Dates and Venues Announced for Studdard and Davis Ain't Misbehavin' Tour

By Andrew Gans
April 28, 2008

Over 25 venues have been announced for the upcoming national tour of Ain't Misbehavin', which will co-star "American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard and former Rent star Frenchie Davis.

As previously announced, Big League Productions — the company that books Broadway musicals for touring shows throughout the world — will present the 30th anniversary tour of the Tony-winning revue.

Richard Maltby, Jr., who wrote and staged the original 1978 production of the Fats Waller revue, will direct the tour, which is scheduled to kick off Nov. 17 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA, before playing venues in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Virginia, Texas, Ohio and New York, among others.

Additional casting and cities will be announced at a later date.

As of press time, the itinerary for the Ain't Misbehavin' tour follows:

Nov. 17-23 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia
Nov. 28-30 at the Scranton Cultural Center in Scranton, PA
Dec. 2-4 at the E.J. Thomas Hall in Akron, OH
Dec. 5 at the County Events Center in Saginaw, MI
Dec. 8 at the Embassy Theatre in Ft. Wayne, IN
Dec. 9 at the Emens Auditorium in Muncie, IL
Dec. 10 at the The Centre in Evansville, IN
Dec. 14 at Jesse Hall in Columbia, MO
Jan. 3-4, 2009 at the Van Wezel PAC in Sarasota, FL
Jan. 8 at the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, VA
Jan. 9-11 at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, PA
Jan. 15 at The Classic Center in Athens, GA
Jan. 3-Feb. 1 at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, TX
Feb. 3-9 at the BJCC Concert Hall in Birmingham, AL
Feb. 13-15 at the Popejoy Hall in Albuquerque, NM
Feb. 17-22 at Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake City, UT
Feb. 23-26 at Lincoln Center in Ft. Collins, CO
March 3-4 at the Saroyan Theatre in Fresno, CA
March 6-8 at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, CA
March 24-26 at the Morrison Center in Boise, ID
March 28-29 at the Hult Center in Eugene, OR
April 1-2 at the Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs, CO
April 4 at the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lawrence, KS
April 7-8 at the Carson Four Rivers Center in Paducah, KY
April 14 at the Eisenhower Theatre at State College, PA
April 16 at the Renaissance Theatre in Mansfield, OH
April 30 at the Strand Capitol Theatre in York, PA
May 12-14 at the Crouse-Hinds Theatre in Syracuse, NY

Conceived and originally directed by Maltby, Jr., Ain't Misbehavin' was based on an idea by Maltby, Jr. 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.