Chicago’s Goodman Theatre Sings Lively New Tune With Fats Waller’s ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’’

HollywoodChicago.com — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:39:20 -0700

CHICAGO – If you were to visit Harlem in the 1920s, you might have found yourself in a nightclub exploding with hot keys, cold booze and swingin’ dances about as far from the stylings of “So You Think You Can Dance” as possible.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

The likes of Duke Ellington and Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong were striking up the band (or the trumpet) at The Cotton Club, Connie’s Inn and Small’s Paradise.

It was the Harlem Renaissance, which was a time of new cultural pride and creation for the African-American community that would go on to influence almost all areas of music, art and dance for years to come.

Left to right in “Ain’t Misbehavin’”: Alexis Rogers, Parrish Collier, E. Faye Butler, John Steven Crowley and Lina Kernan.
Photo credit: Liz Lauren

But now you don’t need a time machine (or an old record player) to relive those times. That toe-tappin’ music is kicking it up in a major way downtown at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.

“Ain’t Misbehavin’” is a musical revue of the tunes of one of the most inspiring musicians of all time: Thomas Wright “Fats” Waller. Having influenced such musical immortals as George Gershwin, Louis Armstrong, Count Bassie and Thelonious Monk, Waller’s music was truly revolutionary. This show strives to do nothing but celebrate just that.

The Chicago production of “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” which is based on an idea by Murray Horowitz and Richard Maltby Jr. with music by Fats Waller, is directed by Chuck Smith.
Image design credit: Kelly Rickert

With a book by Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby Jr., “Ain’t Misbehavin’” originally opened on Broadway in 1978 and went on to win several Tony Awards that year (including best musical).

The original run saw its way through 1,604 wildly successful performances and positioned itself as the predecessor of the current plethora of jukebox musicals on the Great White Way.

But don’t go in expecting the “Jersey Boys”. Even with this new mounting, “Ain’t Misbehavin’” is still a musical revue and not a full-throated musical.

Director Chuck Smith knows it, too. Smith’s aspirations are small and simple yet fully realized. The eight-piece band proffers a sound of a big swing orchestra that will truly knock your socks off.

The set is nothing short of eye candy. Brilliantly and simplistically designed to evoke a nightclub ambiance, it transports you back to a 1920s Harlem swing club.

The only thing missing seems to be that the Albert proscenium theatre is made up of seat numbers instead of cocktail tables. But what truly drives this production – like must incarcerations of the show – is its stellar cast.

“Ain’t Misbehavin’” employs only five cast members to carry almost 30 of Waller’s most famous tunes including “Honeysuckle Rose,” “This Joint is Jumpin’” and “The Jitterbug Waltz”. E. Faye Butler brilliantly leads the cast, which also includes Alexis Rogers, Parrish Collier, Lina Kernan and John Steven Crowley.

Lina Kernan in the Chicago production of “Ain’t Misbehavin’”.
Photo credit: Liz Lauren

Butler glides through Waller’s numbers effortlessly. She flawlessly transcends between head and chest voice and offers a gripping vibrato to her belt. Her starring number is the second act’s “Mean to Me” where she not only shows off the versatility of her vocal prowess but of her emotional intelligence and range as well.

Lina Kernan’s sensually smooth crooning and Alexis Rogers’ lively dance and comedic skills combine with Butler’s talents to make nothing short of a powerhouse female trio.

Unfortunately for the production, there is a discrepancy between the musical competency of the females and the males of the cast. John Steven Crowley’s vocals for the most part are appeasing to the ear drums, but with a throaty placement that sounds granulated and subdued, his musicianship is more suited for a piano bar than for a large auditorium.

Alexis Rogers (left) and Parrish Collier (right) in the Chicago production of “Ain’t Misbehavin’”.
Photo credit: Liz Lauren

He also tends to favor speak singing for many of Waller’s tunes, which would have benefited from more of a legato style.

Parrish Collier brings a terrific exuberance to each of his numbers. His rendition of “The Viper’s Drag” is absolutely entrancing. Though he clearly has more than ample dance training, Collier’s vocal chops leave a great deal to be desired. He fares well in the group harmonies yet he is unable to match the others in solo pieces.

Based on the Harlem stride piano movement, Fats Waller was known as the “King of Stride”. Stride was a style of piano in which the left hand plays a constant beat (or rhythm) while the right hand plays the melody. This balance of anchor and tune is just as much a requirement of jazz as it is a staged musical revue. In this sense, though, “Ain’t Misbehavin’” gravely misses the beat.

The book is filled with many frustrating ambiguities. It’s not clear who the characters are, what their placement is in the piece or if they are even characters to begin with. There is very little time between each number, which results in a lack of development and chronology. The only scenes we are given consist merely of silly jokes that range from the mildly vulgar to full-on slapstick.

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Revues often run into this problem. Whereas there is a sensible order to writing music to express a story, it is often difficult to come up with a story for preexisting music. In this vein, Smith’s directing serves up more problems than solutions.

He tends to treat each individual number with its own independence such that each song rings so autonomous that you wonder what’s holding everything together.

But despite these setbacks, “Ain’t Misbehavin’” is a true gem. With legendary music, terrific performers and tight choreography, it’s sure to be a summer favorite. Grab a date, sit back, relax and get ready for a sweet night on the town.

“Ain’t Misbehavin’” runs every day of the week except for Mondays at various times through Aug. 3, 2008 at the Goodman Theatre at 170 N. Dearborn St. in Chicago. Tickets range from $23 to $78 and can be purchased here or via phone at 312-443-3800.

For a complete listing of all shows and reviews in Chicago, visit our partner TheatreInChicago.com. For half-price Chicago theater tickets, visit our partner Goldstar.

By ALISSA NORBY
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
alissa@hollywoodchicago.com

Top Chicago Theater Picks For Feb. 21, 2008: ‘A Big Blue Nail,’ ‘Skin in Flames,’ ‘Botanic Garden’

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:21:13 -0700

CHICAGO – Free or half-price Chicago theater and comedy tickets. No catch. Just click the link, take just a moment to make a free Goldstar account (or log into your existing Goldstar account) and you’re on your way.

This week, we feature the phantasmagorical tale “A Big Blue Nail” at the Victory Gardens Theater, the mysterious drama “Skin in Flames” at Stage Left Theatre, “Botanic Garden” at the Victory Gardens Theater from Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis, the award-winning musical “Ain’t Misbehavin’” at the Center for Performing Arts and the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “The Time of Your Life” at the Viaduct Theater.

For each of the Chicago productions we feature below, Goldstar requires you to create a free account, which takes but a minute. You’ll then have access to all the free and half-price tickets to top-quality productions that your heart desires. Here are this week’s selections and deals!

Title: “A Big Blue Nail”
Venue: Victory Gardens Biograph Theater
Dates: Feb. 21 to March 2, 2008
Full Price: $37-$45 Partner Price: $18.50-$22.50!
Description: This is a phantasmagorical tale that examines explorer Robert Peary’s fame as the first man to reach the North Pole, which obscured the contributions of Matthew Henson (his African-American cohort who could rightfully claim the title). Now at the end of his life with the estranged Henson knocking at his door, Peary is swept into a hallucinatory nightmare on the chaotic Polar Sea, the coast of Maine and the terrifying landscape of his guilt-ridden mind.

Snag your half-price “A Big Blue Nail” tickets now!

Title: “Skin in Flames”
Venue: Stage Left Theatre
Dates: Feb. 21 to March 29, 2008
Full Price: $20-$25 Partner Price: Free-$12.50!
Description: In this award-winning drama by Guillem Clua (translated from the Catalan), a young girl looks gently into the camera lens – her clothes and hair aflame – thrown through the air by an exploding bomb. Twenty years later, the photojournalist returns to this war-torn country and agrees to an interview with an upstart female reporter who challenges his standing as a national hero. But the hotel room where they meet holds more secrets than either expects.
Snag your “Skin in Flames” tickets now!

Title: “Botanic Garden”
Venue: Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater
Dates: Feb. 22 to March 8, 2008
Full Price: $35 Partner Price: $17.50!
Description: Directed by Oscar-winning actress Olympia Dukakis, “Botanic Garden” is the story of Kate. She faces the daunting and humorous prospect of her first date since the death of her husband. Kate takes a stark look at her present and the choices she must make.
Snag your “Botanic Garden” tickets now!

Title: “Ain’t Misbehavin’”
Venue: Center for Performing Arts at Governors State University
Dates: March 1, 2008
Full Price: $33 Partner Price: $16.50!

Description: The joint will be jumpin’ when the Tony Award-winning musical revue “Ain’t Misbehavin’” transforms the theater into a Harlem jazz hall. It’s an evening of dazzling, jazzy fun with Fats Waller favorites like “Honeysuckle Rose,” “Tain’t Nobody’s Bizness If I Do” and “It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie”.

Snag half-price “Ain’t Misbehavin” tickets now!

Title: “The Time of Your Life”
Venue: Viaduct Theater
Dates: Feb. 22 to March 2, 2008
Full Price: $25 Partner Price: $12.50!
Description: It’s 1939 in San Francisco. Surrounded by a world on the brink of war and ravaged by depression, Nick’s Pacific Street Saloon attracts an assortment of “important nobodies” who share the common bond of searching for purpose. Their dreary routines of survival are sparked by brilliant flashes of hope and beauty as the events of a single day change their lives forever.
Snag your “The Time of Your Life” tickets now!

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Ain't Misbehavin'

Chicago’s Goodman Theatre Sings Lively New Tune With Fats Waller’s ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’’

Top Chicago Theater Picks For Feb. 21, 2008: ‘A Big Blue Nail,’ ‘Skin in Flames,’ ‘Botanic Garden’