OKC's Lyric Theatre celebrates Black excellence with Tony-winning show 'Ain't Misbehavin''

A showcase of the music of jazz innovator Fats Waller, "Ain't Misbehavin'" also celebrates Black culture, excellence and history.

Plus, the show is just as fun as the feisty title indicates, said Charlie Ludden, assistant director for Lyric Theatre's upcoming production.

"It's an all-Black show that's about music, and for Black culture, music is such a highlight of what we do in everyday life," said Ludden, who also is the audience host, an understudy and swing on the show.

As part of its 60th anniversary season, Lyric Theatre is closing its three-show summer run at Civic Center Music Hall with its July 25-30 production of "Ain't Misbehavin'."

"People want to laugh. People want to go to a place where there's something fun, nothing's being required of them, they can take the ride with the performers on stage and leave feeling good. In 'Ain't Misbehavin',' this music is beautiful. The lyrics are so pure and authentic, the performers and the orchestra are top-notch," said Monique Midgette, who is directing Lyric's production.

Who was Fats Waller and how does 'Ain't Misbehavin'' pay homage to his music?

With "Ain't Misbehavin'," Lyric Theatre is hearkening back to the days of the Harlem Renaissance, the early 20th century emergence of New York City's Harlem neighborhood as a Black cultural hub. Spanning from the 1910s into the 1930s, it is considered a golden age for African American music, literature and art.

Black icons to emerge during that time include Langston Hughes, Josephine Baker, Louis Armstrong and Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller. A New York City native, Waller was a talented jazz pianist and songwriter who penned such lively hits as "Ain't Misbehavin'," “Honeysuckle Rose" and "Squeeze Me." His musical talents and comedic persona helped him became a radio and film star in the 1930s, but Waller's life was cut short as he died in 1943 at age 39 after contracting bronchial pneumonia.

"Ain't Misbehavin'" features many of the songs Waller wrote, along with other jazz standards he recorded and helped popularize, including “T Aint Nobody’s Biz-ness if I Do," "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" and "Two Sleepy People."

"There's a lot of songs in the show that people know, even if they don't know that this was specifically Fats Waller's music," Midgette said.  "Life in those days of the Harlem Renaissance, it was wonderful, the fabrics were beautiful, and everyone looks so wonderful. But sometimes you dress wonderfully because your life isn't all that you'd hoped it would be. So, it's just about the journey of getting more authentic in your life and your experience through these brilliant songs that Fats Waller wrote."

An 'American Idol' finalist and Broadway performer are starring in Lyric's summer closer

Conceived by Richard Maltby Jr. and Murray Horwitz, "Ain't Misbehavin'" bowed on Broadway in 1978 and won three Tony Awards, including best musical, best direction of a musical for Maltby and best performance by a featured actress in a musical for Nell Carter. The musical revue helped establish Carter as a stage star before she earned her screen fame in the 1980s sitcom "Gimme a Break."

The original Broadway run also spotlighted such talented performers as André DeShields, Debbie Allen and Ken Page.

"This show, the way it's done is, basically, you are yourself. The original actors even kept their own names when they did the show. So, in our production, I am not Ken Page, but I'm singing the songs Ken Page sang in the show," said Ludden, who is making his Lyric Theatre debut.

Unlike a traditional musical, Midgette noted that "Ain't Misbehavin'" doesn't have a book or script that lays out a formal narrative.

"In framing it as an evening with this fantastically talented group of performers, you do get to know more about them as the night moves on. But there's no book attached. It's just a series of songs," Midgette said.

Making her Lyric Theatre debut in the show is Paris Bennett, a top five finalist on "American Idol" Season 5 who has performed on Broadway in "Ain't Misbehavin'," "Rent" and "The Rocky Horror Show."

An Oklahoma City University alumnus who has appeared on Broadway in "Hadestown," "Memphis" and the 2019 Tony-winning revival of "Oklahoma!," Will Mann also stars in Lyric's "Aint' Misbehavin'." Mann previously appeared in Lyric's productions of "Hello, Dolly!," "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Aida."

How is Lyric Theatre recreating the Harlem Renaissance vibe for its upcoming show?

To give audiences an immersive experience, Midgette said Lyric's "Ain't Misbehavin'" will transform the Civic Center's main-stage Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre into a space reminiscent of the Savoy Ballroom or the Cotton Club, two iconic venues of the Harlem Renaissance.

"We'll have our orchestra on stage ... and onstage seating for some audience members. We have several tables on the main stage, and then on the lower stage, too, for the audience to be a part of this immersive feel. There is a stage in the center of the stage that the performers use, but they move throughout," she said.

"There's a bar, so there's moments that they have on the bar. There's moments where they're singing to and around the audience members. There's times, in more intimate numbers, where they'll sit at a table and sing a song ... but we're hoping to make the entire space feel immersive."

As assistant director, Ludden has been recruiting 20 local Black performers, leaders and churchgoers per performance to dress up in 1920s-era finery and sit on stage during the shows.

"They will look like you are truly in the clubs in Harlem back in that time, so it gives that extra element of authenticity for everyone," said Ludden, who has performed with Sooner Theatre, Poteet Theatre and Kismet Theatre and works as development manager for Oklahoma City Ballet.

He has a "look book" he's been showing onstage audience members to help them get ideas on how to dress for the period, and he said many of them are excited to be a part of a big Civic Center show.

"You put on the three-piece suit, you put on the bowler hat that I definitely do not wear my regular, and you just feel different. Then, you're excited about how you feel. But then you look to your left, and you see your castmates and they're dressed the same way. And it just brings that elegance, that excitement," said Ludden, who starred in Poteet Theatre's 2011 production of "Ain't Misbehavin'."

"I love doing 'Dreamgirls.' I love 'The Color Purple' ... but in 'Ain't Misbehavin',' these lyrics, these songs, are the whole piece. It's everything: Everything is the music. So, that's the connection that's ... just uplifting. It makes you want to make sure you get every single thing right, because it is so beautiful when it's done well."

'AIN'T MISBEHAVIN''

• When: July 25-30.

• Where: Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N Walker.

• Tickets and information: https://lyrictheatreokc.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC's Lyric Theatre revisits Harlem Renaissance in 'Ain't Misbehavin'"