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Ain’t Misbehavin’ at the Southwark Playhouse: This Joint is Really Jumpin’

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It’s Theatre Thursday! Today’s show is the new production of Ain’t Misbehavin’ playing at London’s Southwark Playhouse until June 1.

The sheer exuberance resounding at the Southwark Playhouse these days is enough to bring anyone a little bit of joy (and almost enough to erase the memories of the last time we were there). With the new production of Ain’t Misbehavin’, the musical revue of Fats Waller songs, there’s so much sensory overload from the loudly impressive vocals, the energetic dancing, and the glittering (and very cool) set that there’s barely a moment suitable for reflection. When those rare moments arise, and you reflect “wait a minute…there’s absolutely zero story here…this is just a revue isn’t it” (if you didn’t know beforehand, as I did not), you’re just about to go “hmm” but then another lively song sung by a bubbly performer swings under way and you forget to go “hmm” because it’s all so fun.

Fats Waller was one of the biggest names in jazz music in the early 20th century, responsible for some of the most recognizable standards from that era. In less than 40 years, he wrote hundreds upon hundreds of songs, 400 of which he copyrighted (I hope he got a frequent user discount from the Copyright Office). His many memorable hits include the title song “Ain’t Misbehavin’”, as well as my title’s song “This Joint is Jumpin’” (god all these triple quotes ahhh), both of which provide high points in this show that’s operating almost nonstop at full throttle. An enthusiastic audience did its part to keep the whole experience as close to max enjoyment as possible, despite the shortcomings of the show itself.

And despite enjoying the heck out of this (literally) sparkling show and its high-spirited talented cast, there are some shortcomings. Mainly that it’s just a straightforward revue of Fats Waller’s songs. This guy was a key player in one of the most important musical scenes in history. His Harlem style piano is responsible for modern jazz piano, and he achieved international success when that was still really hard to do, and at such a young age too. (Fats died super young of pneumonia while on a cross-country train, which, like, not to make everything about me but that doesn’t exactly make me feel better about all the long train journeys I take. Poor Fats.) Yet you don’t learn anything about him from this show. Sure, you get general hints from the actual music, but no facts. I get that the creators were trying to let the music speak for itself, but while each song conveys a certain sentiment, it doesn’t share actual information, when it so easily could have. At one point late in the second act, one of the cast members introduced a song saying a quick word about what happened when Fats brought his music to Harlem. Why weren’t more songs framed with a historical anecdote or fact from Waller’s life? It was so simple and so effective. It’s a shame (and super random) it happened just once.

Now, this is an old(ish) established show, so it’s unfair to call out these issues with the bones when discussing Southwark’s production in particular. With what they had, however, the Southwark is doing a fantastic job just blowing the roof off the place. The cast never stops working, and they’re working hard as hell. The five cast members all belt their lungs out and dance their asses off, and they try their damnedest to play characters where there are none. (And there are none – they even call each other by their real names.) A standout for me was Carly Mercedes Dyer, who in the first act mainly shows off her incredible dancing while playing a lot of silly characters who goofily appear to not sing too well. And then in an early second act solo she pretty much goes “oh surprise, bitches, I’m the most talented person here” and belts her forking face off.

Aside from the book issues (the lack thereof), there were only a few slow moments, like a few clunkers to begin Act II and the just unwinnable song “Jitterbug Waltz”, with the constantly cascading melody that sounds super flat no matter who is singing it. But the slow moments are few and far between when you are barely given a second to breathe before the frenetic cast picks back up with an insane dance and a thrilling group number, or with a movingly belted solo (so much belting), or with another beloved classic like “’T Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness If I Do” (last okay use of that first word) and, my favorite, “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter” (from You’ve Got Mail, obvs). And the humor! Even without a book this cast filled the show with hilarious moments. It’s almost (/very) embarrassing how hard I was laughing during the RIDICULOUS song “Your Feet’s Too Big”. This song, this amazing, incredible song that I somehow never knew but now adore, has a man literally going “Your feet’s too big/don’t want ya cause your feet’s too big/mad at you cause your feet’s too big/I hate you cause your feet’s too big”. I mean book or no book, nothing gets better than that. And book or no book, there’s too much to enjoy about this wildly entertaining show.

INFORMATION

The show is in two acts of 45 minutes each, with a 20 minute interval. Since there’s no story, it would have made more sense to have it as a longer one-act, but the cast probably needs that break. Don’t sit in the front few rows if you have sensitivity to light, as the stronger lights bounce off the gold floor (yep there’s a shiny gold floor) and it can get a little uncomfortable.

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