LONDON (AP) — British theater critics are praising a new stage musical about the life of Tina Turner — and it also has the approval of the star herself.

Turner was in the audience for the opening night of "Tina" at London's Aldwych Theatre. After the show Tuesday, she joked that "I've found a replacement" in Adrienne Warren, who plays the brassy singer in the musical.

The show charts Turner's roots in small-town Tennessee, her musical apprenticeship alongside abusive husband Ike Turner and her solo breakthrough in the 1980s with hits such as "What's Love Got to Do With It?"

It's a gritty tale with powerhouse tunes and a performance by Warren that the Guardian newspaper called "simply astonishing."

Turner said the message of the show is that "it's possible to turn poison into medicine."