‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ to bring action, melodies

The theater department had a small spot to fill between the main stages productions this season and not much time to fill it. However, director Patti D’Beck knew just what to do.

“Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” was originally performed on Broadway in New York City in 1978. Since then it has been a crowd pleaser because it incorporates 1930s Harlem-style music that many people have not been exposed to, D’Beck said.

“A few years ago they were celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’.’ I saw an article about it and thought ‘Oh, that would be perfect.’ We had a list of other shows but that was at the top of my list,” D’Beck said.

The show is a celebration of African-American heritage and Fats Waller, the “granddaddy of stride piano,” performer Olisa Enrico said. Enrico earned an undergraduate degree from VCU in theater performance and is now a second-year graduate student.

Fats Waller was a jazz musician who lived from 1904-1943. He specialized in a type of jazz piano called stride, which evolved out of ragtime pianists in Harlem. All of the music in “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” was written or co-written by Waller.

“It’s a celebration of his music and his life and, through him, the life of the other artists and performers of the time,” Enrico said.

The musical is set during the time of the Harlem Renaissance, around the 1930s. This was a time when African-American writers, musicians and artists began to gain recognition.

“(The audience) is going to have a heck of a good time-they will love the music. I don’t know that they have been exposed to this music before because of the time period,” D’Beck said.

Each actor will play a character that was in the original Broadway production; however, they will be using their own names. The audience will get a glance into each character’s lives through the songs they will sing, said performer and sophomore theater major, Ahjah Prom.

“Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” is the first musical performed on the main stage at VCU. The combination of singing and dancing makes musicals different from a play, Enrico said.

“I’m trying to make (each song) its own little moment,” D’Beck said.

Despite the challenge of combining singing, dancing and acting, rehearsal time was much shorter than usual because of the theater department’s tight schedule. The cast is also smaller than usual, consisting of five performers and four understudies. It is the smallest cast D’Beck has ever worked with at VCU.

“It’s really a lot to get all of these (musical) numbers and try to get them to flow, segway and transition,” D’Beck said. “It’s just as much work if not more. But I must say I enjoyed working on the music, I’ve had a great time with it.”

The cast prepared the music for a few weeks, then practiced the show as a whole for three weeks followed by the inclusion of the technicalities like lighting and sound for a week, Enrico said. Regardless of the tight schedule, D’Beck is confident in the production and the cast.

Each performer will be singing, dancing and acting. The show is about an hour and a half long and consists of two acts featuring about 17 songs.

“Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” is a huge burst of energy- it is wonderful. There is great music and a great cast; they really take the songs to another level,” Prom said.