Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Parade of pleasures offsets drawbacks

This touring production of “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” is loaded, top to bottom, with some of the most fun, most swinging, most infectious music ever invented.

All of this music arrives courtesy of Fats Waller, stride piano genius, who seemed to exude a capacity for making people happy. I dare any human being not to break into a grin during “Your Feet’s Too Big,” a ditty about a woman with massive feet. I dare anybody to sit still during “The Joint Is Jumping.” I dare anybody not to be moved by the lament of “Black and Blue.”

Nevertheless, I need to say: This is not the best production of “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” I’ve ever seen.

A couple of factors hold it back. The first is its marquee star, Ruben Studdard. He’s a fine singer and an amiable stage presence. Yet he never really sells his songs like a true Broadway star, or for that matter, like the rest of the cast. His delivery is on the muted side; he swallows the lyrics in the quieter phrases of his songs.

It’s almost like they hired him for his “American Idol” credentials as opposed to his Broadway-musical acumen. Imagine that.

The second factor is more technical. In the best productions I’ve seen of “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” the scene designers did a great job of making us feel we were in a Harlem nightclub, circa 1935. This national tour has a gorgeous, attractive set, with plush maroon curtains and a giant archway. Yet we certainly never felt we were in the Cotton Club.

Still, this production featured a long and impressive parade of pleasures, beginning with Arthur W. Marks, the other male member of the cast. Marks is the opposite of Studdard: skinny, lithe, full of snappy humor and a great, great dancer. Marks provided many of the best moments of the show, including his wicked, cackling ode to reefer, “The Viper’s Drag,” and his loose-limbed movement on “Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness If I Do.”

Frenchie Davis blasted her way through the show like a tornado as well. She also has “American Idol” credentials, but she proved to have a commanding stage presence, a terrific voice and a wicked sense of humor. The two other female cast members, Patrice Covington and Trenyce Cobbins, were also top-notch singers and comediennes.

Pianist David Alan Bunn and a six-piece onstage combo provided the show’s musical base – and what a solid base that is. Bunn, sitting prominently at his honky-tonk upright, demonstrated exactly what stride piano is, and why it is some of the most infectious music ever made.

The show has a number of high points, including the duet between Studdard and Davis on one of Waller’s most famous songs, “Honeysuckle Rose.”

Yet the show’s emotional high point was a powerfully staged version of “Black and Blue,” a haunting lament that reveals some of Waller’s deeper feelings about being black in America in the 1920s.

The cast members are seated in a line across the stage, as the emotions bounce between them.

“What did I do, to be so black and blue?” they sing.

Fats Waller’s music is ridiculously fun; but it’s not just for fun.

“Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” continues through Sunday. Call TicketsWest outlets (509-325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).