AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' Comes to Laguna Playhouse

Laguna Playhouse presents the first show of the new year with the roof-raising musical revue, AIN'T MISBEHAVIN', music by Thomas “Fats” Waller, conceived by Richard Maltby, Jr. and Murray Horwitz, musical direction by Abdul Hamid Royal, choreography by Roxane Carrasco and directed by Yvette Freeman Hartley.  AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' will begin previews on Wednesday, January 24, 2024 (with a press opening on Sunday, January 28 at 5:30pm) and run through Sunday, February 11, 2024 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Dr. in Laguna Beach.

 

It's 1930's Harlem, and the joint is jumpin'! Nightclubs like the Cotton Club and the Savoy Ballroom are the playgrounds of high society, and dive bars on Lenox Avenue pulse with piano players banging out new tunes that are a wild mix of raucous, rowdy, and mournful. Featuring the intoxicating music of Thomas “Fats” Waller – the big-hearted, bigger-than-life impresario and international jazz pianist who helped create and define American swing, AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' is a roof-raising musical tribute to the era and winner of the Tony and Drama Desk Awards, featuring a song list that includes “Ain't Misbehavin',” “Honeysuckle Rose,” “I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter,” “I Can't Give You Anything But Love,” and dozens more. 

 

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST 

 

Yvette Freeman HARTLEY (Director) Freeman Hartley's first major performance was in the first national and Broadway companies of Ain't Misbehavin', she won an OBIE Award for her portrayal of Dinah Washington in the musical Dinah Was. For fifteen years, she played Nurse Haleh Adams on the NBC drama “ER,” and for two seasons, she played Irma on “Orange is the New Black.”  She recently received her master's degree in creative writing from Southern New Hampshire University. She wrote, produced, and directed an award-winning short film, Remember, about the early onset of Alzheimer's disease; for the AFI DWW, she wrote and directed “The Blessing Way,” and for North Coast Repertory, she directed Gee's Bend, Ain't Misbehavin', and Blues In The Night.               

 

Abdul Hamid Royal (Musical Director) Broadway/International/National: Tony Award nominated Five Guys Named Moe, Sophisticated Ladies, Ain't Misbehavin', Jelly's Last Jam, The Wiz, Truly Blessed, The Sound of Music, Concerts for the Earth, Twist, Fiddler on the Roof, Betsy Brown, Colors of Christmas, Smokey Joe's Café, The Life. Regional: Alice in Wonderland, A Chorus Line, Songs of Nobodies, Lady Day, Big River, Black Pearl Sings, Sirens of Song, Blues in the Night. Composer/Arranger: Five Guys Names Moe, Truly Blessed, Body and Soul, Twist, Colors of Christmas, Cole Porter Festival. Recording Artists: Billy Porter, Chaka Khan, Natalie Cole, Liza Minelli, Jennifer Holliday, David Foster, Siedah Garrett, Brenda Russell, Melissa Manchester, the LA Philharmonic, Stevie Wonder, Lillias White and Phil Collins. His one-man show, But Not For Me received critical acclaim at the Gilmore Piano Festival. Awards: The Ovation, LA Drama Critics Circle, NAACP Image Award for The Gospel at Colonus, NAACP Image Award for Five Guys Named Moe, Stage Scene LA Award for Recorded in Hollywood. Nominations for Best Music Direction, Jeff Award, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill and the Barrymore Award for Alice in Wonderland.

 

Roxane Carrasco (Choreographer) Carrasco's credits as a performer include: Chicago on Broadway; international/national tours of West Side Story, A Chorus Line, and Chicago; Broadway workshops; regional theatre productions at La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Repertory Theatre, The Old Globe, North Coast Repertory Theatre. TV series “As the World Turns;” “Law and Order: SVU.” As a director/choreographer, Roxane's credits include: Pippin, Blues in the Night (North Coast Rep as Choreographer), international and regional productions of A Chorus Line; several plays at INTAR theatre (off- Broadway) with Co-Director Eduardo Machado; the film The Lady and the Tiger (filmed in China); music concerts, galas, and music videos all around the world. Roxane has also dance captained and/or assisted Tony Award-winning choreographers Ann Reinking, Sergio Trujillo, as well as Oscar-winning director Rob Marshall on various staged and filmed shows. Roxane holds an M.F.A. in Musical Theatre from SDSU and is the Theatre Department chair at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts.

 

The cast of AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' will feature Dedrick Bonner (Ragtime at Pasadena Playhouse; Something Rotten at Musical Theatre West), Summer Nicole Greer (44 at the Bourbon Room; Parade at the Chance Theatre), Jenelle Lynn Randall (All Shook Up on Broadway; Carrie the Musical at La Mirada Theatre), James Tolbert (Clue at La Mirada Theatre; Anything Goes at Goodspeed Opera House) , and Amber Diane Wright (Aida at Candlelight Pavillion; Dreamgirls at Moonlight Amphitheatre).  The understudies for AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' are T.J. Wilkins, Jodi Marks and Samantha M. Lawrence.

 

The Design Team for AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' is as follows: Scenic design by Edward E. Haynes, Jr.; lighting design by Jared A. Sayeg; sound design by Ian Scot; costume, hair and wig design by Wendell Carmichael; props design by Kevin Williams.  Casting is by Michael Donovan Casting, Michael Donovan, CSA and Richie Ferris, CSA. The Production Stage Manager is Natalie Figaredo.

 

ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING

AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' will preview on Wednesday, January 24 at 7:30pm; Thursday, January 25 at 2:00pm & 7:30pm; Friday, January 26 at 7:30pm; Saturday, January 27 at 7:30pm (with a press opening on Sunday, January 28 at 5:30pm) and run through Sunday, February 11, 2024 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Dr. in Laguna Beach.

 

Performances will be Wednesdays through Fridays at 7:30pm; Saturdays at 2pm & 7:30pm; Sundays at 1:00pm & 5:30pm.  There will be added performances on Thursday, February 1 at 2:00pm and Tuesday, February 6 at 7:30pm. There will be no performance on Sunday, February 11 at 5:30pm.                                                                                                      

 

Tickets range from $55 - $94 and can be purchased online at www.lagunaplayhouse.com or by calling (949) 497-ARTS (2787). Group discounts are available by calling 949-497-2787 ext. 229.  Prices subject to change.                                                                                                                                                          

The box office is open Tuesdays - Sundays: 12pm to 4pm; Mondays open 2 hours prior to show time and until 15 minutes after curtain.  Open until showtime on all performance days.

 

For more information on all shows and programming visit www.lagunaplayhouse.com.  LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE is located at 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.  

 

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