r
An Evening witn
Vivian Reed
Gaines Ballroom
in Lower Level
of the
Embassy Suites
Wad,Aug5 10:30 p.m.
Thurs.Aug.6 10:30 p.m.
Fri, Aug7 10:30 p.m.
The road to becoming a Broadway
musical legend began for Vivian
Reed at the famed Apollo
Theater. When she was a teenager,
' one of her teachers at Juilliard, where
she was studying classical music
and singing, suggested she put her
talent to the ultimate test - Apollo's
Amateur Night. Apollo owners Bobby
Schiffman and Honi Coles were so
blown away by the budding talent,
they invited Reed to regularly return
to the Apollo in the evenings - after
she completed her homework -
to study the musical legends who
graced the theaters stage.
With an education like that,
there is little wonder why Reed is, as
one critic proclaimed, arguably me nnest working female
performer in show business today!'
She is ready to live up to that acclaim at the NBTF. Her musical revue, "An Evening
with Vivian Reed" presented by New York's Kedron Productions, Inc., is designed
to show her incredible vocal range. She goes from Motown to Broadway-fare to the
Great American Songbook with impressive ease, blessing each tune with her unique
vocal styling and pizazz.
The world discovered Reed in the 1970s when she earned a Tony nod
and Drama Desk Award for the role of Young Irene in "Bubbling Brown
Sugar!' a musical featuring songs from the '20s and '30s. She toured with
the production around the globe, performing in England, Germany,
Switzerland, Holland, Italy and France, where she was proclaimed "the
new Josephine Bakerr She would later play Baker in the French film "La
Rumba." Reed has also appeared on the big screen in "Heading for Broadway,"
'"LAfricain" (with Catherine Deneuve) and "What Goes Around," a recent short
film she produced.
But it is on stages where Reed has made her mark. A long list of Broadway
productions followed her "Bubbling" debut, including 1992s "The High Rollers
Social and Pleasure Club," for which she received her second Tony nomination,
"Sophisticated Ladies," "Roar of the Greasepaint," "Smell of the Crowd" and
"Blues in the Night."
Reed took a years-long hiatus from showbiz to care for her ailing mother.
She marked her return in grand style in 2013 when she debuted "An
Evening with Vivian Reed" in New York City at 54 Below - "Broadway's
Supper Club." Her four shows were sell-outs, and fans showed with
a record number of standing ovations that Reed had been gone for far
too long.
These days, Reed, who is working on the new musical "One For My Baby," is the
teacher. Students at Boston's Berklee College of Music and NYC s Marymount
College take their musical cues from her, just as she did from Apollo legends
decades ago. ?
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Ky0auriceff(ines
Maurice Hines was 10 when he made Ns
Broadway debut in "The Girl in Pink Tights."
He and his younger brother, Gregory, had been
studying tap from the time they could walk.
/Their immense talent often drew comparisons
to the famed Nicholas Brothers. By the time they were old enough to drive,
they were touring the world, opening for Lionel Hampton, Gypsy Rose Lee
and others and appearing on programs like "The Hollywood Palace" and "The
Tonight Show."
As a solo performer, Hines has appeared on Broadway in musicals like "Eubie!,"
"Bring Back Birdie" and "Sophisticated Ladies." His performance in "Uptown ...
It's Hot," which he also choreographed, earned him a Best Actor in a Musical
Tony nomination. In 2006, he conceived, choreographed and directed "Hot
Feet" on Broadway.
Hines honored his late brother, Gregory Hines, in 2013 with the show "Tappin' Thru
Life: An Evening with Maurice Hines." It was hailed by critics as a masterpiece by
a master showman.