We got to see a preview night of Ain’t Misbehavin’: The Fats Waller Musical at Mariemont Players directed by one of Cincinnati’s own amazing moms, Elizabeth Leigh Taylor, last night! Liz has poured her sweat and tears into this show and has made history as the first Black female director ever in the theater’s history. [Derek J. Snow was the first Black director since the theater began in 1936 when he directed Intimate Apparel, which was an award-winning run.] The all-Black cast includes:
- Muyumba Kalubi
- Ariel Underwood
- Juls Marie Lawrence
- Phillip Latham
- Charles McClinon
Ain’t Misbehavin’ is a musical revue with a book by Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby, Jr. and music by various composers and lyricists as arranged and orchestrated by Luther Henderson. It is named after the song by Fats Waller (with Harry Brooks and Andy Razaf).
The musical is a tribute to the Black musicians of the 1920s and 1930s who were part of the Harlem Renaissance, an era of growing creativity, cultural awareness, and ethnic pride, and takes its title from the 1929 Waller song “Ain’t Misbehavin.'” It was a time when Manhattan nightclubs like the Cotton Club and the Savoy Ballroom were the playgrounds of high society and Lenox Avenue dives were filled with piano players banging out the new beat known as swing. Five performers present an evening of rowdy, raunchy, and humorous songs that encapsulate the various moods of the era and reflect Waller’s view of life as a journey meant for pleasure and play.
Performance dates: July 13 – 30, 2023
Get Your Tickets Here
The entire cast and crew did an amazing job on preview night – and the house was packed! The jazz band was wonderful. The set and decor created just the right mood. The costuming was amazing – especially at the start of the second act! “Oooohs” and “Ahhhhs” rippled across the entire audience when each of them strutted out across the stage after intermission.
The actors were so expressive, it made the whole experience incredibly immersive. All the little touches Liz Taylor orchestrated in the background of each song performance were engaging and often hilarious. It was a super fun date night/girls’ night out for us adults and a great educational experience for the teens that were there.
Some of the most hilarious songs (the audience even got to sing along to one!) were in Act Two: “The Viper’s Drag”, “Your Feet’s Too Big”, and “Fat and Greasy”. “Black and Blue” had many of the audience in tears, though, as images were projected from over the years with newspaper clippings of the Tulsa Massacre, pictures of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and so much more, all while the cast sat singing somberly and beautifully in front of the projection screen.
In the midst of so much joy and laughter, the pause to reflect on Black history in this country was important and poignant. Then, picking the tempo back up for the remainder of the second act was a perfect correlation to how people of color in the United States continue to move forward and find joy in spite of everything systemically that threatens their lives and joy daily. The musical made me simultaneously both sad and hopeful in the raising of a Black daughter myself.
While everyone did such a great job and put their all into the preview performance (despite it being the end of a long tech week!), I have to say that Ariel Underwood stole the show! She was flawless. Her voice gave me chills at a couple points, she is so gifted. She was so expressive and fun to watch up there. She could dance her butt off!! And, she and Phil were so fun to see on stage together again after their dance performance in Fabulation earlier this year.
This show is a must-see on so many levels: to look back at history and watch history being made. Get your tickets, and get out there to support a local theater, artists, and talent!
