On Wednesday night I took the whole fam-damily to see Ain't Misbehavin' at the Bluma Appel Theatre. What a great show! I saw it originally about 20 years ago when it was first making the rounds and became an instant fan of the revue. Back then, I had already been familiar with much of the music, but wasn't familiar with Fats Waller.

The Toronto production stars Jackie Richardson, Kim Richardson, Divine Brown, Starr Dominique, Doug Eskew, and David Lopez. What a great cast!

They all had such great voices and really knew how to use them -- a little thing I like to call "dynamics". The two men were fabulous -- one moved like has was made of rubber (David Lopez) and the other played a great Fats Waller character (Doug Eskew). Great numbers included "Black and Blue", "Honeysuckle Rose", "The Joint is Jumpin'", "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Lounging at the Waldorf".

The band was great too. The kids loved every minute of the show (even if they didn't quite get the "Viper" song, which was a real highlight of the show...) and joined in heartily during "Fat and Greasy"!

I know it was a Wednesday night, but the house wasn't very full. In fact the four of us snuck into one of the boxes for Act 2. Did I mention how much I LOVE boxes? I saw Urinetown in a box and it feels like they are putting on the show just for you.

Parents: Go out and buy tickets to this show and bring the whole gang. It's a great night of great music and great performances.

And don't forget: Get some cash for your trash!

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