Ain't Misbehavin'

Since seeing "Ain't Misbehavin" at Portland Center Stage, I've been trying to find a way to convey the marvel and awe I felt at this production. This may be a familiar group of songs by a beloved American composer, but the staging and performance are joyfully surprising. This is a masterful work from everyone involved.

Directed by Chris Coleman, who also serves as PCS Artistic Director, "Ain't Misbehavin" steps out of the traditional staging as a nightclub act. Coleman's staging strides boldly into broad, life-giving vignettes that explore more expansive meaning from the songs.

Instead of the traditional five-person, two-dimensional performance, the PCS staging boasts a cast of eight principals and three supporting actors to tell the stories within the songs. The result is a vibrant, exuberant show full of pathos and humor.

The actors appear onstage as neighbors in a city neighborhood, greeting each other on their way to work. Singing along with the radio playing Fats Waller music, they enter their workplace -- the kitchen of a presumably wealthy family -- and continue their conversation-like performance. As they sing the popular songs of the day, they communicate their relationships, their roles in the scene, through their parts in the song.

The scenes shift through a fascinating rotating set that provided five lower "rooms" and three upper, including the kitchen, a saloon, a sidewalk, a living room and a different, smaller kitchen. The upper space allowed for a bedroom, a balcony and the upper level of an alleyway. I would love to get a look at this set up close: I *still* can't figure it out! But the variety of spaces in which the actors could move enhanced the different songs they were performing.

But Coleman didn't stop at spectacular sets and interesting staging. He also decided to tweak the meaning of these tried-and-true songs by employing big twists and small all over the place. In one of the first songs of the show, "Honeysuckle Rose," when the lascivious barfly is trying to woo the attractive woman sitting at a table, his efforts are undermined when another woman enters the scene and takes over the singing, wooing the woman for herself.

When a man breaks up with a woman because "Her Feet's Too Big," he is immediately ridiculed and reviled in the former safety of the public house, where his friends turn his words against him and reject HIM because his "feet's too big." The promissory note "Keeping Out of Mischief Now" becomes a woman's heartbroken, last-ditch attempt to keep her man from walking out.

And now, the cast.

I have a pretty high bar for music performance, but from the first few notes of this show, it was clear these are exceptionally talented musicians. From startling and shiver-inducing baritone of David St. Louis to the sweetness of Olivia Phillip's voice, every actor delivered a brilliant performance.

Maiesha McQueen brought me to tears with "Mean to Me," Demone's suede-toned tenor was thrilling, David Jennings brought an air of dangerous charm, and Charity Angel Dawson a regal delivery. Mia Michelle McClain and Andre Ward, the primary dancing duo, also shared their spectacular singing.

Because of the staging of songs as part of an arcing storyline, the ensemble performance of "Black and Blue" had particular weight. From the kitchen help to the drug-addicted alley dwellers, this production touched on racial issues in new way. When singing "Lounging at the Waldorf," the cast delivered a weariness, a knowing despair at the things that are out of reach. The staging forces a dissonance the levity of the songs does not suggest. "When the Nylons Bloom Again" is imbued with commentary on the privilege of white culture, that a shortage of luxury goods is significant to the white folk.

"Viper's Drag" had a particular oozing sorrow over the fate of people trapped by drug use. In "Fat and Greasy," the cast lampooned the upper class (whites, presumably) they were serving, in the same way "Upstairs Downstairs (Downton Abbey?)" gave a peek into class differences. And when we reach "Black and Blue," the ceaseless burden of blackness has given way to despondency. Because the songs are connected by a hint of a narrative, the drama of the whole show is powerful. In our very white city, I was glad to hear voices of people of color speaking relatively bold truths about their experience.

Hearty congratulations to the cast, pit band, director and scenic designer and builders for a dynamic and deeply affecting performance. I long to see this show again, to savor every note, and to figure out how that crazy set works. Maybe this will be the first time I see a show for a second time. One never knows, do one?

"Ain't Misbehavin'" runs through Nov. 29 at Portland Center Stage, Gerding Theatre, 128 NW 11th Ave., Portland, OR 97209. For tickets and information, call 503-445-3700 or go to http://www.pcs.org/misbehavin/ for tickets.