by Charles Kruger

This Sunday, Bay Area Cabaret will open its 16th season with a one-night-only appearance by tap dancer extraordinaire and Tony nominee Maurice Hines. Still tapping in his 8th decade, Hines (and his family) are the stuff of show business legend. He began performing professionally as a tap dancer at the age of five, then toured widely with his father, Maurice Robert Hines Sr., and his brother Gregory, as “HInes, Hines & Dad.”

Hines has many Broadway shows to his credit as both performer and choreographer. One of his most recent projects, commissioned by the prestigious Arena Stage in Washington D.C., is his direction of a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald (Ella, First Lady of Song), starring Freda Payne.

In his appearance at The Venetian Room, Hines’s autobiographical show will reflect on highlights of his six-decade (so far) career. singing and dancing a wide range of American standards. He will be joined by the award-winning tap duo, “The Manzari Brothers,” and accompanied by the Diva Jazz Orchestra, sometimes referred to as “No Man’s Band,” whose 100 % female personnel are all virtuosos in their own right.

Bay Area Cabaret was founded by executive producer Marilyn Levinson, when she left a less-than-satisfying career as a corporate lawyer in Silicon Valley to follow her show business heart, debuting the long-running series with Broadway royalty, Barbara Cook. Since then (2004), she has produced a full season every year. For the past ten years, performances have been at The Venetian Room in the Fairmont Hotel, a famous cabaret venue with a proud history. It was here that Tony Benett debuted the song, “I Left My Heart In San Francisco,” which should be a sufficient bona fide for anybody.

The upcoming season features a dazzling collection of cabaret performers, most of whom can boast Broadway credits and at least one Tony nomination.

For further information about the upcoming performance by Maurice Hines, as well as the rest of Bay Area Cabaret’s 2019-2020 season, click here.