When Porchlight Music Theatre’s production of “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” closed after about a monthlong run in 2014, people clamored for the show to return.
The original cast of the 2014 Equity Joseph Jefferson Award winner for best production-revue has reunited for a revival of “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” through Dec. 20 at Stage 773 in Chicago.
“It was a feel-good show. People were really up in arms because it did not extend any longer,” said performer Robin DaSilva, of Calumet Park. “People were like, ‘We want it back.’ This is the first time Porchlight has ever had a show remounted.”
DaSilva, who worked as a teller supervisor at Heritage Bank in Blue Island, plays the role that landed Nell Carter the Tony Award for best performance by a featured actress in a musical for the Broadway run.
The original cast of Porchlight’s “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” includes Sharriese Hamilton, Donterrio Johnson, Lorenzo Rush Jr. and Lina Wass. Jeff Award-winning director and choreographer Brenda Didier (best director-revue) and music director and pianist Austin Cook (artistic specialization) also are back.
“It’s been a real treat for us to be able to get back together and do this again,” said DaSilva, who teaches music to prekindergartners to sixth-graders at John T. Pirie Fine Arts and Academic Center in Chicago.
Featuring music by Thomas “Fats” Waller and others and book by Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby Jr., “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” is set in the Jazz Age and billed as a tribute to the Harlem Renaissance.
Songs include the title track, the comedic “Fat and Greasy,” the fun of “How Ya Baby” and “The Joint is Jumpin’ ” and poignant pieces such as “Keepin’ Out of Mischief Now” and “Black and Blue.”
“It’s very rich and very different from the first time we did it,” said DaSilva, who got her graduate degree from Saint Xavier University in Chicago and did her student teaching at Hometown School in Hometown and Kolmar School in Oak Lawn.
“It’s an amazing experience just to be able to be part of it. I feel like I’m back there in that time, so it’s a really great show.”
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
“Ain’t Misbehavin’ “
When: Through Dec. 20. Opening night at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday; regular performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays (except Nov. 19 and 26 and Dec. 10), 8 p.m. Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays; matinees at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 27 and 1:30 p.m. Dec. 10.
Where: Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago
Tickets: $50 for opening night show and reception; $39 for Thursday shows and $45 for other days to Dec. 6; $48 after Dec. 6; for tickets for groups of 10 or more, call 312-423-6612 or visit grouptheatretix.com.
Information: 773-327-5252 or stage773.com; porchlightmusictheatre.org.
Etc.: Presented by Porchlight Music Theatre. Tickets for Charles Troy’s “Fats Waller: The Man Behind Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” at 2 p.m. this coming Saturday are available by calling 773-777-9884.
