One Never Knows, Do One? | "Ain't Misbehavin'" @ Ebony Rep

Way back in January 1980, I had the joy of seeing the original cast of Ain’t Misbehavin’ at the Aquarius Theatre on Sunset Blvd, as part of the National Tour of the show. It was then I fell in love with the music of Fats Waller and the performance of the original cast. The show was interesting. It was one of the first jukebox musicals performed. Through the performances and the songs, it loosely told the story of Fats Waller: his style, his popularity, his reception in the white vs. black communities, and his problems in life. Since then, when productions of the show have been mounted, I’ve tried to see them.  I remember a production of the show back in 2008 by Cabrillo Music Theatre (now 5-Star Theatricals), directed by Ken Page (I even used the same title for the writeup back then). Rereading that review, I wasn’t all that impressed with their production, although I did like Natalie Wachen as “Charlene” (they kept the original character names).

Fast forward to 2026. I learned that Ebony Rep, the company where I saw 5 Guys Named Moe a few years ago, was mounting Ain’t Misbehavin’. They had done such a great job on Moe, I thought I would try to squeeze it in. So I booked tickets for the penultimate performance (forgetting that the Tony Awards were on at the same time), and we trucked on down to Washington Blvd for the show. Luckily, I was able to record the main broadcast part of the Tonys because DirecTV is reliable. As for the Tonys Act One: PlutoTV, or Spectrum, or my Orbi RBK752P router sucks, because the live streaming show was unwatchable for the buffering and interruptions. If someone knows how to find Act One for delayed watching, let me know.

But back to Ain’t Misbehavin. As noted above, this is a true jukebox musical. The song sequencing and the performances tell the story, hopefully aided a bit by program notes (although, alas, the ERT program contained no background information on Fats Waller). Generally, the Ken Page role (deeper voiced larger man) is a surrogate for Fats himself; other “characters” just interact.

Wren Brown, the director, made the directorial choice to set the show in a Harlem Brownstone at a form of cocktail party. While this provided a suitable setting for the time, it lost the connection between the original Ken Page character (played by Chester Gregory here and called Chester) and any personification of Fats Waller. This served to lose the meaning, and in some senses, poignancy, of songs like “Black and Blue” or “Lounging at the Waldorf”.

In general the performances were very strong, although I have this feeling that they swapped a few songs between the female performers. In general, Natalie Wachen (who we saw in the Cabrillo show) did the Charleyne Woodard songs; Connie Jackson did the Nell Carter songs; and Ledisi did the Armelia McQueen songs (although I could have those two swapped). Chester Gregory did the Ken Page songs; and Marty Austin Lamar did the Andre DeShields songs. In the “Ladies Who Sing With The Band”, I think there was a bit of overplay on the bad singing for “Yacht Club Swing” and “Nylons Bloom”, and I did detect some slight lyrics changes in “Off Time”. But overall, the performances from the stage were strong. There were quite a few that stuck in my mind: Again, Wachen was really strong in “Keepin’ Out of Mischief”; the whole company was great in “Black and Blue”, and Jackson was great in “Cash for Your Trash”. Both Jackson and Ledisi were strong in “Find Out What They Like”.

Especially during the first act, and especially up in the balcony, there were some amplification problems that made the performances seem overly shrill. That seemed to have been corrected by Act Two, so I think it was a tuning issue.

The on-stage band, led by William Foster McDaniel, was hot. This was demonstrated during the Entre’acte and during the playout. They were wonderful.

However, there was a performance problem: The audience. In the row in front of us, we had folks taking out their phones in the beginning and videoing, and then putting them away. We had them bringing them out to check things. We had another group that was looking at pictures on their phone during the show, combined with talking. It was as if these folks had never been to live performance before, or were unaware about the audience members around them. Now I see why Patti LuPone does what she does. Audiences need to remember that it is the light from devices that disturbs other audience members and the actors on the stage, not just the noise. Keep your voices down, and your light-emitting devices off.

Additionally, the audience also seemed to ignore the capacity limit of the elevator, causing it to break before the show. This not only delayed the start of the show necessitating the director to do an impromptu Q&A, but led to the elevator being broken after the show. This created problems for the disabled folks in the balcony who needed the elevator and now needed to go down two flights of stairs.

The last performance of Ain’t Misbehavin at Ebony Rep is today at 8pm, and it is sold out. The Ebony Rep is an interesting place, although parking is horrible. It was built on the site of the former Ebony Showcase Theatre, which was torn down after an unsubstantiated claim of structural instability on the site of the former Rimpau/Metro theatre. I mention this because during Wren Brown’s Q&A, he noted that he grew up a few yards to the south through the theatre’s wall, back when EST was still around. FSY converted the former theatre into the new PAC.

Credits

Ain’t Misbehavin’. The Fats Waller Musical Show. Music by Thomas “Fats” Waller. Conceived by Richard Maltby Jr. and Murray Horowitz. Created and originally directed by Richard Maltby Jr. Original Choreography by Arthur Faria. Directed by Wren T. Brown. Choreographed by Dominique Kelley.

Cast; Marty Austin Lamar, Connie Jackson, Ledisi, Chester Gregory, Matalie Wachen

Music Department; William Foster McDaniel Music Director, Piano; Land Richards Drums; Keith Fiddmont Saxophones; Fernando Pullum Trumpet; Weldon Scott Bass; Luther Henderson Musical Adaptations, Orchestrations, and Arrangements; Jeffrey Gutcheon Vocal and Musical Concepts; Jeffre Gutcheon and William Elliott Musical Arrangements.

Production and Creative: Dominique Kelley Choreography; Wren T. Brown Direction, Founder, Producing Artistic Director; John Iacovelli ז״ל Scenic Design; Wendell Carmichael Costume Design; Andrew Schmedeke Lighting Design; Danny Fiandaca Sound Design; Kevin Williams Property Designer; Elsbeth M. Collins Production Stage Manager; Sir Tony Wig Design; Cynthia Ayala Co-Lighting Designer; Candace Brown Assoc. Choreographer; Patty Onagan Consulting Public Relations; Gayle L. Hooks Managing Director; Andi Chapman Assoc. Artistic Director; Courtland Trapp Technical Director; Israel Hicks Founding Artistic Director.

Producers: Ebony Repertory Theatre in association with Fig Street Films. Originally produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club. Originally Produced on Broadway by Emanual Azenberg, Dasha Epstein, the Shubert Organization, and Jane Gaynor & Ron Dante.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a retired cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, Chromolume Theatre, and 5-Star Theatricals.

Want to find a show: Check out the Theatre Commons LA show list. Other good lists are the Theatre in LA listings; the TodayTix listings; OnStage 411 (use the “shows” drop down); and Theatermania.

Shows left and right have been announcing that they will be going on tour (even shows that are closing). So, even though we haven’t started the 2026-2027 seasons for Broadway in Hollywood (BIH) and the Center Theatre Group (CTG), here are my predictions for the 2027-2028 seasons in Los Angeles.
^* indicates shows for which tours are not yet announce, but I’m guessing they will tour. 🏆 indicates 2026 Tony Award winning; ^⭐ indicates nominee.
Sources: Playbill as indicated, Tours to You, Broadway League Tours.

Show	Where It Will End Up
The Lost Boys 🏆	BIH/Pantages
Ragtime 🏆	BIH/Pantages
Every Brilliant Thing ⭐	CTG/Taper, but note there will be a local production at The Main in Sept. 2026
Beaches	BIH/Pantages
Titanique ⭐	BIH/Pantages
Just In Time	BIH/Pantages
Two Strangers Carry A Cake Across New York ⭐	CTG/Ahmanson
Schmigadoon! 🏆	BIH/Pantages
Cats: The Jellicle Ball* 🏆	CTG/Taper, but poss. BIH/Pantages
Giant* 🏆	CTG/Ahmanson (but possibly as a local production)
Rocky Horror – New Broadway Production* ⭐	BIH/Pantages
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella	BIH/Pantages (Add-On)
Heathers – The Musical	CTG/Ahmanson
Liberation* 🏆	In 2027 at the Geffen Playhouse
The Ballusters* ⭐	Local production at the Geffen or Pasadena Playhouse.

Additionally, May saw the opening of ticket sales for the Hollywood Fringe Festival. There are over 2,150 performances over the month of June; there are 439 shows listed in the show catalog. These all occur during the month of June, with multiple shows throughout the day. 20 minutes to move in; then the show; 20 minutes to move out. Ticket prices are low. The shows run the gamut, from totally strange to one person shows to full on short plays to musical reviews. You’re sure to find something you’ll like.

Upcoming

Key: ♦ Theatre / 🎼 Music / 🎙 Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

• June: ♦ Elegies at Chromolume; ♦ Primary Trust at CTG/Taper; ♦ Mamma Mia at CTG/Ahmanson.
• July: ♦ Mexodus at Pasadena Playhouse; ♦ The Wizard of Oz at 5-Star Theatricals; ♦ If/Then at Chromolume Theatre.
• August: ♦ Beauty and the Beast at BIH/Pantages;
• September: ♦ Water for Elephants at BIH/Pantages; ♦⊕ The Visit at Pasadena Playhouse; ♦ The Turning at Taper/CTG; 🎼 Sutton Foster at The Soraya; ♦⊕ Catch Me If You Can at The Colony Theatre; ♦⊕Every Brilliant Thing at The Main; 

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as One Never Knows, Do One? | "Ain't Misbehavin'" @ Ebony Rep by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.