And Some Sophisticated Gents, As Well
Road trip! Road trip! Road trip! It was a long day, but worth it.
I was on the #1 train at 6:15 AM headed to 33rd street, and jumped to the #3 express train at 96th street only to learn that 42nd was the last stop on the #3. So I had to wait at 42nd for the same #1 local train I had just left. I ended up in my original seat on the #1 to travel one stop. An inauspicious start. But that was the only screw-up during a very pleasant day.
The Bolt bus left the corner of 33rd and 7th Avenue on time at 7:30 headed to Washington, DC. My friend Bill had started off at 4 AM from New Haven, CT, to join me on the trip. We got to the bus site at 10th and H in DC at 11:30 and took a cab to 12th and U for a lunch at the famous Obama hangout Ben's Chili Bowl (1213 U, www.benschilibowl.com), which celebrated its 50th year as a U Street ("Black Broadway") institution in 2008. Bill and I each ate a chili half smoke (beef-pork sausage with mustard, chopped onions, and pungent brown meat chili, $5.20) and shared a basket of cheese fries ($4.10). We both left full, and left some cheese fries behind in the basket. The staff is very friendly and the food is truly excellent. We visited the gift shop, which is above Ben's Next Door (1211 U), a new restaurant recently opened. Then we headed next door (1215 U) to the Lincoln Theater for a 2 PM performance of Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies.
I had heard an interview on NPR's All Things Considered between Maurice Hines (tap-dancing sibling of the late Gregory Hines) and Michele Norris in which he described his recent discovery, tap-dancing siblings John (17) and Leo (15) Manzari who would perform with him in his choreography for the production of Sophisticated Ladies. I immediately looked up several YouTube videos of Mr. Hines and the brothers and decided that a trip to Washington was in order.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126802535
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhxi4JrTiwY (Maurice Hines introduces the Manzari Brothers)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2ElA7KUPPA (John & Leo Manzari improv)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viYIaDt46S0&feature=related (Sophisticated Ladies ad)
As you can see, both Manzari brothers are pretty sophisticated tapping gents even as teenagers!
John is a senior at the Field School, an independent day school in DC with about 300 students. His brother Leo is a freshman at the Field School. In interviews (see NPR above), John has said that he wants to attend Marymount Manhattan, some four hours away, but he still hopes to continue dancing with his brother.
So, Bill and I were obviously disappointed to learn that John Manzari was sitting out this Sunday matinee performance. The good news was that Leo was taking his place in some dance numbers. But we would not see the brothers in a duet. Bummer? Not as it turned out.
There were eighteen Ellington numbers in the first half and seventeen in the second, all played by a big band that was onstage in the background at all times. They included Take the A Train, Caravan, Drop Me Off in Harlem, In A Sentimental Mood, Satin Doll, Mood Indigo, It Don't Mean A thing If It Ain't Got That Swing, and Sophisticated Ladies. We need not have worried about the missing Manzari brother. The rest of the young cast were pros and knew a lot about tap as well! Leo had his red-brown floppy hair pulled back when he was dressed in a suit but it was let loose when he was less formally dressed. And he was a hoot!
http://www.localkicks.com/marketHome/images/insidePhoto/5032.jpg
http://blog.americanhistory.si.edu/.a/6a00e553a80e1088340133ecaae944970b-500wi
Maurice Hines may be 67, but his feet have not slowed down at all. His outfits—as were all the costumes—were gorgeous, as was the staging. The Lincoln Theater is a refurbished palace from the 20s, with brass railings and carved ceiling. It was the perfect stage for a classy Ellington retrospective.
After the performance I stood in line at Ben's for a couple of take-out chili half-smokes while Bill remained outside. While he was waiting, Leo Manzari exited, in shorts, looking, according to Bill, like the typical 15-year-old. After being congratulated by audience members he walked off down U Street with some friends, incognito. But he and his brother John will be famous soon. Gregory Hines mentored tap-master Savion Glover, and reportedly told Maurice that some day he, too, would mentor prodigies. He has done so. And one has floppy red hair.
The Bolt bus back to New York City was absolutely full, and the driver did not stop as had the driver on the way to DC. Bolt buses (a division of Greyhound) have free Wi-Fi, AC sockets, and $20 fares (+/-). Bill slept. The guy to my right watched a DVD of Zoolander on an ASUS laptop from beginning to end, while the woman next to him watched an episode of Glee. I watched part of Avatar on my iPhone, read part of a book using the iPhone Kindle app, and checked email and Websites. I love my iPhone! Still, the trip back seemed longer than the morning ride. Luckily the #1 train came quickly, and I got a seat immediately. Bill, poor guy, had to get an 11:20 train to New Haven. But he texted that it was worth it.
I got home a few minutes ago. It was a long day, but I would do it again!
