TheBadminton Theatretransforms intoCotton Club and everyone swing dances to his heartHarlem! TheAin’t Misbehavin’is aMusical in a scriptMurray Horwitzand Richard Maltby Jr. andmusic by Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller. From the famous song he wrote himself 1929, after all, got the work and its name. It is a tribute to the African-American musicians of the 20s and 30s who were part of the so-called Harlem Renaissance (Harlem Renaissance), a time of growing creativity, cultural awareness and national pride.

It was a time when Manhattan's legendary nightclubs, such as the Cotton Club and Savoy Ballroom,  and Lenox Avenue set the tone for high society entertainment, filled with pianists who were rocking the town with a 'new' beat, she was teaching the city her first steps in swing. Five performers present a noisy, "lewd" night, with humorous songs, a night that makes the audience feel like they've booked a table at the Cotton Club and just handed the wardrobe their hat and gloves.

TheAin’t Misbehavin’ premiered on February 1st 1978 in a small New York cabaret and until 5 June of the same year had won several awards in the musical category (Tony, New York Drama Critics, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk Award, Obie), while Richard Maltby Jr. (Is, Song and Dance, Baby, Miss Saigon) wins a Tony Award for Best Director and Nell Carter a Tony Award for her performance and the show's original music album received a Grammy Award. A year later, five troupes were already formed that toured the United States, while London and Paris soon surrendered to his magic. So did the rest of the world on all six world tours that have taken place to date, while now it seems completely normal that there isn't a day that Ain't Misbehavin' isn't being played somewhere in the world.

When it was first presented at the Manhattan Theater Club cabaret, one could discover the young singer Irene Cara in its cast (years later he would "shine" through the soundtrack of the hit Fame. Soon the Broadway production under the direction of Maltby, directed and choreographed by Arthur Faria, uploaded on 9 of May 1978 at the Longacre Theatre, while later he was in Plymouth and Belasco filling in at 21 of February 1982 1604 representations. The original cast included Nell Carter, Andre DeShields, Armelia McQueen, Ken Page to Charlayne Woodard.

Luther Henderson adapted Waller's score and was also the pianist for the production. Some of the replacements in the later shows were Debbie Allen, Yvette Freeman, Adriane Lenox and Alan Weeks. The West End production of the play in London premiered on 22 March of 1979 at Her Majesty's Theatre, while his revival the 1995. A Broadway revival with the same director, the same choreographer and the same cast as the first production ten years ago, premiered on 15 August 1988, at the Ambassador Theater in New York where it remained for 176 representations. The 2009 Aint Misbehavin turned thirty (30) years and the anniversary performance featured American Idol winner Ruben Studdard and contestants Frenchie Davis and Trenyce Cobbins.

In this particular performance that will be hosted at the Badminton Theater, American stars star, like Yvette Monique Clark who had excelled in Hairspray, Crowns, Chicago et al., Grammy Award nominee Patricia Covington, o Milton Nealy (Dreamgirls, The Full Monty, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Cage Aux Folles), η Rebecca Covington (Oh mama, Thoroughly Modern Millie) and TV star Wayne Pretlow (The Good Wife, Law & Order),  flanked by a talented cast of singers and dancers.

The musical direction is signed byWilliam Foster McDaniel, while the direction of Richard E. Maltby, Jr. and the choreography oArthur Faria.

• The first Broadway musical about the work and life of a songwriter/artist, by Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller.
• The first musical of its kind to win a Tony Award.
• The first musical of its kind to become a worldwide success.
• The first musical of its kind to win any kind of New York theater award.
• The first "biography" musical to which all others are compared.

 Source: culturenow.gr