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Ain’t Misbehavin originally opened on Broadway on May 9, 1978, and instantly made history. Within four weeks, this musical revue won every award a musical can win in a Broadway season: the Tony Award for Best Musical, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, and the Drama Desk Award, all for Best Musical. Ain’t Misbehavin brings to life the world that the legendary Fats Waller lived in and largely represented: Harlem in the 1930's-the Golden Age of places like the Cotton Club and the Savoy Ballroom, of honky tonk dives along Lenox Avenue, of rent parties, of stride piano players and that new beat, swing. The deceptively simple but dazzling set recreated by original Broadway set designer, John Lee Beatty, suggests all at once a Harlem nightclub stage, a Harlem street, a '30's radio and a giant jukebox. Ain’t Misbehavin originated when Murray Horwitz invited Richard Maltby, Jr. to his apartment to listen to some rare Fats Waller recordings. According to Maltby it was the wit in the piano music, not the comic asides, that convinced him that Waller's music and personality could live on stage. Ain’t Misbehavin has been one of the more successful musicals on Broadway, with it’s combination of comedy and music, Ain’t Misbehavin tickets can compete with most musicals.
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