1
Dancing in the street
Musical puts Fats Waller tunes on stage
BY MATT ROWNING
“A in ’ t M isbehavin ’ ” at Portland
Center Stage is w orth seeing. It’ s
a great production that takes the
amazing songwriting and recordings
of Fats Waller and arranges them into
a musical. It has songs you’ll love and
it’s funny. Easy answer, and that’ s
my stance.
If a close friend asked me if I’d send
them to see it, I’d still say yes. Still, as
you’re sensing, I would have a caveat.
It’ s not just the actors’ am azing
work, the catchy and w ell-played
m usic, or the am azing set (all of
which are standard at the Gerding)
that I would mention to the aspiring
play catcher.
My thought while recommending
it would stem from the original
playw right’ s work arranging these
Fats W aller tunes into a m usical.
There is no classical plot that arches
through the show. Rather, the 31
songs of the show are presented more
8 Clackamas Print NOVEMBER 11. 2015 theclackamasprint.com
as stand-alone movements, akin to
a variety show or vaudeville style act
(vaudeville m eaning the different
scenes all on one playbill, not the
minstrelsy or racism of the genre).
The finale’ s six songs at the end
w ere presented m ore as a w hole.
Still, the feeling of watching separate
scenes and d ifferen t citizen s of
Harlem was throughout the entire
play. The cast didn’t play characters.
The only character that was named
recognizably was the piano player
Fats Waller at the end.
This isn’t necessarily a fault though.
As a theater goer, I thought it was a
breath of fresh air and a welcoming
change from the usual tropes and
stock plots of musical theater. The
scenes w ere m asterfu lly directed
and acted, and w hile the plot did
not follow a traditional structure,
the scenes from act one to act two
did “ rhym e.”
One such “ rhym e” occurred when
one of the men sang “T’ain’t Nobody’ s
Biz-ness If I Do” to his wife, spouting
self-importance and his lack of caring
about her. Towards the end of act two,
the same two actors appeared in the
same room. She sang “ Mean To Me,”
a heartbreaking ballad about the pain
of leaving someone who means a lot
to you, because they’re mean to you.
The director, Chris Coleman, used the
separate scenes to his advantage in
tying the songs from act one and act
two together into miniature plots of
their own. Thus, did the cruel husband
get left by the loving wife. Another
duo of songs found a woman singing
the sultry “ Squeeze Me” to one man
in bed, and in act two, singing the
apologetic “ Keeping’ Out Of Mischief
Now,” to another man in the same
bed. There were more sm all story
lines throughout, always united by
setting and costumes.
The technical aspects of a show
put on by Portland Center Stage are
always incredible. Costum es were
sharp, I never even thought about a
lighting setup it was so good. The set
on a turntable was not a unique image,
but was perfect and tastefully done.
As it turned, it revealed different
rooms of a building: first outside, a
kitchen, a bedroom, and then a bar.
The four distinct settings of the play
were served by the turntable set.
In c lo sin g , P ortlan d C en ter
Stage’ s “ A in ’ t M isbehavin’ ” was
a good m usical presented by a
suburb cast, who worked the song
and dance routine as hard as it’ s
ever been worked. You have m y
recommendation to check it out.
Also, remember to smoke after a
perform ance. It’ s just more polite
than smoking before.
“ A in’t Misbehavin’ ” is playing at
the Gerding Theater through Nov. 29.