When Gregory Hines opened his sold-out concert at the Center for the Arts Saturday night with the jazz-rock of "I Just Want to Have Some Fun," he clearly meant it.
Hines is legendary in all aspects of the entertainment industry, but mainly for his incredible tap dancing and Broadway crooning. His brilliant tapping, smooth jazz singing and funny anecdotes capped off a unique evening of classic, no-frills entertainment.
Without promoting any CD or film, Hines' multi-faceted performance was a display of showmanship often absent from displays by today's mega-million dollar entertainment tycoons. While J.Lo may run a corporation and marketing empire, Hines' performance proves all you really need to have fun and make money at the same time is to go out on stage and wow the crowds.
By the time the second song was complete, Hines had moved off the stage and into the audience to shake hands with his fans and get a spectator's view of his colorfully lit band.
"How much are these seats worth?" he asked a man in the front row.
"$44," the man said, perhaps unaware that the box-office ticket price for front-row seats was $49.50.
"Wow, these seats are more like $52.50," Hines replied, jokingly ripping on those who would spend that much to see him.
He quickly wound his way to the back section of the orchestra level, introducing his sound and lighting control men, and making sure those in the second price-tier weren't forgotten.
"You see, I come back to you," he said, smiling as widely as his fans. The UB appearance was the first in Buffalo since his gig at the Tralfamadore nightclub downtown many years ago.
Before getting back to his song list of love ballads and soft pop-rock covers, he asked someone in the front for a tissue to blow his nose. After Hines had used the wrinkled-up ball of tissue, the man asked him to sign it. Hines paused, looking around.
"I'll put it on eBay," the man said.
The advertising seemed to suggest Hines would be speaking more than he would be performing. While it would be great to hear him sit down and talk about his illustrious career of award-winning performances on Broadway and a prolific film and television resume, it was the element of song and dance that really warrants the $49.50 top ticket price.
Watching the man breathe through his routines, with little effort it seems, is nothing short of witnessing a genius. He uses tap shoes not as tools, but as extensions of his body. Note to tap and head to toe, Hines is his own instrument.
Though he didn't reflect on his career through stories or commentary, he did tell many jokes - and received good laughs almost every time. Faltering with a cheap shot at the Pope, Hines rebounded quickly: "Three guys walk into a bar..." Hines' charm was enough to make even a fan-on-the-fence fall head over heels.
As Hines performed a well-arranged medley of Marvin Gaye hits, "Ain't That Peculiar," "Mercy, Mercy Me" and "What's Going On," the audience seemed to be counting down to the famous line: "War is not the answer/For only love can conquer hate." Hines' tribute to Gaye's prolific and profound message of peace and hope brought applause from the audience.
Interjecting his tap dancing throughout almost every song, a frenetic exposition of staccato and frantic rhythms accompanied even the smoothest of ballads.
In almost every concert, Hines invites tap dancers from the audience onto the stage with him. He observed this custom during his show Sunday night, about an hour into his exhaustive performance. The invitation resulted in dancers from ages six to sixty joining Hines on stage, taking advantage of his offer to share the spotlight.
He started the tap-off with a notice to the crowd:
"This is a pro-tap audience," he said. "You can come up here and express yourself. You can't make a mistake."
And with that, he gave the floor - literally - to his students for the night.
Non-tap-fans may not realize it, but tap dancing with Hines is to a dancer akin to singing for Luciano Pavarotti or acting with Jack Nicholson - or even throwing a home run ball to Babe Ruth.
Lucy, who looked as though she could be a housewife, was honest in divulging her years of experience.
"I started 22 years ago," she said. "I started as an adult."
The winning performance of the segment was a fair tie: Corey, a boy who looked seven years old, burst into tap like turning a faucet brings water. He's a kid and was cute, and was most surprising.
The other was UB's own Christian Donnelly, a junior musical theater major who is regularly seen onstage in the department's musicals and dance concerts. He gets a nod for pulling off a split and continuing his routine into a combustive finale.
"We should remember Christian's name," Hines said after Donnelly's performance.
Closing the evening with a funk-filled cover of "Set Them Free," by the Police, Hines thanked the audience for his warm welcome.
