NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2000 — Tony winner Savion Glover electrified audiences and tap-danced his way into America’s heart with his awesome performance and choreography in the musical “Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk” in 1996. His latest project, however, brings those skills (and more) to the screen.
“Bamboozled” is a funny, outrageous tale that recalls America’s terrible racial past while challenging the choices of both blacks and whites that work in the television industry at present. As Mantan, a struggling tap dancer who agrees to appear in a TV minstrel show to advance his career, Glover also stars alongside Tommy Davidson, Jada Pinkett Smith and Michael Rapaport, under the direction of Spike Lee.
“I just wanted to work with Spike,” says the soft-spoken Glover. “The script wasn’t something that you came across everyday. I was dealing with a part of history that was important enough to be brought up again.”
Despite his enthusiasm for the script and Lee’s confidence in his acting, Glover found the subject matter tougher than he expected. Putting on the blackface makeup wound up being a painful experience, as was looking at some of the research material that Lee gave him before shooting began.
“Spike had us watching stuff that I didn’t know that they had made,” says Glover. “I knew about the minstrels because of my theater background. But I’d never seen these movies, clips or cartoons before. I thought I’d seen every cartoon ever made. I never imagined that [society] could do that.”
This is not Glover’s first foray into film. While the Jersey kid made his stage debut at the tender age of 12 in “The Tap Dance Kid,” Glover’s first movie role was in 1989’s “Tap.”
The Jersey kid made his Broadway debut at the tender age of 12 and has followed the steps of his tap-dancing mentor, Gregory Hines, by encouraging this art form among people of all ages.
“It was great. Just being around all those cats — Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis [Jr.], etc. — I felt like I was part of the family,” Glover says. “They welcomed me in and gave me the respect that I deserved at that time.”
Glover scored a Tony nomination for “Black and Blue” in 1989 and also made appearances on “Sesame Street,” but it was “Bring in ‘da Noise,” his swan song, that made him a star. His subsequent projects have shown passion for the past: choreographing the cable movie “The Rat Pack,” performing onstage in “Footnotes,” a celebration of tap-dancing history. “Bamboozled” seems to fit right into that scheme.
“I’ve changed my whole angle for dance,” he explains. “I’m moving towards moving back rather than hanging out with my peers. I’m reaching back to older dudes for a second.”
“Bamboozled” opens Oct. 6.
— Veronica Mixon
