May 13, 2008

Home
Playbill Club
Discounts
Benefits
Join Club
Member Services
News
U.S./Canada
International
Tony Awards
Obituaries
Awards Roundup
All
Listings/Tickets
Broadway
Off-Broadway
Regional/Tours
London
Features
Week in Review
Broadway Grosses
On the Record
Stage to Screens
On Opening Night
Playbill Archives
Ask Playbill.com
Special Features
All
Playbill Store
Enter Store
Casting & Jobs
Job Listings
Post a Job
Celebrity Buzz
Diva Talk
Brief Encounter
The Leading Men
Cue and A
Onstage & Backstage
Who's Who
Insider Info
Playbill Digital
Multimedia
Interactive
Polls
Quizzes
Contests
Theatre Central
Sites
Connections
Reference
Awards Database
Seating Charts
Restaurants
Hotels
FAQs

RSS News Feed


News: US/Canada
Related Information
Email this Article Email this Article
Printer-friendly Printer-friendly
"American Idol" Stars Studdard and Davis Will Likely Tour in Ain't Misbehavin'

By Andrew Gans
28 Dec 2007

Frenchie Davis

Big League Productions, the company that books Broadway musicals for touring throughout the world, is planning to launch a 30th anniversary tour of the Tony-winning revue Ain't Misbehavin'.

According to the official Big League website, Richard Maltby, Jr. — who wrote and staged the original 1978 production of the Fats Waller revue — will direct the tour as well. Heading the cast will be "American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard and former "American Idol" contestant and Rent star Frenchie Davis.

The national tour is scheduled for 2008-09, although specific dates have yet to be announced. As of press time, calls left for Big League Productions were not returned.

Conceived and originally directed by Richard Maltby, Jr., Ain't Misbehavin' was based on an idea by Maltby and Murray Horwitz. The original 1978 Broadway production made a star out of its leading lady, the late Nell Carter, and featured such Fats Waller tunes as "Mean to Me," "Honeysuckle Rose," "Black and Blue" and the title tune. The musical won Tonys for Best Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Carter) and Best Direction of a Musical (Maltby, Jr.).

Since winning the "American Idol" crown, Ruben Studdard has released three albums: "Soulful," "I Need an Angel" and "The Return."

Frenchie Davis, who was recently seen in Mahalia–A Gospel Musical, made her Broadway debut in Rent. She played Effie in a regional tour of Dreamgirls, and she has also performed in professional productions of Little Shop of Horrors and Jesus Christ Superstar in Germany.

For more information visit www.bigleague.org.




Keyword:

Features/Location:

Writer:

 


advanced search

Free Membership
Exclusive Ticket Discounts
Join

Cadillac invites you to enter-to-win the Ultimate Broadway Experience

NEWEST DISCOUNTS
Top Girls
Jackie Mason
Sound and the Fury
The Marriage of
  Bette and Boo
Chicago
Cry-Baby
Rent
In the Heights

ALSO SAVE ON BROADWAY'S BEST
A Catered Affair
Gypsy
Macbeth
Mamma Mia
Passing Strange
Spring Awakening
Xanadu
Young Frankenstein

and more!



Newest features from PlaybillArts.com:

Photo Journal: The First Emperor Reprises Reign at the Met

Houston Ballet: Kudelka's Little Dancer

Click here for more classical music, opera, and dance features.


· Schedule of Upcoming Broadway Shows
· Schedule of Upcoming Off-Broadway Shows
· Broadway Rush and Standing Room Only Policies
· Long Runs on Broadway
· Weekly Schedule of Current Broadway Shows
· Upcoming Cast Recordings
· Hit Show Ticket Tips


Click here to see all of the latest polls !


Email this page to a friend!