Ain’t Misbehavin’ at People’s Light

For the first time since I have been reviewing theater, there were two productions of the same show that I saw in the same season- the second of which was 11 weeks after the first. The show is “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” a spirited musical review based on the music of the legendary Fats Waller. Theatre Horizon performed it in May, and it was outstanding. The production mounted on the stage at People’s Light was just as great!

            This is not a traditional musical. Created by Richard Maltby, Jr. and Murray Horwitz, it is a collection of more than two dozen songs that were created during the heyday of the Harlem Renaissance. Black people were limited in what they could and could not do, even in the North. They couldn’t even play the sports they were so good at. What resulted was an outpouring in the arts, created by and for the people they lived near. And the music they created was so extraordinary that whites often went to Harlem to hear it.

            There were many musicians in Harlem and Fats Waller was one of the best. The show, “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” was named after one of his more famous songs.  There are many songs created by this composer as well as other composers in the show, that was produced in 1978, thirty-five years after his death,

            It is not a musical story in the traditional sense. The show, which has been playing around the world for almost 50 years, is a musical review. We don’t meet Waller. What we see are five incredible singers singing powerful songs about love, about challenges, about different relationships. On stage is a pianist accompanying them in a beautifully understated performance. And then, after four or five songs, the curtain opens to reveal the 6-piece band that was also accompanying the singers.

            The first time I saw the show, I was taken with the grandeur of the costumes, the lighting, and the dances, but what impressed me most were the singers. The ensemble of five is just as powerful in the People’s Light production. In fact, local singer, Chabrelle D. Williams was in both productions! She joins a cast that has performed around the country. This is a co-production with Arkansas Repertory Theatre. I found out that the connection was Artistic Director Steve H. Broadnax III, who wrote and directed many plays for People’s Light before he took the reins at Arkansas Rep. What he put together for “Ain’t Misbehavin’” is nothing short of perfection.

            Besides Williams, I feel I must name the others in this great ensemble- Tawanna Campbell, Candace Thomas, Dorse Brown (who also choregraphed), and Marcus Allen Jordan (who was the associate director). What talent!

            I think the reason I loved it so much is that I got so much pleasure watching the ensemble beautifully singing so many great songs that I knew, while listening to the lyrics so exquisitely expressed- it was sheer poetry at its finest!

The music, the singers, the lyrics, the staging- I’m sure you will have your favorites too, but I guarantee you will love them all.

“Ain’t Misbehavin’: The Fats Waller Musical Show” A musical revue with a book by Richard Maltby Jr. and Murray Horwitz with music by Fats Waller and others at People’s Light, 39 Conestoga Rd., Malvern, PA 19355, 610-644-3500, peopleslight.org  Thru August 16, 2026