Audio By Carbonatix
One of the great things about a show like Ain’t Misbehavin’ is its interactive dimension: The performers play directly to the audience members, who get to clap their hands and tap their feet in time with the boisterous, life-affirming music of Thomas “Fats” Waller. And the fabulous Pointer Sisters production at the Auditorium Theatre does Fats proud. Despite the unwieldy size of the theater, the horrendous acoustics (depending on where you sit), and the lousy sightlines, the Pointers and their male colleagues, Michael-Leon Wooley and Eugene Barry-Hill, manage to create a lovely, lively intimacy with their vast audience.
The songs were picked by the show’s creators, Murray Horowitz and Richard Maltby Jr., from the whole range of Waller’s career, which spanned the 1920s, ’30s and early ’40s. The title song itself comes from Waller’s score for the 1929 Broadway hit musical Hot Chocolates; the spin-off musical named after the song first played off-Broadway in 1978. It was an instant hit and went on to Broadway, winning three Tonys, rave reviews and a long, distinguished run. And unlike most Broadway musicals, it deserved the popular and critical acclaim it received.
Fats was a big guy–300 pounds of pure talent. And though he died young, at the age of 39, the musician and songwriter left behind a truckload of hits. These songs survive because they are rich with humor, real-life drama and comedy, and a superabundance of energy and originality.
Some of the songs in the show were written by other people but made famous by Fats, such as the sweet, wholesome “Two Sleepy People” and “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love.” The classic “T’Ain’t Nobody’s Biz-ness If I Do” was written in 1922, but its devil-may-care rebelliousness and wit keep it timely. Comic songs like “Your Feets Too Big” and “Fat and Greasy” are unusual because very few pop tunes outside the realm of “Weird Al” Yankovich embrace comedy today.
Waller’s “When the Nylons Bloom Again” and “Cash for Your Trash” were written in the early 1940s to support the American war effort and are mostly interesting as historical oddities. But the very best song of the whole evening–performed by the whole company–is “Black and Blue,” written by Waller and Harry Brooks, with lyrics by Andy Razaf. The title reference is both racial and psychological, and the blues inherent in this beautiful tune stir up a range of complicated emotions.
There’s a lot to be said for tried-and-true professionals like the Pointer Sisters. They have big, full voices, ease and grace on stage, exciting moves and stunning singing styles–each very different from the other, yet perfectly blended in the full-company pieces or when the women sing together. All three Pointers are adept at comedy, from the broad comic gesture to the wry wink. Wooley complements the leggy stature of the women with his own considerable height and deep bass voice, and Barry-Hill is one of those magical dancers who can be as disciplined as a ballet dancer and as smooth and natural as a snake. (Check out his classic comic singing and dancing in “The Viper’s Drag.”)
All in all, this is a terrific show. But one can’t help comparing it to Eulipions’ version two years ago–a production that was just as achingly beautiful in the right places, somewhat funnier, and a lot closer to the audience. Eulipions doesn’t command giant audiences or high-priced tickets, yet its product was in many ways superior–more heartfelt, more moving, though nowhere near as slick. It’s great fun to see the Pointer Sisters and company. But for the real thing, perhaps, one needs to look closer to home.
–Mason
Ain’t Misbehavin’, through June 23 at the Auditorium Theatre, 14th and Curtis in the Plex, 893-4100.