By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out”)
Although he only lived to be 39, Thomas “Fats” Waller produced one of the most impressive volumes of popular music during the swing period of the 1930s and 1940s. With his characteristic stride style on the piano, he took jazz and popular music to new heights it had hardly experienced before.
Many of his songs found their way to Hollywood and were forever enshrined in celluloid with fantastic performances by the likes of Lena Horne (“Honeysuckle Rose”), while others found favor at nightclubs in Harlem such as “Aint’ Misbehavin’.”
Still others made their way onto the Popular Parade, broadcast over the airwaves to soldiers in foxholes or to families on the home front tending to their Victory Gardens while listening to sentimental ballads like “It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie.”
When Richard Maltby, Jr. and Murray Horwitz first presented Ain’t Misbehavin’: The Fats Waller Musical on Broadway, it starred the likes of the lovable Ken Page, who had an uncanny resemblance to the larger-than-life composer and singer and Nell Carter, who would go on to achieve fame as a beloved TV character actress.
The entertainment department at BB’s Stage Door Canteen took the wraps off its production of Ain’t Misbehavin’ a week prior to Mother’s Day and will be closing this next weekend, the week after Father’s Day. But this is a show that is superb for all members of the family and with a running time of more than two hours with intermission is a tremendous value.
What Bob and Delores Hope Entertainment Director Victoria Reed has accomplished with a largely unknown cast is nothing short of miraculous. She has concentrated the efforts of an ensemble of five players into a smooth-running production that oozes talent on the stage like few can recall here.
Jessica Mixon and Jarrell Hamilton have achieved fame through several of their previous credits on stage and in the field of dance, respectively. Mixon was nominated for Big Easy Awards for her lead roles as the Leading Player in Pippin at Le Petit Theatre last year and as Deloris Van Cartier in Sister Act at the Jefferson Performing Arts Society in 2015. Both roles had been played originally on Broadway by Tony Award winner Patina Miller.
Hamilton, who received several Big Easy Classical Arts Awards for her choreography, had recently appeared in Le Petit’s Jelly’s Last Jam at the beginning of the year. This show not only affords her an opportunity to strut her stuff as an accomplished dancer, but also gives her several sparkling moments in the spotlight as a singer. As she breaks out in infectious dancing and singing on stage, smiles of delight can be found on the faces of audience members.
Starring in his first leading role, Lawrence J. Weber, Jr. is a natural talent. As someone who has a more than passing resemblance to Waller’s large frame, he moves spryly around the stage and enjoys some of the most enchanting lines in songs like “I’m Going to Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter” and “Honeysuckle Rose.”
Polanco Jones, Jr., who is a also a newcomer on the scene, commands attention with his dancing and singing too. He is assured in his many song and dance numbers hamming it up with Hamilton in “‘Tain’t Nobody’s Business” and mixing it up with Mixon in “That Ain’t Right.”
Erica Fox, who has been seen in several movies and some stage performances, rounds out the fabulous five who make Ain’t Misbehavin’ one of the best productions ever seen on the boards of BB’s Stage Door Canteen. Graceful and charming, Fox has a grand time with numbers like “Off Time” and the Act One closer “The Joint Is Jumpin’.”
When one considers Fats Waller, the music is the starting point. When the opening of the musical begins, we hear a scratchy, older acetate recording of Waller introducing himself in “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” A lone figure emerges to take his seat at the piano. That is pianist extraordinaire Harry Mayronne, who, unfortunately, has his back turned to the audience for most of the performance.
As music director, though, Mayronne is the spark to all that takes place on stage. He and the five members of his band – bassist David Pulphus, drummer John Jones, trumpeter Jamil Sharif, trombonist Michael Watson and reeds player Ray Moore – combine to bring the sweet sounds of Waller’s happy tunes into focus.
This spectacular offering comes complete with fantastic costumes, of which Reed and her staff are to be complimented. Several of the costumes from Act Two are rented from previous productions of the show, but Act One’s colorful ensembles are as inspirational as the songs that emanate from the keys, strings, reeds, brass and percussion of the band members.
The music is infectious and the dancing is sublime. But is is fast coming to an end. Tickets for the 6:00 p.m. dinner seating and 8:00 p.m. show on June 22-24 are $64.99 each. Show tickets are just $29.52. The Sunday, June 25 brunch is $58.99 for the 11:00 a.m. seating and 1:00 p.m. showtime. Discounts for National World War II Museum members and children under 12 are available.
Ain’t Mishbehavin’: The Fats Waller Musical finishes its run on Sunday, June 25. For more information, call BB’s Stage Door Canteen at 504-528-1943 or click on the ticket link here.