STAGE REVIEW : ‘Ain’t Misbehavin” Is Fats and Sassy Fun

Seductive, sassy and throbbingly human--the high-stepping swing music of Thomas (Fats) Waller tickles and teases, taunts and tantalizes in the Tony-award winning musical, “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” presented by Charles H. Dugganat at the Lyceum Stage through March 4.

There isn’t a word of scripted dialogue, but whether he is “taking sips” from “tasty lips” in “Honeysuckle Rose,” celebrating how “The Joint is Jumpin’,” or wondering plaintively “What did I do, to be so black and blue,” the 30 songs tell a story of a vital personality, hard-living until he died in 1943 at age 39.

It’s hard to imagine the author of the raunchy “Find Out What They Like” as a preacher’s son. Small wonder Daddy didn’t approve.

And yet, if religion is a celebration of life in its supreme complexity, there is no doubt that this repertory fits the bill as a testimonial by a man who delighted in life in all its earthy ordinariness--from the romancing to the bickering to the crying.

Hear it for the first time , and you’ll wonder where this music has been all your life. Hear it again , and you’ll wonder why it took so long for Broadway to do something with the work and, indeed, why it doesn’t do more.

But that is part of the old story of the neglected African-American composer in American musical theater. Except for a handful of musical revues like “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “Sophisticated Ladies,” “Bubblin’ Brown Sugar” and “Eubie,” all of which came out around the same pre- and very early-Reagan years--black music, like the currently running “Black and Blue,” is still the exception rather than the rule on Broadway.

The work is well-served by the five-person ensemble, all of whom are either veterans from the 1978 Broadway show or the revival.

Between the five singers and the five instrumentalists behind a sheer curtain, conductor and pianist William Foster McDaniel pulls out many exquisite musical moments above and beyond the numbers that give each of the individual performers something to sing about.

Former United States International University student Terri White , who replaced Nell Carter in both the original and the revival productions, oozes every drop of honey out of “Honeysuckle Rose” with partner Evan Bell, a solid singer who proves himself master of the suggestive look.

Eric Riley, another veteran of both productions, and the sharpest of the dancers, brings down the house with an unlikely ode to the reefer called “The Viper’s Drag.”

Alisa Gyse-Dickens soars with “Keepin’ Out of Mischief Now , “ and Kecia Lewis-Evans, a silky siren with “Squeeze Me,” sweetens the whole mix with her persuasive soprano.

Richard Maltby Jr.’s direction, along with Arthur Faria’s choreography, play up the sensual and kidding aspects of Waller’s sensibility. The costumes by Randy Barcelo are pleasing.

The main faults are technical ones, hardly surprising in a touring show, given a minimum amount of time to set up before opening.

Some unfortunate miking, especially in the first act, gives some of the singers a tinny sound , and the lighting by Clarke W. Thornton falters.

As for the set, although not fancy it serves as a welcome reminder that you don’t need roller skates or thousands of flashing lights to put on a good show. All you need is the human talent and heart to get the joint to jumpin’. Give “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” a hand for getting the Lyceum stage to jump higher than it has in a long time.

“AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ ”

A revue of Thomas (Fats) Waller music conceived and directed by Richard Maltby, Jr. Choreography by Arthur Faria. Set by John L. Beatty. Costumes by Randy Barcelo. Lighting by Clark Thornton. With Terri White, Eric Riley, Kecia Lewis-Evans, Evan Bell and Rosemarie Jackson. At 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3, through March 4. Tickets are $20-$25. At 79 Horton Plaza; 231-3586.