[NEohioPAL] Review of "Ain't Misbehavin'" at CPH

[Bob Abelman]

Ain't nothing but a good time at Play House 

 

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review appeared in the News-Herald 2/12/10

 

The Cleveland Play House has found just the right formula for a delightful evening's entertainment:  Take 30 of the best 1920's and 1930's jazz and swing compositions by Harlem nightclub legend "Fats" Waller, divide them by five extraordinary performers, add a tight seven-piece band, and put it on one stage.  

 

The Tony Award-winning Ain't Misbehavin' is a finger-snapping revue that celebrates the music of a man who lived life large. The play is short on storyline but each production number is imbued with the same bawdy, raucous frivolity that helped lift listeners from the doldrums of the Great Depression.  They are uplifting still.

 

At first glance, it is hard to fathom how a mere collection of old songs compiled by Richard Maltby Jr. and Murray Horwitz could be enthralling. However, from the opening number-a big and brassy rendition of the title song-it is clear that each timeless tune offers its own rich and vivid story stamped with "Fats" Waller's signature playfulness, and that there is immeasurable pleasure to be had in their telling.

 

In this Cleveland Play House production, these small, stand-alone stories are told my master storytellers.  Actually, this production is a collaborative co-production with the Arizona Theatre Company and the San Jose Repertory Theatre.  By pooling financial and artistic resources, a top-notch creative team could be gathered that includes director Kent Gash, musical director and on-stage keyboardist Darryl Ivey, scenic designer Emily Beck, choreographer Byron Easley and costumer Austin Sanderson.

 

Their collective vision is centered on filling the production with so much vivacity that it jumps off the stage.  The cavernous Bolton Theatre is reduced in size and scope by a cabaret-style infrastructure that pushes all the action, band and all, toward the audience and saturates it with bright lights and bold colors.  The action itself is no-holds barred, with the lavishly period-costumed performers given full liberty to milk the moment every moment.   

 

Such freedom in the hands of less disciplined players would be disastrous. In fact, a musical revue in the hands of less talented players would be excruciating.



It all works here.



This is a troupe of absolutely superb performers who take the material, make it their own and deliver it with all-out exuberance.

 

The dynamic Christopher L. Morgan's best moment comes in his sexually provocative rendition of "The Viper Drag/The Reefer Song," where he literally jumps off stage and interacts with unsuspecting victims in the first rows.  The featured dancer in the troupe, whose prowess is showcased throughout the production, it is Morgan's riveting presence and ripped physique that seduces the audience in this number.

 

Ken Robinson seduces from a distance but he is equally effective in his naughty interpretation of "Honeysuckle Rose."   Mostly, Robinson is a charmer who is as comfortable working his way through complex harmonies as he is in wingtips and a zoot suit.  He is a pleasure to watch on stage. 

 

Both men are marvelous, but the three women in the company clearly own this production.  Angela Grovey and Aurelia Williams demonstrate their incredible versatility throughout the show, but never more than in the humorous duet "Find Out What They Like."   The talented Rebecca Covington does the same in the sweet "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now" and the burlesque "Yacht Club Swing."

 

Occasionally, the full-throttled momentum of this raucous production is put on temporary hold to make room for ensemble numbers like "Black and Blue," a beautifully arranged and solemn reflection on life during the Jim Crow era.  Ain't Misbehavin' is at its best when the players join forces.

 

One final ingredient in this production's formula for success is its refinement.   As a co-production, it opened and ran for several weeks in Arizona before coming here.  Cleveland audiences benefit by witnessing a show that has worked out its kinks elsewhere. It hits this joint jumpin'.  

 

Ain't Misbehavin' continues through February 21 in The Cleveland Play House's Bolton  Theatre.  For tickets, which range from $45 to $65, call 216-795-7000 or visit www.clevelandplayhouse.com.
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