What becomes a legend most? Revival.
For what must be the biggest theatrical touring venture in Rochester’s history,
Downstairs Cabaret Theatre is producing a 63-city tour of the legendary Fats
Waller musical Ain’t
Misbehavin’.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The original award-winning show opened in February, 1978,
off-Broadway, as a cabaret show, but quickly moved to Broadway for 1,604
performances in the Longacre Theatre. Virtually intact, with the same cast, it
became an NBC TV special in 1982, and the by-then famous cast revived it on
Broadway for its tenth anniversary in 1988. When DCT’s production continues
into 2003, Ain’t Misbehavin’ will be
celebrating its 25th anniversary.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย One of the five amazing stars of that famed production,
Broadway veteran Ken Page (Cats, The Wiz, etc.), directs this revival as
a faithful reconstruction of the original. He and choreographer Seth Hoff
closely follow the staging ideas of Richard Maltby, Jr., and his choreographer,
Arthur Faria. Musical director Stephen Kummer has taken no significant
liberties with Jeffrey Gutcheon’s original vocal and musical concepts, and
certainly isn’t foolish enough to mess with the great Luther Henderson’s
brilliant orchestrations and arrangements. Even the mono-monikered Miro’s
costumes generally follow the original 1978 designs.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย So why not a reinterpretation for the 21st century? Why
this downright archeological approach? Well, the little cabaret act that
mushroomed into a constantly revived theater classic turned out to be a
perfectly judged entertainment, irresistibly recreating the vivid jazz period
and impish wit of Fats Waller’s music and performance style. Waller not only
wrote such beloved songs as “Honeysuckle Rose,” “T’Aint Nobody’s
Business If I Do,” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” but also hilarious, foot-tapping
numbers like “Your Feet’s Too Big” and “Fat and Greasy”
that are inevitable show-stoppers when performed by a lively, appealing cast.
Carefully calibrated by the super-talented Page to achieve maximum
entertainment effect, this show is a wind-up toy. Get it in motion, and you’ve
won the audience on contact.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The young
cast is expectedly energetic, talented, and attractive, and they seem to have
been expertly coached in delivering the music of the ’30s and early ’40s as
though they were born to sing it. Page has them clowning with winning charm
throughout. He keeps the original assignments, so that big, commanding Kenny
Green does the songs and the stage business that Page did, Minyon (who also
uses one name) does Nell Carter’s numbers and lines, etc. You’ll love those two
in “Honeysuckle Rose,” and the glamorous Minyon is moving in her knockout
version of “Mean To Me.” Chanta Layton uses her adorable comic
expressions and big, rich voice to great effect in numbers like
“Squeeze.” Ikeya Morning brings a dancer’s thrust and grace to
several numbers, and is hilarious in the frenetic “Yacht Club Swing.”
And Rochesterian Aljernon Duval not only sings and dances with solid skill, but
even manages the sly, sexy slither needed to hypnotize the audience with
“The Viper’s Drag/The Reefer Song.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The band has been cut down from seven to three — Jim
Herendeen on keyboards, Greg Gascon on drums, and Tim Sullivan playing bass —
but they swing with a pretty full sound. The Downstairs Cabaret Theatre doesn’t
have the acoustics to do real justice to their playing, but other venues on
tour no doubt will. Ditto the lighting, which looks too primitive to tell what
was designed. I’ve been told that the touring version has a very large, showy
set, which can’t even fit in the DCT’s building.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Still, for a good time, call Downstairs Cabaret Theatre.
If you catch this unkillable crowd-pleaser here, you’ll enjoy it.
n
Ain’t Misbehavin’will be performed Wednesday, October 16, through Sunday,
November 10, at Downstairs Cabaret Theatre, 20 Windsor Street. Performances are
Wed.-Thurs. at 7:30 p.m., Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 8:30 p.m., and Sun. at 3 p.m.
Tix: $21-$24. 325-4370.
Dance
Note: Fans of Timothy Draper’s Rochester City Ballet and its most recent
alumna, Sarah Kathryn Lane, can take pride in noting the two-page spread on
Sarah in the October issue of Dance
Magazine, the world’s largest magazine on dance. The article, by DM‘s New York editor, Wendy Perron,
includes a full-page colorphoto of Lane
and a glowing description of her medal-winning performances at the Youth
America Grand Prix and USA International Ballet Competition. It also discusses
her current appointment to American Ballet Theatre’s studio company and the
Outstanding Teacher award that Draper won in New York.
This article appears in Oct 16-22, 2002.
