The Manchester Journal: For Tommy Tune – stand up and applaud

Jim Raposa, Special to the Journal

Posted:   08/01/2013 01:50:48 PM EDT

What do you do when the winner of nine Tony Awards, eight Drama Desk Awards, three Astaire Awards, a George Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement and the National Medal of Arts, given by the President of the United States, entertains you with a night of song and dance?

You stand up and applaud.

What do you do when the clear, staccato sounds of his feet gracefully tap out syncopated rhythms from his past shows, while his glorious, baritone voice filled with a rich nuance entertains you with a night of song and dance? You stand up and applaud.

What do you do when a man, who has changed the landscape of Broadway as a performer, director and choreographer, shares the stories of his fifty years in show business and entertains you with a night of song and dance?

By God, you stand up and applaud!

That is exactly what the capacity crowd did on Tuesday, July 23 in the Arkell Pavilion for Northshire Performing Arts’ presentation of Tommy Tune in “Taps, Tunes and Tall Tales.”

They stood up and applauded this living legend, this man who has spent 74 years of life on this planet.

A man that has not slowed down the intensity of his taps, his vocal power, nor his professionalism. If I didn’t know better I would have thought I was watching a man half his age.

The show opens with the silhouette of this giant among Broadway’s best, all 6’6″ of him. Right from the beginning his warmth, generosity, humbleness and joy of performing is evident as he welcomes the audience to his show. We find out early, that as a young man his goal was to become a member of a Broadway Chorus, a “gypsy.” That dream was realized at his first Broadway audition and to this day he epitomizes what it is to be a successful musical theater gypsy. He is not just a triple threat, he is an artist, a man who lives his art, an inspiration.

Tommy Tune’s choice of songs, dances and stories kept the audience enthralled, making us laugh, applaud and reflect. His spot on impersonation of Carol Channing, Fred Astaire’s reaction to meeting him and Gene Kelly’s direction to him during filming of “Hello Dolly!” endeared Mr. Tune immediately to the audience. His eloquent, heartfelt story of Charles “Honi” Coles last night dancing with him in “My One and Only” and Gwen Verdon’s statement of a dancer dies twice, once when they stop dancing and then when they die, was handled with such love you could have heard a pin drop. Storytelling is in Tune’s veins and I can tell you, this well crafted theatrical piece left the audience and myself wanting more.

He was supported beautifully by his Music Director Michael Biagi and Lighting Designer Patrick Rinn.  The work of these artists underscored and supported effortlessly, the emotional highs and lows of the evening.

Kudos to Northshire Performing Arts for bringing Tommy Tune to Manchester. Presentations like these and your donations, help to keep their vital mission of bringing free performances to area school children alive and make them an incredibly important part of the arts community. So, the next time you read about Tommy Tune or any other Broadway legend coming to the Shires of Vermont, get those tickets before they are sold out.