Song and dance man Maurice Hines returns to the New York stage with his new show "Tappin' Thru Life." NY1’s Roma Torre filed the following review.
Anyone lucky enough to have seen the late great Gregory Hines perform on stage will experience a familiar thrill in the work of his brother Maurice.
Greg's less famous but equally talented sibling is presenting a sensational song and dance show covering more than six decades of their shared life story.
It features celebrity-filled anecdotes, classic tunes accompanied by a fabulous all-female band, and of course, that thing that put them on the map.
They were phenoms right from the start, tap dancing professionally at the ages of five and seven.
Performing with their father as "Hines, Hines and Dad," they played with the best of them - Sammy Davis Jr., Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald - you name it.
When Vegas beckoned in the 50's, "Whites Only" kept them off the Strip. But they lit up the stages and their careers flourished on TV, Broadway and film.
Dancing together in the 1984 film "The Cotton Club" was a career highlight. But that was just one of many memorable moments for the master showmen, and there's is one family album you'll enjoy seeing, displayed on two giant banks of screens framing the set.
Under Jeff Calhoun's excellent direction, the show moves beautifully with songs that complement the stories, both poignant and funny.
A huge tip of the hat to the Diva Jazz Orchestra, the nine incredible musicians who individually and together rock the house with dazzling virtuosity.
And that's not all. Maurice generously gives up the stage to much younger artists and a pair of brothers Leo and John Manzari who, just like the Hines boys, are extraordinary talents.
It's Maurice's way of passing the torch, but even at age 72, given his consummate gifts, that torch still burns awfully bright.