Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Ain’t Misbehavin’ at San Diego Musical Theatre

Amber Mercomes, Rufus Bonds Jr. Jenelle Randal
Amber Mercomes, Rufus Bonds Jr. Jenelle Randal

Ain't Misbehavin': The Fats Waller Musical Show

Some definitions:

Harlem Renaissance: a flourishing of African-American art centered on, but not exclusive to, Harlem. Begun in the 1920s, it included writing by Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, and innovative music by Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, and Thomas Wright “Fats” Waller made the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theatre the hottest spots in town.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Many say it wasn’t a renaissance – a “re-birth” – since it carried on a long tradition of boundary-busting, only this time with more light on it.

Stride piano: offspring of Ragtime. A jazz style where the left hand’s like the rhythm section in a band, while the right hand syncopates and embellishes the melody. The left hand hops up and down; the right jitterbugs sideways, back and forth, across the keys.

“Fats” Waller (1904-1943). See San Diego Musical Theatre’s Ain’t Misbehavin’. Originally conceived by Murray Horowitz and Richard Maltby, Jr., the piece provides few biographical details. Instead, the revue releases the energy of the “renaissance,” the spunk of the “stride” style (among others), and Waller’s irrepressible spirit.

Sylvia MacCalla & David LaMarr

(It’s too bad some details aren’t included, like the time four thugs kidnapped the 285 pound Waller in Chicago, took him to the Hawthorne Inn, and ordered him to perform at gunpoint – for Al Capone’s birthday party, for which Waller, after the initial shock, played three days and nights and earned thousands of dollars).

Like Waller, the Ron Kellum-directed, SDMT production is sassy through and through. As singers belt, probing fingers misbehave and entendre’s double. Some of the lyrics have sexual codes. The impish, five-person cast makes sure that no meanings remain hidden.

As when Ken (Rufus Bonds, Jr.) and Nell (Sylvia MacCalla) sing Waller’s immortal “Honeysuckle Rose,” with a defiant emphasis on syllable number three.

There’s so much talent it’s hard – nay, almost unfair – to single out highlights. That said, David LaMarr’s sly, comic version of “The Viper’s Drag” (aka. “The Reefer Song,” which he sings while smoking a goodly-sized spliff) is a must see/hear. As is the quintet’s “(What Did I Do to Get So) Black and Blue” – doing William Elliott’s gorgeous choral arrangement. And Amber Mercomes’ “Squeeze Me,” and just about every move Jenelle Randall makes, be it singing or dancing (even doing both badly on purpose in the hilarious “Yacht Club Swing”).

The cast performs on a club/bandstand set, the inverted U-shaped arch framed with piano keys (as if ergonomic for a giant). The band - paced by Wreckless Watson on drums and Lanny Hartley’s textbook Stride style, piano accompaniment - keeps the “joint jumpin” all night long.

You feeling down? You feeling blue? SDMT’s got a show for you!

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

How Much Time Do I Get With My BetterHelp Therapist?

Next Article

Time’s up for Doubletime Recording Studio

Owner Jeff Forrest is trading El Cajon for Portugal
Amber Mercomes, Rufus Bonds Jr. Jenelle Randal
Amber Mercomes, Rufus Bonds Jr. Jenelle Randal

Ain't Misbehavin': The Fats Waller Musical Show

Some definitions:

Harlem Renaissance: a flourishing of African-American art centered on, but not exclusive to, Harlem. Begun in the 1920s, it included writing by Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, and innovative music by Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, and Thomas Wright “Fats” Waller made the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theatre the hottest spots in town.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Many say it wasn’t a renaissance – a “re-birth” – since it carried on a long tradition of boundary-busting, only this time with more light on it.

Stride piano: offspring of Ragtime. A jazz style where the left hand’s like the rhythm section in a band, while the right hand syncopates and embellishes the melody. The left hand hops up and down; the right jitterbugs sideways, back and forth, across the keys.

“Fats” Waller (1904-1943). See San Diego Musical Theatre’s Ain’t Misbehavin’. Originally conceived by Murray Horowitz and Richard Maltby, Jr., the piece provides few biographical details. Instead, the revue releases the energy of the “renaissance,” the spunk of the “stride” style (among others), and Waller’s irrepressible spirit.

Sylvia MacCalla & David LaMarr

(It’s too bad some details aren’t included, like the time four thugs kidnapped the 285 pound Waller in Chicago, took him to the Hawthorne Inn, and ordered him to perform at gunpoint – for Al Capone’s birthday party, for which Waller, after the initial shock, played three days and nights and earned thousands of dollars).

Like Waller, the Ron Kellum-directed, SDMT production is sassy through and through. As singers belt, probing fingers misbehave and entendre’s double. Some of the lyrics have sexual codes. The impish, five-person cast makes sure that no meanings remain hidden.

As when Ken (Rufus Bonds, Jr.) and Nell (Sylvia MacCalla) sing Waller’s immortal “Honeysuckle Rose,” with a defiant emphasis on syllable number three.

There’s so much talent it’s hard – nay, almost unfair – to single out highlights. That said, David LaMarr’s sly, comic version of “The Viper’s Drag” (aka. “The Reefer Song,” which he sings while smoking a goodly-sized spliff) is a must see/hear. As is the quintet’s “(What Did I Do to Get So) Black and Blue” – doing William Elliott’s gorgeous choral arrangement. And Amber Mercomes’ “Squeeze Me,” and just about every move Jenelle Randall makes, be it singing or dancing (even doing both badly on purpose in the hilarious “Yacht Club Swing”).

The cast performs on a club/bandstand set, the inverted U-shaped arch framed with piano keys (as if ergonomic for a giant). The band - paced by Wreckless Watson on drums and Lanny Hartley’s textbook Stride style, piano accompaniment - keeps the “joint jumpin” all night long.

You feeling down? You feeling blue? SDMT’s got a show for you!

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Mang Tomas, banana ketchup barred in San Diego

What will happen to Filipino Christmas here?
Next Article

Will Trump’s Baja resort be built after all?

Long-stalled development sparks art exhibit, gets new life
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader