‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ ’ Minus the Sauciness

Dressed to the nines, well-behaved and carefully staged, “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” came to the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa with the Pointer Sisters and managed to tame Thomas “Fats” Waller’s songs of their wickedness. Ruth, Anita and June Pointer belted and crooned to a fare-thee-well but, improbable as it seems, I don’t think they knowingly offered a double-entendre all night.

Though it shines with musical polish, this revue of more than two dozen feisty tunes from the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s has been scrubbed so clean of its down-and-dirty Harlem grit and wit that it would make an appealing period piece for Disneyland. Coy performances in Tuesday’s opening show, which runs here through Sunday and moves to the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on June 4, robbed it of the sauciness that characterized the 1978 off-Broadway original and sent it sizzling into orbit for four years on Broadway.

Despite the richness of their voices, the stars and their male companions, Eugene Barry-Hill and Michael-Leon Wooley, were miked to the limit in the first act, as though to compensate with big sound for drifting energy. The ensemble put in plenty of effort to fill the vast stage of this 3,000-seat hall with an intimate show that properly belongs in a smaller house. But if it was fun they were having, it seemed like devilishly hard work.

By intermission, when the company closed the first act with “The Joint Is Jumpin’,” the joint, unfortunately, was not. There were two outstanding numbers: Anita Pointer’s scat-style “Cash for Trash” and the company’s “Handful of Keys.” Another was sweet (Anita Pointer and company’s “I’ve Got a Feelin’ I’m Fallin’ ”), a couple bordered on sassy (Wooley and Anita Pointer’s “Honeysuckle Rose” and Ruth Pointer’s “Squeeze Me”) and the rest were just not distinctive.

The second act had more warmth and personality, a welcome change of pace. The six-piece band came front and center, led by William Foster McDaniel’s sleek piano-playing. And the entire ensemble finally put everything together in “Black and Blue,” which nearly stopped the show with a superb display of harmonic artistry.

Numbers that built the second act’s momentum included a slinky “Viper’s Drag” (Barry-Hill), a relaxed “Keepin’ Out of Mischief Now” (June Pointer), a sweet “Find Out What They Like” (Anita and Ruth Pointer) and a comical “Your Feets Too Big” (Wooley). The jazzy “Finale” perked along nicely and brought an easy-going crowd to its feet for a standing ovation.

All in all, “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” left a feel-good impression, but could have used a lot more down-home sentiment.

* “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tonight-Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m. Ends Sunday. $19-$49.50. (714) 740-2000, (213) 480-3232. Moves June 4-9 to Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena. $27.50-$45. (213) 480-3232. Running time: 1 hours, 50 minutes.

With Ruth, Anita and June Pointer, Eugene Barry-Hill and Michael-Leon Wooley.

A Pace Theatrical Group, Magic Promotions and Theatricals, Manny Kladitis production, in association with the Sterling/Winters Co., of a musical revue based on an idea by Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby Jr. Music by Thomas “Fats” Waller and others. Set design: John Lee Beatty. Costume design: Bob Mackie. Lighting design: Pat Collins. Sound design: Peter Fitzgerald. Musical director: William Foster McDaniel. Production stage manager: Todd Randall.