Rock ‘n’ Roll Fable Wears a Flimsy Disguise : Theater: “I Think It’s Gonna Work Out Fine,” a play about Ike and Tina Turner at the Sushi Performance Gallery, has ups and downs, just like its subjects.

In the program for “I Think It’s Gonna Work Out Fine,” thecreators say the production is “adapted from the lives of a famous musical couple,” being careful to not present the work as a biography of Ike and Tina Turner.

But from the moment Rhodessa Jones steps on stage as Rita Golden, the wild blond wig and the leather miniskirt provide the dressing for Jones’ right-on impersonation, and it’s obvious who the subjects are in this “rock ‘n’ roll fable,” which has its final performance tonight at 8 at Sushi Performance Gallery.

It’s important to keep in mind that this is a fable. Especially because Idris Ackamoor’s Prince Golden is a saxophone player, not a guitarist like Ike. And because Ike is remembered for his stoic cool on stage, it’s difficult to reconcile that image with Ackamoor’s jive, prancing character.

And there’s the basic fault with this production, created by Jones, Ackamoor, Ed Bullins and Brian Freeman of the San Francisco-based Cultural Odyssey group. This is, in fact, a thinly veiled--and unauthorized--biography of Ike and Tina. Jones is Tina, down to every vocal and physical mannerism, which detracts from the presentation of fable. But because Ike is less of a public figure, we can only assume that the creators’ suppositions are accurate.

The authors present the story in a “shorthand” style, reminiscent, they say, “of the way Chuck Berry and Louis Jordan told tales in their compositions.” This seems less a deliberate theatrical style than a bow to necessity when trying to pack 35 years into about 90 minutes. The story, which also attempts to show the influence that rhythm ‘n’ blues had on rock ‘n’ roll, never falls into rhythm because of jerky pacing.

The story is set in the present, ostensibly in the now-abandoned juke joint in East St. Louis where “it all started.”

Tina, I mean Rita, has agreed to meet Ike, er, Prince, to resolve their past. This sets the stage for a series of flashbacks, starting with their first meeting, when Prince inexplicably invites Rita on stage to sing. (The legend goes that Tina first saw Ike in a St. Louis nightclub and, after Ike ignored her repeated requests to accompany the band, one night she simply jumped on stage, grabbed the microphone and sang her way into Ike’s band and bed.)

Along the way we learn of Prince’s foibles, his infidelity, drug abuse, and physical and mental abuse of Rita. The script implies that Prince’s faults are caused, at least partly, by the abuse he suffered as a black musician exploited by white promoters and producers. There’s no doubt that some of the greatest black musicians and composers were robbed of their due, but this play is a bit too didactic and preachy in its presentation of pop music history.

And some of the script’s references to fact are a little too obvious. During one argument over his infidelity, Prince yells at Golden, “Love ain’t got nothin’ to do with it.” Tina’s big comeback record in the ‘80s was, of course, “What’s Love Got to Do With It?”

And, when Rita recites a litany of the trouble Prince has caused her, she says, “I could write a book.” Tina, of course, did.

The show is interspersed with performances of songs, mostly originals, written by Jones, Ackamoor and his band, Rock of Edges. The music captures the spirit of the various styles heard from the mid-’50s to today, although the lyrics occasionally border on banality. Jones and Ackamoor perform their parts live, accompanied by a taped sound track. Unfortunately, the Sushi space didn’t provide the best acoustics for this mix, and Thursday’s performance was slightly marred by a faltering wireless microphone.

Still, the show is not without value.

Ackamoor, a three-time recipient of National Endowment for the Arts jazz fellowships, can flat out blow. Jones’ portrayal of Tina is amazing and never veers into caricature. She convincingly handles Tina’s development from a naive country girl smitten with a big city musician to a star who is flown to a reunion with her former partner in the private plane of a record company executive.

Taking a cue from one of Ike and Tina’s biggest hits, “River Deep, Mountain High,” this show has its peaks and valleys.