The Saint Louis University stage was graced with some
delightfully bad behavior in a performance of Ain’t
Misbehavin’, a musical revue celebrating the life and times of
the legendary Thomas “Fats” Waller. Though properly casting the
musical and providing an ample sound system may not have been
within the relatively limited means of University Theatre, this
musical is a pleasure in and of itself.
There’s no biographical information bogging this musical
down–instead, Fats Waller lives on in a show that consists purely
of song and dance.
The musical numbers span three decades of history in the United
States: the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s. Each of the three couples in the
six-member cast was costumed to represent a specific decade,
manifesting Waller’s legacy both musically and visually.
Ain’t Misbehavin’ is traditionally performed with an
exclusively African-American cast, an aspect of the show and its
namesake that director Gregory Horton hoped to reflect despite the
limitations, at least in terms of diversity, that the theatre
department at SLU presents. This put constraints upon casting that
may have compromised the quality of the production. For this
reason, the choice of this musical may not have been a particularly
wise one.
Nonetheless, the female members of the cast brought both
attitude and charisma to the stage.
The sultry Armelia (Candice Jackson) crooned and pouted in
numbers such as “Squeeze Me” in a pair of adorable pink character
shoes.
Nell (Cathryn Blue) brought her strongest and most engaging
performances towards the end, with a throaty voice that
reverberated inside the walls of Xavier Hall. They proved that
ladies can be baritones, too, asserting their femininity all the
while.
Charlaine (Mary Crouch) was prepared to wow the crowd in Friday
evening’s show, perched atop a piano–her fellow cast members
wheeled her onstage for a number entitled “Tinkle a Piano.”
Because her body microphone was not working properly, she was
armed with a hand-held microphone, which also failed to work. The
performance was plagued with sound problems such as these, an
unfortunate distraction that left audience members wearing pained
expressions of sympathy for the performers. After all of their hard
work, they deserve the unadulterated amplification of their voices,
if nothing else.
Performances took off in Act II, when the male cast emerged as
the highlight of the show. Spanish professor Tony Houston, Ph.D,
won the karaoke contest at Celebrate SLU in the fall, where he
first caught the attention of Horton.
No stranger to the stage, he wooed the audience with his winning
voice and endearing stage presence as Ken.
He surprised everyone as he exclaimed in song, “I hate you
’cause your feet’s too big,” where he was joined enthusiastically
by Jerome (Paul Balfe).
The audience was overcome with hilarity when Mr. Big look-alike
Andre (Charles Boevers) lit up a cigarette for “Viper’s Drag,” one
of the show’s most memorable scenes. After singing of the time he
“dreamed of a reefer five feet long,” he sauntered down the stage
stairs to see if anyone was interested in a “smoky-smoke,” and the
entire theater was doubled over in laughter. Clearly, these
performers were no angels, but their mothers would be proud
anyhow.
Ain’t Misbehavin’ is worth seeing. Performances continue
this weekend on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.
Tickets are available at the box office in Xavier Hall
(977-3327), $8 for faculty and staff members and $6 for
students.
