Maurice Hines Is Tappin’ Thru Life

Reviewed by Bob Verini

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There are worse ways to get through life than by tappin’ through it, as the legendary Maurice Hines ebulliently demonstrates in his entertaining shuffle-ball-change down Memory Lane. Accompanied by three young practitioners of the tap art and a nine-piece hot licks all-female jazz band, the 70-year-old Hines represents a vaudeville era which he and his late brother Gregory practically ushered out together: an era of one-night stands, Vegas lounges, appearances on Johnny Carson and Ed Sullivan’s shows, and late night carousing with the Rat Pack.

Don’t go expecting Hines to dig especially deeply. He’s no Elaine Stritch At Liberty, airing dirty Sinatra laundry or telling psychologically wrenching tales. Except for one stark instance of casual ‘50s racism involving Tallulah Bankhead and a Vegas hotel pool, all the incidents recounted here are bathed in sweetness and light, as if his family act (Gregory and Maurice famously performed with Maurice, Sr. as “Hines, Hines & Dad”) hit nary a pothole on the journey from the Apollo to Broadway. Hines is determined to tell his story his way, and that way is all smiles. (Director Jeff Calhoun makes sure it never descends into bathos, and both Tobin Ost’s set and Michael Gilliam’s lighting infuse the evening with sprightly retro style.)

Don’t go expecting a movement-oriented revue, either. For two-thirds of the 90-minute running time, there’s barely any dance at all, let alone tapping, as Hines regales us with a song catalogue ranging from the puzzling (why “Love the One You’re With”?) to the forced (a salute to the demise of DOMA prompts “Get Me to the Church on Time”), to the predictable (“It Don’t Mean a Thing”). His pipes have taken on the lightly croaky quality of late-career Tony Bennett – that’s meant to be a compliment, honest – and all those occasions backing up the likes of Judy, Ella, Frank and Duke Ellington clearly taught him more than a little about jazz phrasing. There’s even some scat thrown in, and a sizzling tribute to Lena Horne recreating her famous “Honeysuckle Rose” accompanied by a hot solo bass.

Teasing us as long as possible, Hines recreates a duet with his bro (who died in 2003), represented by a follow spot and clicks from percussionist/musical director Sherrie Maricle. The star finally brings out his happy feet in a challenge dance with protégés the Manzari Brothers, John and Leo, as tall, leggy and in synch as the Hineses back in the day. Then, in a shrewd twist that both gives Hines a bit of a breather and highlights tap’s future, the stage is given over to tiny, blond Luke Spring , an 11-year-old prodigy whose skill and energy remind one of the young Mickey Rooney. Who’d have thought someone could tap on the sides of his feet?

Hines, Hines & Dad have given way to Manzari, Manzari & Kid. But the show must go on, and if Tappin’ is any evidence, this particularly American, notably joyous art form is far from being in decline. As Maurice sings of his inspirational late mother, with special poignancy at a Mother’s Day matinee: Both the surviving Hines, and the showbiz tradition he carries on fearlessly, are too marvelous for words.

Bram Goldsmith Theater, Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills; Tues.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sat., 7 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 2 p.m.; through May 24. (310) 746-4000, www.thewallis.org