your dream role? Oh my gosh. I'm so glad you asked me this because I'm
11:19manifesting and the more I can put it out there, I know it'll come to me. I would love to
11:26play
11:26the genie and Aladdin. Oh, awesome. Cause you never had a friend like me.
11:36That's great. And I mean, you could do anything with that. You could be on Broadway. You could
11:40be at Disney, be on a cruise like that. That's such a fun show. And you're like kids just adore
11:46it. And everybody knows every single note out of your mouth. Yeah. That's how I fell in love
11:52with Disney. And that's what made me fall in love with theater. Robin Williams was just
11:56a phenomenal actor. RIP. One of my favorites. And I would just love to be a part of that
12:02legacy. Definitely. I mean, the birdcage is probably in my top five. Absolutely. Absolutely.
12:09Ah, very cool. So nice talking with you. I'm looking forward to the show. Tina, the Tina
12:14Turner musical presented by Ensemble Arts Philly and the Schubert organization at the Miller
12:19Theater in Philly, March 10th to the 15th. So limited engagement. Do not miss it. Kimar
12:24Robert Davis. Thank you so much for taking the time. Thank you, Krista. It was an honor.
12:28Have a great day. See you in Philly. Buy tickets at EnsembleArtsPhilly.org.
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