Reviewed by Judy Richter
Thomas "Fats" Waller was a pianist and songwriter
whose music helped to spark the acclaimed Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and
1930s. "Ain't Misbehavin'," a musical revue conceived by Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby Jr., pays tribute to that music in a
show presented by San Jose Repertory Theatre. Co-produced with the Arizona
Theatre Company and
The Cleveland Play House, the show features five talented singers -- three women and two men
-- who deliver the songs of Waller and others with great energy and often with
overt suggestiveness that can grow stale after a while.
Besides
the title song, which opens the show, the singers -- Rebecca Covington,
Angela Grovey, Christopher L. Morgan, Ken Robinson and Aurelia Williams -- perform such songs as "Honeysuckle
Rose,"
"Mean to Me
"I Can't Give You Anything But Love" and "It's a Sin to Tell
a Lie"
There's
no story line per se, but the songs give a good overview of Waller's talents.
The singers are accompanied by an excellent orchestra led by musical
director/keyboardist Darryl G. Ivey. Musical staging and choreography are by Byron Easley, with sets by Emily Beck, costumes by Austin K.
Sanderson,
lighting by William H. Grant III and sound by Brian Jerome Peterson.
Director
Kent Gash generally
keeps the action moving smoothly, but "The Viper's Drag," performed by the
bare-chested, very buff Morgan, goes on too long, its salaciousness becoming
tiresome. To be fair, though, the opening night audience, especially some of
the younger women, seemed to enjoy this number. In fact, most of the audience
seemed to become more and more caught up in the spirit of the show.
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