Dark Monday • Kicking The Clouds Away

This is a fantastic musical moment from My One And Only, starring recent birthday boy Tommy Tune, the lovely Twiggy, and the company form the Broadway musical. Since last weeks post about Tune's birthday, I couldn't resist this clip of the full cast doing Kicking The Clouds Away on the 1983 Tony Awards. There is just so damn much joy in this number.

Happy Birthday, Tommy Tune

Today, the actor/dancer/director Tommy Tune turns 73. My own earliest memories of Tune are that he is exceedingly tall, and most of that height was in his legs! I would guess the first time I was him was when he played Ambrose Kemper in the movie musical Hello Dolly!, starring Barbra Streisand and directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly.



But my first real memory is when I was still in college in Reading, Pennsylvania. We took yearly trips to New York City to see shows, both Broadway and off-Broadway. It was organized by the late Dr. Lynn Morrow, head of the Albright College Theater Department. We'd go by bus on Thursday, catch five shows, stay at the Empire Hotel, and return to Reading on Sunday after catching a matinee. I saw so many amazing shows on those trips, and among them was A Day In Hollywood/A Night In The Ukraine. The musical featured Priscilla Lopez, who I had seen in A Chorus Line, and David Garrison, who I just fell in love with. He was funny and danced so well. This was long before I saw him in as Steve, the neighbor in Married...With Children. The show was directed by Tommy Tune, who also choreographed it with Thommie Walsh. Here is a number from the show, The Production Code.



I started working in Greenwich Village at the Circle Repertory Theatre in 1983, and he had a show running down the street at the Lucille Lortel Theater. The show, Cloud Nine, was winning all the awards that year, the Drama Desk and the Obies, and when they had some extra tickets, they offered them to the theater, so I saw it a couple of times. Begrudgingly, I have to say it was great. And since The Lortel was just down Christopher Street, I would sometimes see Tune walking down the block - well, he was hard to miss! He also had another show running at the time, a Broadway musical. Nine took the world by storm, and also the Tony Awards.



The next year, Tune was back out there, this time taking center stage in the musical My One And Only. He costarred in the show with Twiggy and Charles "Honi" Coles.The show was brilliant, using the music of George & Ira Gershwin. The show was the talk of the theater community, for it featured model turned star Twiggy, singing and dancing. During the out-of-town tryouts, it was rumored to be fraught with problems, and in turmoil. By the time it hit New York, it was in tune and amazing, complete with a dance taking place in an on stage pool. Tune and Coles won Tony Awards for their performances, and Twiggy was nominated. Here is a performance from the Tony Awards of 1983.



Tune also appeared on Broadway's Best With The Pops, a special with the Boston Pops Orchestra in 1998. He sings and dances to Tap Your Troubles Away, the song by Jerry Herman from Mack And Mabel.



So, Happy Birthday, Tommy Tune! You have given much over your career, and your work has inspired many.

Dark Monday - My One & Only

In 1983, the musical 'My One & Only' opened to stellar reviews. Starring Tommy Tune and Twiggy, it was an evening of entertainment, featuring the music of the Gershwins, with tap dancing like it had seldom been featured before. Tommy Tune not only starred, but was also the choreographer for the show. Both he and Twiggy were nominated for Tony Awards as performers, with only Tune taking his home. Tune also scored one for his choreography, making them two of the nine he has won. Later in the run, Tune would play opposite Sandy Duncan, Georgia Engel and Lucie Arnaz.



I remember back in the day there being a bit of a spat between Tune and Harvey Fierstien. Harvey, of course, was publicly out and proud, while Tune was known in theater circles to be a gay man, but tried to keep his private life to himself. Harvey, needless to say, would needle away every chance he got, with comments here and there in the press. Tune's talents were not reserved for dancing; he was also a director of several Broadway shows, including 'A Day In Hollywood/A Night In The Ukraine', 'Nine', and 'The Will Rogers Follies', as well as off-Broadway productions 'The Club' and 'Cloud Nine', which played at the Lucille Lortel Theater on Christopher Street, just down from Circle Rep where I worked.



It was hard to miss Tune either on the stage or off, as he was a 6' 6 1/2" drink of water. He was also quite handsome, but a bit of an introvert offstage. Here is an incredible clip with Tune and co-star Twiggy being introduced by Tom Selleck. They perform a song from the show, George & Ira Gershwin's great "'S Wonderful".



Currently, Tommy is touring with an autobiographical show, 'Steps In Time'. I've included the commercial for it below, and have to say while the project sounds interesting and all, my first thought is 'Tommy, damn you look good!' I mean, if I am not mistaken, the man turned 70 earlier this year. In 1997, Tune wrote a memoir, 'Footnotes', which I think I am going to have to buy because he apparently honestly talks about his life.



To find out more about Tommy Tune, you can visit his official website.