“Ain’t Misbehavin’ ”: No meat, all Fats

Right off the top I have to confess I am not a Fats Waller fan — and that’s kinda the kiss of death if you’re seein’ Ain’t Misbehavin’, which is nothing more and nothing less than a revue of the big man’s highly influential oeuvre. So if you feel the same and/or want a story when you go out for a night of musical theatre, you may as well stop right here: Ain’t Misbehavin’ ain’t for you.

But it’s for plenty of folk. To call Waller’s music “beloved” is no empty honorific, and Ain’t Misbehavin’ raked in the hardware when it hit Broadway in 1978, including the Tony for Best Musical. 

If you buy tickets to Musical Theatre West’s staging knowing what you’re in for, you’re likely to come away satisfied. Although Waller’s songs can placed in three neat piles (call them “stride / stride-adjacent,” “mid-tempo walking,” and “slow stuff”), there’s enough variety in the voices of Eric B. Anthony, Chante Carmel, Marty Austin Lamar, Amber Liekhus, and Fredericka Meek to give even those highly fluent in Fats something fresh to chew on. 

What may disappoint aficionados of a certain bent is the sound of the band. Don’t get me wrong: as a rule Long Beach Playhouse bands — whatever their size — are top-flight; and under the direction of William Foster McDaniel — who handles piano duties on a lovely old upright with exposed guts (nice visual touch) — this small ensemble is no exception. The problem (again I say: for some) is that all of the instruments are mic’d individually rather than captured as a unit the way Waller’s music was originally recorded. It’s not that the mix is bad, but those who want that period sound won’t find it here.

In terms of staging, there’s not much to it. Such as it is, director Paul David Bryant’s concept is a loose (very loose) evocation of Harlem Renaissance clubs. There’s a lot of sitting at tables, with a bit of rudimentary hoofing every third song or so. At one point there’s a suite of songs bookended by “Ladies Who Sing with the Band” that’s presented as a sort of live radio broadcast, where gals come to the mic and sing poorly. This is my least favorite bit, because weak (IMHO) material (“Yacht Club Swing”, “When the Nylons Bloom Again”) combined with weak singing sounds bad regardless of the joke (see imitative fallacy).

Of the 30+ songs, to a non-fan like myself, “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love” and “(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue” are easily the best, and their placement after intermission helps close the proceedings on a high. The latter contains Waller’s most affecting lyrics, which the cast renders with due forlornness:

‘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?

When you are near, they laugh and sneer

Set you aside, and you’re denied

What did I do to be so black and blue? […]

My only sin is my skin

What did I do to be so black and blue?

But on the whole Ain’t Misbehavin’ is a lite nite, and Fats Waller lovers who know what they’re in for when they lay their good money down are unlikely to come away disappointed.

Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Musical Theatre West
Times: Fri 8 pm, Sat 2 pm & 8 pm, Sun 1 pm, plus October 24 7:30pm & October 27 6pm
The show runs through November 3.
Cost: $20–$135; student rush tix: $15
Details: (562) 856-1999, musical.org
Venue: Carpenter Performing Arts Center (6200 W. Atherton, Long Beach)