2/5/1981 Ain't Misbehavin', Shryock Auditorium, Carbondale, IL


 40 years ago today...

February 5, 1981 - Carbondale, IL

The travelling production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Ain't Misbehavin'" showcased swing music from the Prohibition era on stage at Shryock Auditorium.

The play's title comes from the Fats Waller tune of the same name.  Fats, a jazz/blues piano player, developed the beat known as stride piano, a driving, bouncy, improvisational style.  Fats was known for his overindulgence in food, liquor and women, and his songs revolve around these central themes.  For the Roaring 20s and 30s, Waller's songs were rowdy, raunchy and funny.

The original Broadway play won the Tony Award for Best Musical three years earlier.  One year later after I saw this play live, a version with the original cast aired on NBC-TV.

Loyal TSTT readers will note that this performance was the night after the Springsteen concert at SIU, featured yesterday.  I was entertainment editor of the student newspaper at the time, and wrote a review of the sold-out performance.



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