The Tap Dance Kid meets the Mouse? Yep.
It's been decades since Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire first danced on network TV, but now Disney-owned ABC is taking a chance and giving Savion Glover his own hour-long special, which airs 8-9 PM (ET) Saturday, Jan. 3.
In "Savion Glover's Nu York," Glover -- best known for his 1996 Broadway hit Bring in 'da Noise Bring in 'da Funk-- hooks up with musicians like Stevie Wonder and rap star Puff Daddy as he hoofs his way through the Big Apple, from a street fair in Spanish Harlem to the Battery Park skyline (where Glover dances as Wonder sings "Ribbon in the Sky").
The special also features music by Duke Ellington and numbers that Glover and his troupe perform with gospel singers Kirk Franklin and God's Property, and the female hip-hop group SWV and rapper Redman.
Glover made his Broadway debut when he was only 12 as the title character in The Tap Dance Kid. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in Black and Blue and went on to play Young Jelly in the 1992 Broadway musical Jelly's Last Jam, about jazz legend Jelly Roll Morton. A former series regular on TV's "Sesame Street," he co-starred in the film Tap with Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis, Jr. Although Glover has left the cast of Bring in 'da Noise Bring in 'da Funk, the show continues to run strong on Broadway; the national tour, starring Derick K. Grant, is also doing good box office.
Glover is co-producing the ABC special with Ken Ehrlich.
-- By Rebecca Paller
