Hatiloo ready to take on rowdy tribute to Harlem, 'Ain't Misbehavin'

Jon W. Sparks/Special to The Commercial Appeal

Hatiloo Theatre's production of "Ain't Misbehavin" lets the company flex its chops.

Hattiloo Theatre's season-opener "Ain't Misbehavin'" aims not just to be a robust entertainment, but also to set the standard for productions to come.

"It's a play I've wanted to produce since Hattiloo opened," said theater founder and creative director Ekundayo Bandele. "It's such a musically challenging production and also one that has an underlying theme, but not a story, and I feel that we're mature enough now as a theater to produce the play."

"Ain't Misbehavin'" first appeared in 1978, a tribute to the Harlem Renaissance using music by legendary stride pianist and songwriter Fats Waller. It's a series of rowdy and witty songs by Waller and others in a nightclub setting.

Director Dennis Whitehead had helmed the show before when he lived in Austin, Texas. "The music is playful and full of innuendo — the 1930s Harlem Renaissance vernacular," he said during rehearsal this week. "I love the energy of this show, and I truly love all the songs, many of which hadn't been heard much before."

He said one of the elements of this production he particularly likes is that there's more musical theater involved throughout, not just a series of static tunes. "Our choreographer, Emma Crystal, has done a fantastic job with that," Whitehead said. Crystal is a member of the Hattiloo company and choreographed its recent production of "The Wiz." She's done many productions around town and has been doing a one-woman show, "I Am Somebody ... Else," that she wrote and performed.

Whitehead has been in Memphis since 2005, working as resident music director at Playhouse on the Square for a couple of years, and is now director of Choral Arts at St. George's Independent Schools and does private vocal coaching.

This is his first directing job with Hattiloo, but it was a natural fit. "There are only a couple of directors I'd trust to do it," Bandele said. "When I had him and Emma as choreographer, I felt confident of putting it on."

Whitehead said it's a challenging and uplifting experience working at Hattiloo. "It's got so much soul here, and I feel that working with the African-American community ties me to the people, the theater and the production."

Ain't Misbehavin'

7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 28. 2 p.m. matinee Aug. 13. Hattiloo Theatre, 656 Marshall. Tickets: $5 to $25. Contact the box office at 525-0009 or hattilootheatre.org.

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