College of Fine Arts and Design

August 27, 2010

Nine-time Tony Award-winning dancer, choreographer, actor and director Tommy Tune will appear with the Manhattan Rhythm Kings in "Steps In Time," presented at 7:30 p.m., Fri. Sept. 17 in the University of Central Oklahoma's Mitchell Hall as a part of Central's Broadway Tonight series.
  
"Steps in Time" explores Tune's 50 years in show business and will feature career highlights, new material and numbers that reflect his fascination with life on the road.
 
"Tommy Tune is a living Broadway legend. We are honored to have him as part of our season," said Greg White, Broadway Tonight producer.  

"Audiences will, of course, love the dancing, but I think they will be surprised by his incredible stories from his remarkable career. He's embarking on his sixth decade on Broadway. Amazing!"     

Tune appears frequently with longtime friends the Manhattan Rhythm Kings, who he discovered on a New York City street corner in 1980 performing songs of the 1920s and 1930s.
 
A native Texan, Tune began his career in chorus lines and stepped into a principal role in the Broadway musical "Seesaw," which garnered him his first Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
 
Within a decade, he won a Tony for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in "My One and Only."
 
His seven other Tony Awards include four for Best Choreography ("A Day In Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine," "Grand Hotel," "My One and Only," and "The Will Rogers Follies), and three for Best Direction of a Musical ("Nine," "Grand Hotel," and "Will Rogers Follies").
 
Tune also appeared in films including "Hello, Dolly!" and "The Boyfriend," and toured extensively in "Irma La Douce," "Seesaw," "Bye, Bye Birdie," and with the Manhattan Rhythm Kings.
 
The energetic performer said he's in better shape than he's ever been.
 
"When I'm not performing or directing, I'm painting or writing in my journal or cooking, but whatever it is, it's always an expression of love and love of life," he said.
 
For tickets, call UCO's Mitchell Hall box office at (405) 974-3375.