November 4, 2015
Page 9
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Mia Michelle McClain and André Ward with members of the cast of ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Portland Center Stage.
Ain’t Misbehavin’
The Tony Award-winning musical Ain’t Mis-
behavin’ – a celebration of the Jazz legend,
Thomas “Fats” Waller and the black musicians
of the 1920s and 30s – opened Friday at Port-
land Center Stage with performances continuing
through Nov. 29.
The production is a tribute to the musicians
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”.
“Ain’t Misbehavin was the first Broadway
show I ever saw, and I probably played the orig-
inal cast recording 1,000 times,” said Portland
Center Stage Artistic Director Chris Coleman,
who directs the play.
“With the original creator’s permission, I’m ap-
proaching this production from a different angle
than the original,” Coleman said. “We are really
trying to visually create the context for the sto-
PhOTO by
P aTriCK w eishamPel / blanKeye . Tv .
A tribute to the black
musicians of Harlem
ry that each song wants to tell. It’s an enormous
challenge, but ripe with delicious possibilities.”
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased
at pcs.org, 503-445-3700 or in person at the
Gerding Theater at the Armory box office, 128
N.W. 11th Ave. Regular tickets start at $42.
Tickets for students and patrons who are 30 or
younger are $30.
A full schedule and more information are
available at pcs.org/misbehavin.