A four-piece band, a lot of dancing and a well-stocked bar, not to mention a healthy amount of infidelity -- sounds like a college house party. Live Arts's production of Ain't Misbehavin', featuring the music of great jazz pianist and composer Fats Waller, certainly has a house party atmosphere, though one of an entirely different variety.
Director John Owens describes the atmosphere of the 1920s-era musical revue as a combination of speakeasy and rent party (a bawdy music-filled event that someone would host in order to pay their rent). The show's name comes from one of Fats Waller's songs, which plays off of the commonly used excuse when accused of cheating -- "I ain't misbehavin'!"
The show boasts an all-black cast, a four-piece musical outfit and a score stuffed with tunes from the gritty 1920s Harlem jazz scene. The production is chock-full of innovation as well.
One of the more original aspects of the show is the seating format. The audience on the ground floor will be seated at tables and a bar will be available to serve food and drinks, enhancing the authenticity of the speakeasy atmosphere.
The show was also originally written as a series of songs linked together without a single, complete plot. Live Arts takes a creative risk with the structure of Ain't Misbehavin'.
It's "an unusual format for our theatre," Owen said. He added that the "edgy" show is "a nice departure."
Even more innovative is the decision to have an 11-member cast, since the original script includes only five players.
The members of the cast range in age from 19 to 71, and include four University students -- Folami Williams, Sasheer Moore, Jesimiel Jenkins and Todd Patterson, all drama majors or minors. The cast members were told simply to play themselves, since there were no real roles or concrete characters in the production, partially because of the expansion in cast size.
They describe themselves as split into the "mamas and the papas" and the "brothers and sisters." The characters live in the 1920s, but the actors add a modern twist to their performances -- some "2006 flavor," described Williams.
The cast said the best part of the show was working with their fellow actors. They explained that the ensemble was comprised of a great variety of personalities that brought together different levels of talent -- a definite "hodgepodge group of people," according to Moore.
The audience can also look forward to the 1920s costumes, a great deal of close interaction with the cast and a geometric-themed set complete with black-and-white checkerboard flooring. The instrumental ensemble plays in a pit at the rear center of the stage, highlighting the centrality of the music.
Ain't Misbehavin' at Live Arts should be a completely new and original all-musical production, one that will entertain and provide its audience with a loud, sassy, rip-roarin' good time.
A free preview is available for audiences tonight at 8 p.m. The show will run through Dec. 23.
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