Back in January 1978, when Richard Maltby, Jr. first started working on Ain’t Misbehavin’: the Fats Waller Musical, he had a stack of sheet music and a bunch of good ideas.
By February 1, he was in first rehearsal. By May 1, the show was on Broadway. By June 1, he had a Tony Award. “I thought that’s what show business was,” he laughed on Tuesday.
The show has been much imitated over the years, but never duplicated. “It’s the gold standard,” said Interim Managing Director Josh Borenstein.
Maltby said those other shows miss something inherent about Ain’t Misbehavin’. “They don’t steal the right things,” he said. There is a heart and unique personality about the piece – it can be viewed as a great entertainment, but there is more there for the taking. It is about the lives of artists in Harlem in the 1920s and 1930s. There are clearly drawn characters and a great story line, despite the fact that there isn’t a book for the show.
Above all, the show is a tribute to one of the truly great artists of his generation, Fats Waller. We get to hear the actors rehearse the amazing music all day long, so here is a little taste of what we are hearing. Courtesy of YouTube, here is Fats himself singing a few of his greatest hits.
This Joint is Jumpin’
Honeysuckle Rose
Ain’t Misbehavin’