Uptown... It's Hot!

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Uptown... It's Hot! was a 1986 Broadway play created, directed, choreographed by and starring Maurice Hines. Performed at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, the play was a musical anthology chronicling the history of African-American music in the United States.

Although the music garnered praise, the play received generally unfavorable reviews. [1] [2] [3] New York Times critic Frank Rich called it "the theatrical equivalent of a telephone-booth-stuffing contest" and "an orgy of grotesque and sometimes necrophiliac mimicry." [1] The play did, however, earn Hines a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. [4]

Uptown... It's Hot! ran from January 28 to February 16, 1986, ending its run after 24 performances. [5]

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References

  1. 1 2 Frank Rich (January 29, 1986). "'Uptown' a musical". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Michael Kuchwara (January 31, 1986). "Dazzling Dancing Can't Keep 'Uptown' on its Toes". The Associated Press.
  3. ↑ Mel Gussow (February 2, 1986). "It Takes More Than a Few Songs to Make a Musical". The New York Times.
  4. ↑ Sylviane Gold (May 2006). "Maurice Hines melds hip hop, jazz, Latin and even a little tap in his Broadway directorial debut". Dance Magazine.
  5. ↑ "Uptown...It's Hot!". Internet Broadway Database.
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