Fats Wallers’ whale and wail of a show is a must-see by those who love jazz, dance and/or just having a great time.
AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’, THE FATS WALLER MUSICAL SHOW: Theater Review
I’m gonna sit right down and write myself a review about this musical revue inspired by Thomas “Fats” Waller’s infectiously joyous songs. To paraphrase Fats, Ain’t Misbehavin’ had the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center “jumpin’,” as five vocalists and five musicians belted out jazz hit after hit composed by Waller, often with lyrics by his frequent collaborator Andy Razaf, plus some other pieces by the renowned piano player’s contemporaries, including Nat King Cole. The theatrical conceit of the rollicking show is that the 30-ish numbers are performed during the Harlem Renaissance at a cocktail party in a Harlem brownstone. (The late scenic designer John Iacovelli’s set may be a sly reference to the segregated seating of nightclubs during the Roaring Twenties and beyond, when African-American patrons were barred from attending venues such as the Cotton Club as audience members.)
According to the handsomely designed playbill, “Ain’t Misbehavin’ was conceived by Richard Maltby, Jr. and Murray Horwitz with music by Fats Waller. The production originally opened in the Manhattan Theatre Club’s East 73rd cabaret on February 8, 1978. The musical opened on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre on May 9, 1978.”
At the Nate Holden, Grammy Award winner Ledisi headlines the quintet of crooners, which includes actress Connie Jackson, who has performed on Broadway in Dreamgirls and has a recurring role as Elaine on the long running TV crime series NCIS. Natalie Wachen, who has the sultry beauty of a Torch Song singer and had a recurring role on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, spices things up on the Nate Holden’s stage.
The chanteuses are joined by a duo of debonair, dapper gentlemen, including the tall, spats-wearing Marty Austin Lamar, whose Off-Broadway credits include Ragtime. Chester Gregory has won the NAACP Theatre Award and appeared on Broadway in Motown: The Musical as Berry Gordy and in other shows on the Great White Way.
These phenomenal performers are backed by a lively quintet led by Musical Director William Foster McDaniel, who also tickled the ivories. He was clad in a suave rose-colored suit, while saxophonist Keith Fiddmont, trumpeter Fernando Pullum, drummer Land Richards and bass player Weldon Scott were uniformed in vests with ties (Wendell Carmichael is the costume designer) as they worked their musical magic.
The 30-ish songs demonstrate the astonishing vocal ranges of the five songsters. During the course of the two-act revue their characters’ different personalities emerge, with characteristics ranging from mock jealousy to insouciance, and all of it with plenty of attitude. Most of it is executed with great zest and a droll sense of humor. I can’t cover all 30-plus songs (unless, that is, I was being paid by the word), but my favorites during Act I were the title song, 1929’s “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” 1939’s sizzling “Honeysuckle Rose,” and 1938’s “The Joint is Jumpin’.” The words for all three numbers were written/co-written by Andy Razaf (the 1895-born songsmith’s birth name was Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo, and he was the son of a nobleman and nephew of Queen Ranavalona III of Madagascar).
The approximately two hour and fifteen-minute revue (with one intermission) got better and better as it moved along. Chester Gregory stole the show in Act II with 1943’s “The Viper’s Drag,” which could have also been called “Reefer Madness.” In it, Gregory displays great elasticity as he humorously sings and dances about the glories of marijuana while depicting an imbiber who longs for a “five-foot long reefer.” This showstopper is simply hilarious; it received a rousing ovation and is alone worth the price of admission.
Marty Austin Lamar also brought down the house with a call-and-response rendition of the laugh-out-loud “Your Feet’s Too Big,” a 1936 bagatelle by Ada Benson and Fred Fisher. Another merry crowd pleaser is 1939’s “Fat and Greasy” by Harry Porter Grainger and Charlie Johnson. Although these numbers dis personal appearance and flaws, they are not performed in a meanspirited way, but quite lightheartedly, as is Fred E. Ahlert and Joe Young’s whimsical “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter.”
However, having said this, the all-Black cast’s joint rendition of “Black and Blue,” the jazz standard protest song from the 1929 Broadway musical Hot Chocolates composed by Fats and Harry Brooks, probably elicited the strongest response from the largely African American aud at the premiere. First of all, the crooning full of yearning by the quintet rivals the melodious harmonies by any barbershop quartet from Central Avenue to Timbuktu. But the poignant lyrics in Razaf’s lament capture the indelible sense of injustice and pain suffered by someone subjected to bigotry, including these moving words:
“…Browns and yellers, all have fellers
Gentlemen prefer them light
Wish I could fade, can’t make the grade
Nothing but dark days in sight…
“I’m white inside, it don’t help my case
’Cause I can’t hide, what is on my face, oh!
“I’m so forlorn, life’s just a thorn
My heart is torn, why was I born?
What did I do to be so black and blue?
“’Cause you’re black, folks think you lack
They laugh at you, and scorn you too
What did I do to be so black and blue?”
OMG, if he had musical talent, revolutionary psychiatrist Frantz Fanon could have written these lyrics!!! Along with Abel Meeropol and Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught,” “Black and Blue” is one of the greatest numbers in the entire Great American Songbook about racism. At the conclusion of this lovely, lyrical, moving rendition the nearly sold-out venue seating almost 400 spellbound souls erupted with applause and heartfelt cries of “Bravo!”
Unfortunately, not everyone in the audience was so appreciative, as two 20-something females were definitely misbehavin’. It’s like a law of physics: Theatergoers who arrive after the curtain has lifted are inevitably disruptive and always continue to disturb the peace after their late arrival. Not only did the aforementioned tardy duo persist in talking through the program, but one of them had her cell phone brightly on, distracting and annoying nearby ticket buyers. When asked to shut her phone off, the response from her companion was that she needed the cell on because she was “a drama critic.” Well, real reviewers are aware of theater etiquette and generally loathe to disrupt audience’s viewing pleasure. When complaints persisted, the drama queen dimmed but did not shut off her screen. Mercifully, the latecomers were also early goers who split during the intermission, but if by some far distant chance one of them actually is a reviewer, her outlet and the publicists who provided tickets should rebuke her, and if she continues misbehavin’ at future shows, banned from admittance to theaters to protect ticket buyers so they can enjoy their shows in peace and quiet (except for the glorious sounds emanating from the stage, that is!). The offending pair of blythe pigs sat in row B, seats 101 and 102. Book ’em, Dano!
But compared to the joyous goings on onstage, this was but a quibble. Wren T. Brown’s direction permitted each performer to shine and enjoy their musical place in the solo sun. Dominique Kelley’s ebullient, droll choreography enlivens and enhances the movement that, along with the sonic accompaniment, ensures the join is jumpin’. The standouts for me were the rubbery Chester Gregory and lushly alluring Natalie Wachen.
Fats Wallers’ whale and wail of a show is a must-see by those who love jazz, dance and/or just having a great time. The opening night audience seemed to have agreed with this verdict, as after the last song they rewarded the cast and musicians for their musical “misbehavior” with a standing ovation.
Ebony Repertory Theatre, in association with the Fig Street Films, presents
Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Fats Waller Musical Show through June 8 on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 p.m., and Sunday June 7 at 7:30 p.m. and at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, June 8 at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, 4718 West Washington Blvd. Los Angeles 90016. For info and tickets see: ebonyrep.org or: https://ci.ovationtix.com/36837/production/1262658.
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