See it if You enjoy jazz & swing music. You enjoy tap dancing. You're familiar w/Maurice & Gregory Hines + performers from the '50s & '60s.
Don't see it if You hate jazz & swing. You don't like tap dancing. You aren't familiar w/the Hines Brothers or performers from the '50s & '60s.
See it if you know the work of the Hines family
Don't see it if you are expecting a lot of tap dancing
See it if You want to take a stroll down memory lane. Maurice Hines is a great dancer but it was more for my parents than for me.
Don't see it if If you are there to see tap dancing, he talks and sings more than he taps. Still he is fantastic.
See it if Hines & Hines may mean lil to many, but since the death of his brother a dozen yrs ago singer-tapper Maurice Hines has kept the dance alive
Don't see it if If names like Sinatra, Garland, Tallulah! mean lil to U then U may b 2 young to enjoy this trip down memory lane. Segregated Vegas stories?
See it if you like classic showtunes and standards sung in a cabaret-style. You love fast, energetic tap dancing.
Don't see it if you have no nostalgia or affection for this music or era. You are expecting a play/story. This is a more of a cabaret show with asides.
See it if You tap dancing and stories about the old days.
Don't see it if You don't like memory pieces.
See it if You like jazz or big band
Don't see it if You need plot
See it if you're a big Maurice Hines fan and want to hear him tell name dropping stories and don't want to see him dance for 90% of the show.
Don't see it if you are expecting a tap show--it's mostly a retrospective and he sings a lot of standards and then there's a smattering of dance at the end.
"Any January blues you may have will immediately disappear during this delightfully easy-breezy entertainment...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...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."
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"Mr. Hines's revue...breaks no new ground and is like many others of its type, but it's consistently entertaining and its star is loaded with talent and good will...Mr. Hines actually spends more time singing than tapping, getting the most out of his not especially memorable voice by excellent phrasing and the expressive use of gestures and classy body movements...'Maurice Hines Tappin’ Thru Life' will have you tappin’ your toes, boppin’ your head, and singin’ along."
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"It's 85 minutes of a show that looks like the highest quality Las Vegas revue…Over the years he's turned himself into more of a first-rate jazz singer than he already has been…Talk about getting your money's worth. The generous Hines and energetic associates give it to you--and then some."
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"Director Jeff Calhoun has created a seamless night of sheer joy...This is the most entertaining show I have seen in the past two years and a show not to miss because this is entertainment in its truest form."
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"Hines can still deliver a battery of appealing tap steps, but for the really heavy stuff, he has the dazzling Manzeri Brothers, plus a younger set consisting of sisters, all of whom can ignite and audience...At the close on the night I attended, many in the process of departing up the aisles stopped in their tracks as the band played on, regaling the audience with a new barrage of solos and ensemble work. Those who had left don’t know what they missed. Take the hint."
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"The show is basically a cabaret act disguised as a musical memoir…This 90-minute revue is a link to those days when performers considered it a priority to give the audience a good time. Still, this isn't a show for everyone. People looking for an edgy evening or some sense of where musical theater is headed should look elsewhere. But others will, like me, enjoy this trip back to the past."
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"Hines proves a charming presence…It's not just the celebrities or anecdotes Hines invokes. The beauty of this show is the song-and-dance numbers selected to punctuate his singular life…What's most wonderful about 'Tappin' Thru Life' is the joy Hines gets in retelling his career. His humor and warmth are infectious...The show is a celebration of tap, as well as a time and place in American history when true giants ruled the entertainment business."
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"This show may not be more than a gussied up Las Vegas styled lounge act, but its centerpiece Maurice Hines is a consummate song and dance man, an entertainer with a winning personality and an incomparable style that harks back to an era that has sadly disappeared...The band stand and setting gives the show a sense that we are back at the fabled Paramount Theatre on Broadway. A really good feeling for a really good show."
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