Overdue tribute
Ain't Misbehavin'Featuring Marian Caffey, Frank Farrow III, Carla Renata Williams, Sharon Scott and Gail Anderson
Theatre Royal Sydney until May 29
Reviewed by Norm Dixon
Tributes to the great African American artists who were the pioneers of popular music are few and far between. Hollywood has churned out films on the likes of George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Glenn Miller, while extraordinary and innovative black composers and entertainers such as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Paul Robeson have not been considered appropriate for similar treatment.
Ain't Misbehavin' is a stage show musical tribute to one of the greatest, most popular African American songwriters and performers, Thomas "Fats" Waller. Fifty years after his premature death, Fats Waller remains a household word. Hundreds of his songs and tunes have seeped into the collective consciousness of the world.
The enthusiastic cast creates a colourful and rambunctious musical catalogue of more than 30 glitzy renditions of Fats' most popular and best songs, including "Honeysuckle Rose", "Ain't Misbehavin'", "Your Feet's Too Big" (but missing is the sequel "Your Socks Don't Match") and "The Joint is Jumpin'".
Unfortunately, the show makes no attempt to tell the story of Fats Waller's life or detail the social conditions that black performers and audiences alike faced. African American life is presented as stereotypically upbeat. This makes the inclusion of Waller's moving lament against racism, "Black and Blue", largely ineffective.
Visual "fat" jokes, and over-reliance on a sexist rather than sensual interpretation of black music's overtones also grate slightly.
Despite its limitations, Ain't Misbehavin' offers a night of lively entertainment and some deserved yet belated recognition for a giant of jazz.