AISLE SAY Massachusetts
TOMMY TUNE
in
Steps in Time:
A Broadway Biography in Song and Dance
Starring Tommy Tune
and featuring the Manhattan Rhythm Kings
The Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield
MA, August 11
Tommy Tune, all 6’7” of him, opens his show by declaring that
he is currently in his 8th decade of life and celebrating his 50th
anniversary in show business. That would seem to be achievement enough, but no,
he then proceeds to sing and dance and chat (with occasional support from The Manhattan Rhythm Kings, a
multi-talented trio of guys) for the next 90 minutes.
The showcase for
Tune is defined by songs from his favourite shows (some of which he has
performed in) and also by his cool, easy and unflappable persona. I suppose
it’s fair to say that when you have that height – and all those legs
– you needn’t work too hard to show them off, but Tune just settles in,
embraces the audience and talks as though he were with a group of his friends.
And as he talks he demonstrates a time step or two, slides back and forth
across the stage and, in one segment, straddles a ladder from which perch he
just carries on with anecdotes and bits of biographical data.
Backed up by a very
smooth quartet, one of whom is a MRK member, Tune just sails in and out of
songs as he weaves a lightweight tapestry of his fifty years on stage.
Unfortunately,
there is no listing of the evening’s songs provided in the programme and
neither are there names listed for his singing-dancing trio or the back-up
musicians, so I cannot properly and fairly acknowledge their substantial
contribution. But I can say that the presentation is very slick and well broken
in. The design elements, however simple, are smart and integrated – the
show feels as though it could be at home as much in a nightclub as on a stage
of almost any size.
Tune’s consummate
ease with himself and his style illustrates his longevity in a world that
doesn’t often embrace age. In his
70’s now, Tune has transcended fashion and has entered that period in his life
where his still-active status accords him near legendary status. And there
aren’t many who can boast as much and show as well as he does, both in song and
dance.
If there is one
regret, I’d have to say that it’s somewhat disappointing to have spent 90
minutes in Tune’s company and, after having left the theatre, to feel that I
know no more about him than I did when I walked in. But maybe I do –
maybe Tommy Tune is who he appears to be and is not a performer who sees value
in revealing personal information that, in truth, has no currency with his time
steps, his shuffles and his inordinately long legs.
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