Ain’t Misbehavin’: The Fats Waller Musical Opening In February

This February Solano College Theatre will celebrate Black History Month with Ain’t Misbehavin’: The Fats Waller Musical, its third production in the American Experience Season. Ain’t Misbehavin’ is a musical tribute to the great Fats Waller, a legendary jazz icon. Born Thomas Wright Waller, Fats’ music became a swing sensation in Harlem beginning in the 1920’s and through the 1940’s. He was a legend in his time; a man known for his comedic performances, upbeat compositions and a fast-paced lifestyle.

Ain’t Misbehavin’ celebrates the musical heritage of the Harlem Renaissance through a humorous period tale of the lively night clubs and swinging jazz joints which exemplified the Golden Age of Jazz. This Tony Award-winning musical revue, written by Murray Horowitz and Richard Maltby Jr., originally opened on Broadway in 1978. Ain’t Misbehavin’ features many of Waller’s hit songs like “Honeysuckle Rose”, “This Joint is Jumpin’” and, the title song, “Ain’t Misbehavin’”. These and other songs made Waller one of the first commercially successful jazz musicians, marking the rise of African American entertainers in American culture.

Helming Solano College Theatre’s production of Ain’t Misbehavin’ is faculty member and director Dyan McBride, a veteran in the world of musical revivals. As both a stage actress and the Education Director at 42nd Street Moon (a San Francisco company dedicated to the preservation of American Musical Theatre), McBride has a passion for staging classic musical theatre and period productions. Under McBride’s vision, Solano College Theatre’s production brings a dynamic cast of eleven young local all-African American performers. This casting is a unique to SCT’s production as the script only calls for five performers. However, as director McBride explains, “when the cast came in to audition, I completely changed my mind about having five performers. They were so amazing that I found myself re-thinking the show […]. They were that tight and exuded charisma from the very beginning.”

Ain’t Misbehavin’ will be performed at the Campus Theatre in Fairfield from February 9 to 26, 2012. Directed by Dyan McBride. Musical Direction by Joseph Anderson. Choreography by Staci Arriaga. Starring (in alphabetical order): Sienna Cook, Bobby Ellison, Jennifer Marie Fields, Adam Wayne Gistarb, Lexi Hart, Camryn Hutchinson, Robin Murray, Sydnee Ortiz, Aris-Allen Roberson, and Bridget Sample. For tickets and information on this and other Solano College Theatre shows visit SolanoCollegeTheatre.org or call 707.864.7100. The 2011-2012 Season is sponsored by Jelly Belly, TR Family Trust, Solano Community College Education Foundation, Advocates for the Arts, and the Solano College Theatre Association.