Maurice Hines Taps 50 Years of Memories for ‘Harlem Suite’

Back in another era, when Harlem night life was famous for high style, hot music and classy dancing, the community was a magnet for uptown entertainers and downtown cafe society. Louis and Bessie, Duke and Lena, Fred and Adele--they all congregated there; so did Cotton Club showgirl Ora Hines, who chronicled those flashy years in her personal scrapbook.

Now her grandson, Maurice Hines, has borrowed that scrapbook and used it as the story line that shapes his dance musical, “Harlem Suite,” opening Sunday at Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre.

Conceived, directed and choreographed by Hines, who co-stars with Melba Moore, the show is a fictionalized look at 50 years of Harlem song and dance, from 1925 to 1975. Hines, 45, has drawn material not only from his grandmother’s scrapbook, but also from his own youthful memories of performing on various Harlem stages with brother Gregory and their father, in the vaudeville act “Hines, Hines and Dad.”

Although his show is primarily intended to be entertainment, Hines says he also sees it as historically informative, and he paused during a recent rehearsal break to talk about it.

“It’s important to me,” he says, “to celebrate the great black stars who paid their dues and opened the doors for people like me. I have a feeling that people forget that legacy, especially my own people. They think Michael Jackson invented everything.

“They need to know about the continuity of black musicians and singers doing rock ‘n’ roll, which came from rhythm and blues, which came from the blues, which came from the slaves. I use a character in the show based on my grandmother, ‘Granny Hines’ (played by Queen Esther Marrow), who explains these things.”

He laughs and adds: “My real Granny would get me if I didn’t do that. She’s coming to see the show and she’s a tough customer.”

Within the framework of what Hines calls a “slight book, just enough to string a story together,” the show consists of a series of songs and dance numbers from various eras. “I choreographed them in my style, which is intricate and involved with different techniques. I’m not a purist, and I don’t re-create the exact choreography, because it would be too dated and not big enough for today’s audiences, who are conditioned by television and used to quick cuts. I go more for period feel.”

He has researched that feel in various ways, he says, but mostly from his own Harlem experiences, and from old films.

“I knew some of the jazz dancers from the Cotton Club and the Savoy Ballroom when I was little--I used to study them. And I worked with John Bubbles at the Apollo Theater. I was fascinated by him. My tap number, ‘Rhythm of the Riff,’ is a tribute to him.

“Later on, I learned a lot when I worked on ‘The Cotton Club’ movie, because Francis Coppola was such a stickler for detail and knew so much. He also gave me a set of archival films put together by Paramount, and I studied those.”

The show has five song sections, and its 16 dance numbers include tap, jazz and ballet.

Hines says: “Most people think that in Harlem black dancers only did tap and the jitterbug, but there was a great variety. A dance team called Meers & Meers, for example, did tango and ballroom, and we re-create that in the show.”

Hines’ tap is racially mixed, he says, “because even though in the Cotton Club black performers played mostly to white audiences, visiting white performers like Fred and Adele always wanted to interact with their fellow dancers.”

A 1986 Tony Award nominee for his acting in “Uptown It’s Hot,” Hines says: “It’s hard for black choreographers and actors, even those with Tony Awards, to get shows. Producers think all we could do is create for black people, and for a black man to be in total charge is very scary.”

To illustrate his point, Hines mentions a white theater owner who wanted to book a show but was concerned about the possibility of unfavorable critical reviews. According to Hines, the man suggested to his manager that to make the show more acceptable, he substitute Tommy Tune’s name for Hines’ in the creative credits.

“I just laughed,” says Hines. “I wasn’t surprised. We’re back in 1955 as far as racism is concerned. What bothers me is when I hear successful black actors say how wonderful it is and how it’s changing. They’re working, that’s why. It’s good for them but not for all their buddies from acting class.”

According to Hines, “Harlem Suite” is booked for a run in Japan and he also hopes for European engagements. New York, however, is not his preference: “I don’t like New York, and I don’t like people having to pay $55 a seat.

“If I go to New York at all, it will be to Harlem, not Broadway. I’ve been on Broadway three times and I think the critics are too powerful. I love being on the road because I think the critics there are more knowledgeable and encouraging.

“But what I really like best,” he says exuberantly, “is being on that stage. All I have to do then is dance, and when I’m dancing right I’m flying, I’m connected.”