‘Ain’t Misbehavin’"

Two River Theatre Company has this musical revue of Fats Waller’s most popular numbers.

By: Stuart Duncan
   Songwriter Thomas Waller earned his nickname "Fats" by weighing in at 285 pounds. He earned his reputation as one of the world’s greatest jazz pianists and one of the most exuberantly funny entertainers more slowly over the years. He took up the piano at age 6, probably learning from his mother, who played piano and organ.
   He was playing in a school orchestra at 14, made his first record at 18 and then played in theaters and clubs, starting to attract attention as a composer and lyricist. But his habit of overeating and overdrinking took its toll. He became ill during a gig at the Zanzibar Room in Hollywood in December 1943 and decided to head back to New York for a rest. He never made it, dying at a station stop in Kansas City. He was 39.
   Thirty years ago, producer, director and songwriter Richard Maltby Jr. put together a show composed of Waller’s songs — 30 of them — running the very wide gamut from "Your Feet’s Too Big" to "Two Sleepy People," "The Joint is Jumpin’" to "I Can’t Give You Anything But Love." It shows his extraordinary versatility and range.
   He called it Ain’t Misbehavin’ after one of Waller’s most popular numbers. A company of five joins a half dozen musicians and if done well, the evening will knock your socks off. The production currently at Two River Theater Company in Red Bank is done more than properly — it is a dandy. There are three huge reasons for you to put this on your calendar: first, the director Saundra McClain, who came in from the West Coast to handle the show. It was not her first assignment on Ain’t Misbehavin’ — she won the New York Drama Critics Award for best ensemble production in 2003 for a production at Playhouse on the Green in Bridgeport, Conn.
   The second reason is Kathleen Murphy Jackson, who has a voice so extraordinary that it is worth the trip to Red Bank just to check it out. Last but not least, musical director Ronald Metcalf, who conducts from the piano, clearly is one of the great jazz pianists himself. Don’t overlook the others: Lucy Shropshire, Charles E. Wallace, James Alexander and Rebecca E. Covington. Toward the finale, when the five gather tightly to sing "Black and Blue," you realize just what Waller meant to future generations.
   Two River has just introduced a new program of instructive sessions before each performance to allow audiences to gain new insights into the productions. They are calling it "fore-play."
Ain’t Misbehavin’ continues at Two River Theater Company, 21 Bridge St., Red Bank, through Oct. 22. Tickets cost $30-$54. For information, call (732) 345-1400. On the Web: www.trtc.org