Tappin' Thru Life
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Cititour.com Review
Maurice Hines may sing the blues once or twice during his autobiographical musical revue “Tappin’ Thru Life,” now at New World Stages, but any January blues you may have will immediately disappear during this delightfully easy-breezy entertainment. Just the sight of Hines, a spryer-than-imaginable 72, prowling the stage in his dapper duds and showing off how well he can still shake his leg will put a grin bigger than Cheshire Cat’s on your face.
As musical memoirs go, “Tappin’ Thru Life,” isn’t exactly “Elaine Stritch: At Liberty.” The genial song-and-dance man puts on a happy face as he recounts the highlights of his life (and downplays the lowlights almost completely) painting sunny pictures of life with his parents in 1940s Harlem, performing with his late, celebrated brother Gregory on television, stage, and in nightclubs, and working with or meeting some of the biggest celebrities in the world, including Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Johnny Carson, Frank Sinatra. Never is a mean word spoken, and Hines still seems almost starstruck after all these years. The stories seem occasionally a bit exaggerated, and the chronology is a bit jumbled, but he spins his yarns with such enthusiasm it doesn’t matter.
Hines certainly still dances with skill and elan, as well, but he spends much of the 85-minute show singing standards from “I’ve Never Been in Love Before” to “Smile” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” accompanied by the fabulous Sherrie Maricle and the Diva Jazz Orchestra (who also get their own solo turn with Duke Ellington’s gorgeous “Caravan.”) His two versions of “Ballin’ the Jack,” which he and Gregory performed on “The Jackie Gleason Show” are a definite crowd-pleasers, and his renditions of two Sinatra signature tunes “Luck Be a Lady” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” are wonderful.Kudos also to the savvy director Jeff Calhoun, set designer Tobin Ost, and video and projection designer Darrel Maloney for having Hines’ recollections, musical and otherwise, accompanied by projected photos of the past.
Still, what is best in some ways about the show is that Hines willingly shares the stage – and even gives the spotlight over – to some spectacular young talent. Tapping brothers John and Leo Manzari (who worked with Hines on the recent revival of “Sophisticated Ladies”) are breathtakingly athletic, handsome, and good-natured, and deserve an entire show of their own. There’s also a second-act spot for a child performer to show his/her stuff (on my night, it was the unbelievable Luke Spring, a 12-year-old I first marveled at during the Broadway production of “A Christmas Story “).
While it’s a joy to know this singular art form will live on for years to come, one also wishes that Hines’ has another decade or two to keep tappin’ through his own life and sharing his infectious charm with audiences.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://www.tappinthrulife.com
Cast
Maurice Hines, Leo and John Manzari
Open/Close Dates
Opening 1/11/2016
Closing 2/21/2016
Preview Open/ Preview Close Dates
Preview Opening 12/23/2015
Closing Open-ended
Box Office
212-239-6200
Theatre Info
New World Stages
340 West 50th Street
New York, NY 10019
Map
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