Posted: 1/8/16 at 10:18am
Very good article, thanks for posting. Like the show, it's touching. It also helps me to understand Maurice's reticence in discussing certain things, such as the 10-year rift with his brother, Gregory. It's interesting that he didn't want to talk about it at all, and Calhoun encouraged him to add it to the show. I'm glad he did, because it belongs there.
I don't know where the Times writer gets the impression, however, that Maurice "taps all through the show." To me, if there is one disappointing aspect to the show it's the lack of dancing. Maybe Maurice wanted to dole out some appetizers, so that at the end, when we finally see some great tapping, we're ready. But I felt let down. I thought I was going to see lots of great tapping. The supertalented Manzari brothers were woefully underused. They should have had at least two more numbers on their own. The one they did with Maurice was very nice, but it came too late in the show.
When the brothers are introduced (in a manner of speaking) near the beginning of the show, Maurice sends them back off stage without a dance. That would have been an opportunity for them to "defy" him and insist on tapping. (The number is set up that the brothers want a larger role in the show, and Maurice shuts them down.) Just my humble opinion. Still, it's a show well worth seeing. Plus, as expressed before, the Diva Jazz Orchestra is worth the price of admission on its own.
Updated On: 1/8/16 at 10:18 AM
