It was my good fortune to see all of Tommy Tune’s musicals while the Broadway legend was at the height of his powers.
The elegant, sensual “Nine,” starring Raul Julia and 15 of the most beautiful women ever to grace a Broadway stage. The enchanting “My One and Only,” with Tune and Twiggy dancing barefoot in a pool of water. The swirling “Grand Hotel,” with its show-stopping “We’ll Take a Glass Together” in which the late, great Michael Jeter became a human rubber band and bounded up and over the bar — several times. And the colorful, witty “Will Rogers Follies,” which featured a chorus boy named Jerry Mitchell (now a major Broadway choreographer and director) as an Indian, dancing — practically naked — on a giant drum.
Nobody rivaled Tune back in those days. And he scooped up nine Tony Awards to prove it. Alas, after the failures of “Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public” and “Busker Alley,” Tune withdrew from the field, putting an end to that great era of director-choreographers that included Jerome Robbins, Gower Champion, Bob Fosse and Michael Bennett.
But I’m happy to report that Tune, now 74, is getting back in the game. At the behest of his good friend Jimmy Nederlander, a theater legend in his own right, Tune’s in London inspecting a new show called “Top Hat.”
Reviews were mixed, and nobody I know who’s seen it has much use for it. But the material — Irving Berlin, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers — is right up Tune’s alley. Give him a free hand, and I bet he’d turn it into a confectionery delight.
(Note to the Nederlanders: Whatever happened to “Easter Parade,” which Tune was working on back in the mid-’90s? That might be worth revisiting.)
When Tune returns from London, he heads to Los Angeles to work on a new musical about Studio 54 called “Fifty Four Forever.” Tune developed the show in Miami last year, and friends of mine who saw it said it was great fun. The show follows the rise and fall of Steve Rubell, the impresario behind Studio 54 and a significant contributor to the disco ethos of the ’70s. The production is signature Tune — swift, colorful, fun, always on the move. The action takes place on a long red-carpeted runway, where the likes of Liza, Andy, Halston and Calvin do the hustle to such songs as “Stayin’ Alive” and “YMCA.”
Tune has, well, fine-tuned the show since Miami, and will open it in Los Angeles in the fall. The Nederlanders are quiet backers, and if “Fifty Four Forever” is well-received, look for its disco ball to twirl above Broadway next spring, just in time, perhaps, to upend next year’s Tony Award race.
Tune’s specialty is upending Tony races. He works quickly, and in the past slipped his shows in just under the Tony cutoff wire. “Dreamgirls” was the favorite to win Best Musical in 1982 until “Nine” came out of nowhere, and toppled it. “Miss Saigon” was the sure bet in 1991, and then, on May 1, “The Will Rogers Follies” opened, and swept the Tonys.
Tune also has a new autobiographical show called “Steps in Time,” which I caught at Town Hall earlier this month. It was delightful. Tune still dances better than anyone else on Broadway, and he sings with elegance and ease. Plus, he’s got a trunkful of great, old showbiz stories.
On a sad note, he reported that all his mementos — costumes, scripts, designs, programs, dance notations, opening-night telegrams — were in a warehouse that was flooded during Hurricane Sandy.
Nothing was spared.
Well, here’s hoping Tune will make some more memories for himself — and us — with “Top Hat” and “Fifty Four Forever.”