Tommy Tune looks back over the past 50 years of his remarkable career with an original show, “Steps in Time: A Broadway Biography in Song and Dance.” His scintillating new musical debuts with back-to-back performances in the Music Center at Strathmore prior to a nationwide tour. He shares the stage with the Manhattan Rhythm Kings, his friends and frequent colleagues for the past two decades.
“We work well together because they love the old songs of the ’20s, ’30s, ’40s and ’50s like I do,” Tune says. “Their vocal sound makes a real good background for me. They play instruments and two of them tap dance, so we’re able to cover a lot of ground.”
It was a challenge, he admits, to condense 50 years of performing, directing and creating within a single show. The upshot is nonstop entertainment interspersed with stories, memories and exciting new material.
“I hit upon the idea of basing the show on the time step, which I consider the square root of tap dancing,” he says. “It’s a tribute to my favorite tap dancer, Charles Honi Coles, who was a huge influence on me, and my friend Gregory Hines. The production shows how one theatrical experience leads to the next as we go up the stairway to paradise.”
The recognition Tune has received over his long career as dancer, singer, choreographer, actor and director acknowledges his unique talents and versatility. His honors include a National Medal of Arts, nine Tony Awards in four different categories, eight Drama Desk Awards, three Astaire Awards, induction into the Broadway Hall of Fame, the Stage Society of Directors and Choreographers George Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the International Best Dressed Men list and the Rolex Dance Award, about which he jokes, “There’s no present like the time.”
Although he was a standout in “Hello, Dolly” and other films, he prefers live contact with his audiences. When he is not touring, he relaxes by painting. Not surprising because of his considerable height of 6 feet 6 inches, he tends to paint tall things like giraffes, palm trees and cityscapes. Currently he is sculpting a huge giraffe on the balcony of his Manhattan apartment. It will await completion while he crosses the country spreading joy with “Steps in Time.”
“I do love touring and have spent my life going all over the world singing and dancing,” he says. “Along the way, I’ve been given support by a lot of people like Mike Nichols, Carol Channing and Kitty Carlisle Hart, so this is payback time. I look forward to taking my show to the people across the country and hope I inspire them to live creative and happy lives.”
If You Go
Tommy Tune’s “Steps in Time: A Broadway Biography in Song and Dance” with the Manhattan Rhythm Kings
Where: Music Center at Strathmore
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Info: $25 to $65; 301-581-5100; strathmore.org
