American Idol winner performs Ain't Misbehavin'

By: Jilll Beathard

Posted: 2/10/09

American Idol 2003 Ruben Studdard will star in MSC OPAS's presentation of Ain't Misbehavin', a musical telling the story of jazz legend Fats Waller through his music.

Studdard is joined by former Idol contestant Frenchie Davis in the production. Davis also performed in Rent on Broadway.

"It has a lot of really great vocalists in it. These are really phenomenal performers," said OPAS Student Chairwoman Leigh Sinclair, a senior biomedical engineering major.

Fats Waller began his recording career in 1922 singing and playing piano at rent parties, parties at which guests would bring a small amount of money to contribute to their host's rent for that month. Musicians competed in

"cutting contests" in which the guests would decide who was the most talented, according to the Routledge Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance.

Seven years later, Waller wrote the score for the Broadway show Hot Chocolates, which included his famous song "Ain't Misbehavin.'" Waller got his big break when he signed with Victor Records in 1934, and he recorded with them until his death in 1943, according to the Red Hot Jazz Archive.

The musical Ain't Misbehavin' features the title song as well as hits like "Honeysuckle Rose," "Your Feets Too Big" and "This Joint is Jumpin'."

Ain't Misbehavin' won the 1978 Tony Award for Best Musical. This performance is part of the musical's 30th anniversary tour. The tour opened late in 2008 and is getting good reviews across the nation, Sinclair said.

Ticket Information
Ain't Misbehavin will be 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday in Rudder Theatre. Rush tickets will be available at the MSC box office for $20.