Don’t bother with the Chaka Khan musical, just read her Wikipedia page

Fiona MountfordWed, August 5, 2026 at 1:14 PM UTC

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X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke as Chaka Khan has a magnificent voice - Danny Kaan

The desire for jukebox musicals about groups and singers, from the Drifters to Michael Jackson, shows no sign of abating. Whether Chaka Khan really has enough – including sufficient songs with recognition that extends beyond her dedicated fanbase – to merit this bio-trot is a moot point. That never stopped anyone before.

So here we have X Factor winner Alexandra Burke as the “Queen of Funk”, leading I’m Every Woman in one of the most chaotically organised theatre venues I have ever seen. If the Troubadour doesn’t sort out the shambles that saw opening night start more than half an hour late, there are going to be some very angry punters.

Nia T Hill’s script gallops breathlessly along in the manner of a loosely fleshed-out Wikipedia entry, leaving no time for niceties such as characterisation. So sketchy are some of the portrayals in Racky Plews’s production that I got to the end of the show without knowing who a couple of characters were. Hill includes a would-be clever sleight-of-hand conceit around one of the lead roles, yet it becomes a device so ineptly handled that it required some post-show research for me to crack it.

The script trots quickly through Chaka’s early life, including family upheaval and her time as a member of the Black Panthers - Danny Kaan

By the age of 17, the Chicago-born singer has endured family upheaval, changed her name, joined the Black Panthers and got married. Like Tina Turner – whose own banger-stuffed bio-musical this can only dream of emulating – she chooses poorly when it comes to early partners and soon the spectre of drug addiction looms. Contrite scenes of rehab bookend the piece, as Chaka goes on her “journey” to self-knowledge and reconciliation with her family.

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An array of Chaka’s famous friends make cameo appearances to sustain interest levels and boost the song content, each one greeted by their full name (“Hello, Joni Mitchell”, “Hello, Miles Davis”) in case we weren’t keeping up. If the script is sappy, Burke’s voice is mercifully magnificent, although she could do with fewer distracting hand gestures. She lets rip throughout, whether Chaka is singing with her first band, Rufus, or forging her solo career.

Charlotte St Croix as a young Whitney Houston – one of an array of famous friends who make cameo appearances to sustain interest levels - Danny Kaan

There’s a rousing rendition of her Steve Winwood duet, Higher Love, as well as Ain’t Nobody and the eponymous number, an RnB hit for Chaka which Whitney Houston later turned stratospheric (a young Whitney, getting carried away with some backing vocals, pops up briefly here too).

Chaka Khan devotees will no doubt have a blast, but will there be enough of them to sustain this venture?

Until Sept 27 at the Troubadour, London. Tickets: I’m Every Woman: The Chaka Khan Musical

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”