Photo by Joseph Ste. Marie
Sharman Yarnell for Curtains Up
Wowza! What a trip at The Segal! ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ absolutely rocks the room! The term “this joint is jumpin” is, quite frankly, inadequate.
It’s hard to go wrong with the music of Fats Waller, but when you have a cast made up of Kim Richardson, Aiza Ntibarikure, Jonathan Emile, Toya Alexis and Michael-Lamont Lytle, you actually take it a step further and knock the roof off the house. What a superb ensemble with the actors playing off each other and the audience beautifully.
Photo by Joseph Ste. Marie
Richardson is every bit a jazz diva and her rendition of ‘Mean to Me’ in the second act of the show is superb.
It’s Emile’s first time on stage in a musical and he carries off his role most admirably – Hjis ‘Viper’ is played to the hilt, much to the delight of the audience. Loved the lighting in this sequence as well –
And talking about “delight of the audience”…Lytle’s ‘Your Feet’s Too Big’ is another great crowd pleaser with the audience joining in .
Alexis has a wonderful voice, husky at times, reminding you of the smoke filled jazz dens these divas once had to work in. She’s great with Richardson in “Find Out What They Like”.
Photo by Joseph Ste. Marie
Fats Waller wrote with a tremendous sense of humour and Ntibarikure knows exactly what to do with that humour. It’s in her every move, her every look. She is absolutely outstanding! She is a 5’1 (That’s what she says!) dynamo who has the audience leaning forward in their seats every time she walks out on stage – eagerly waiting to see what she does. She never lets you down. She twinkles, she’s happy and, quite frankly, she’s a thrill to watch on stage – a diamond.
Director Roger Peace has put together a smooth interlace of Waller’s music and dance. The performance is quick paced, builds in excitement and carries us along visually with smart choreography.
The ensemble of actors is lead by the electric talent of Chris Barillaro. He is so wonderfully supportive of them and his fellow band members.
The great thing about the show is the audience participation that occurs so spontaneously, and what fun! Sing along, tap your feet, sway and clap to songs like ‘Honeysuckle Rose’, ‘Fat and Greasy’, ‘It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie’. At times you are encouraged to do so by the actors and at other times you just can’t help yourself –
The set by Jean Claude Olivier is simple. It effectively conjures up a bygone era of swing and jazz in the smokey dens of New York. Waller actually played in smaller, more intimate settings, drawing the audience to him – On the wider open spaces of the Segal some of that intimacy is lost. The costumes by Karen Pearce are beautifully fitting with the era.
The first act is a little tame, the second act is full of that sass, raunch and comedy that allows the actors to let loose and have fun. And they do!
Waller is known for the complexity of his music (five part harmony for the singers to struggle with, for example) and the various musical darings that gave rise to later influences throughout the genre. However, it is so smoothly and cleverly put together, it’s not obvious – its complexities are rich and lots of fun to tap and sing to.
Ain’t Misbehavin’ is just the ticket for a great evening out for super entertainment. Forget your worries, sit back and enjoy. Montreal audiences need a bit of fun, comedy and laughter in their lives at the moment – This is it! I dare anyone to go to this production and not walk out feeling on top of the world!
Ain’t Misbehavin’ is on at The Segal through to October 20.
Box Office: 514-739-7944
On line: www.segal.org
