A Rowdy Romp into the Past AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'

By WILLIAM A. HENRY III

It is never easy to compete with the memory of a legend, yet the revivers of Ain't Misbehavin' have set themselves that task twice over. Not only do they seek to match the exuberant spirit of Pianist-Songwriter Thomas Wright ("Fats") Waller, whose 1920s and '30s Harlem jazz inspired the pell-mell 31-tune revue, but they also contend with the joyous memory of the 1978 debut staging, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical, made a star of Nell Carter, and ran almost four years before becoming an Emmy-winning NBC special. Of course, the producers of this daring venture have a leg up -- or, as it often appears, a ham hock -- because all five of the original actors came back, and The Joint Is Jumpin' better than ever.

The fat ones in the cast -- Carter, Ken Page and Armelia McQueen -- are just as fleshily beguiling as before. They jiggle and strut with weighty grace unseen since the heyday of Jackie Gleason. The skinny ones -- Andre De Shields and Charlaine Woodard -- stomp and slither like sticks turning into snakes. The years have changed nothing except to add emotional texture. McQueen is still cute, but now conveys heartache beneath. De Shields has ripened from Superfly sleekness into a leading man's virility. The biggest change is in Carter, whose widely publicized battles with weight, cocaine and star-size ego have enriched her brassy sensuality with a survivor's stare of defiance.

The success of Ain't Misbehavin' (and, more modestly, of Side by Side by Sondheim a season before) prompted a string of songbook shows. None has matched the verve or style of Ain't Misbehavin', and none has come close to the rowdy, raunchy yet infectious humor of its songs. Waller's connection with them varies from authorship to merely having recorded them, but they coherently reflect his view of life as meant for play and pleasure.

They also provide individual spotlights. Page is uproarious as he explains to an unseen partner that he cannot love her because Your Feet's Too Big, and he and De Shields are a hoot expressing scorn and envy for a rival whom they see as Fat and Greasy. De Shields belts 'T Ain't Nobody's Biz-Ness If I Do in an up tempo that may be delightfully surprising to fans of Billie Holiday's torchy rendition, and revels in marijuana in The Viper's Drag. Woodard, too little used, nonetheless glows in Keepin' Out of Mischief Now, while McQueen is at her best in Squeeze Me and the bawdy Find Out What They Like. Carter demonstrates why her name is alone above the title in a bravura sweep from the campy love play of Honeysuckle Rose to the patter of the wartime Cash for Your Trash to a contemplative number newly added for her, This Is So Nice.

Sexier than Oh! Calcutta! and more emotional than A Chorus Line, each of which claims to be Broadway's longest-running show ever -- plus richer in social history and sheer fun -- Ain't Misbehavin' deserves a place alongside them into eternity.