38 August 1 • 2019 jn A filmmaker brought together two play makers who created very different Tony Award-winning musicals. When filmmaker Alex Horwitz was attending Wesleyan University in Connecticut, he introduced a swing/jazz enthusiast, his dad, to a rap enthusiast, his room- mate. Murray Horwitz, a co-creator of Ain’ t Misbehavin’ , and Lin- Manuel Miranda, creator of Hamilton, have reached beyond generations to hold a friendship of mutual professional respect. “My kids know the score to Ain’ t Misbehavin’ as well as they know the score to Hamilton, ” Murray Horwitz says. “We’ ve known Lin over 20 years, and he was very gracious in saying I was his first mentor. It was very humbling, and I don’ t know that I did that much. ” Whatever he did, Alex Horwitz seems to have reciprocated in a way by direct- ing a PBS documentary, Hamilton’ s America, that explores the founding of America while delving into the Miranda production. Earlier this year, Metro Detroit audiences got to see a touring ver- sion of Hamilton. Starting in August, they can see a local production of Ain’ t Misbehavin’ staged by the Jewish Ensemble Theatre (JET). It stars Alvin Waddles and Lauren LaStrada and is directed by Harold Jurkiewicz. “Ain’ t Misbehavin’ is a play written in notes and lyrics and dance steps and gestures,” says Murray Horwitz, who wrote the book with Richard Maltby Jr. “It’ s not a concert or ‘ jukebox musical. ’ There’ s a through line to the show, which is actually an unconventional play. “The main ingredient of the show’ s success over 40 years is Fats Waller (a pianist, singer, composer and comedic entertainer). Audiences get to know a lot more about him and the times in which he lived. ” An in-depth discussion of the enter- tainment virtuoso at the heart of the second JET production of the season will be presented by Charles Troy, who has established a multimedia series about acclaimed musicals. “Fats Waller: The Man Behind Ain’ t Misbehavin’ will begin at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 12. Among some 30 numbers performed in the musical are “Mean to Me, ” “Honeysuckle Rose, ” “I’ ve Got a Feeling I’ m Falling, ” “Keepin’ Out of Mischief Now” and “The Viper’ s Drag, ” the mari- juana song of those times. “Richard Maltby and I collaborated on the lyrics for ‘ Handful of Keys, ’ ” Horwitz recalls about the tribute to the piano. “I know Mandy Patinkin recorded it on an album and, sometimes, I hear people do it in nightclubs and cabarets. ” Horwitz thinks his development of this show has to do with Jewish prov- enance. An English and drama major at Kenyon College in Ohio whose first theatrical placement was as a clown with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Horwitz moved to New York and put together a one-man show about Sholem Aleichem, which he still per- forms. “An Evening of Sholem Aleichem attracted the interest of a producer, who said I needed a director, ” recalls Horwitz, 77, who grew up in Ohio and made many summer visits to family friends in Detroit. “That led me to Richard Maltby Jr. The show did really well, and Richard became my mentor in lyric writing. ” Horwitz, a devoted Fats Waller fan, put a tape together of the late enter- tainer’ s music to interest Maltby in working on what would become Ain’ t Misbehavin’ , and that began their award-winning partnership. “My blessing and curse at the same time is that I find everything interesting, ” says Horwitz, who has been a political speech writer, soap opera director and administrator for arts organizations, including the National Endowment for the Arts, American Film Institute and National Public Radio. “I’ m semi-retired with two part-time jobs: artist-in-residence at Washington Performing Arts and host of ‘ The Big Broadcast, ’ a Sunday night old-time radio show (recalling broadcasts from the 1930s-50s) on WAMU in Washington. ” Horwitz and his wife, opera singer Lisa Miller, have three grown children and remain active in the Jewish commu- nity. They attend High Holiday services at the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue in Washington, D.C. He has done some work for the Washington Jewish Museum and is on the board of Yiddish of Greater Washington. She has been a cantorial soloist and teaches nursery school at Ohr Kodesh Congregation in Maryland. Horwitz, whose circus performances have brought him to Cobo Hall and his Sholem Aleichem show to Michigan locales, also has been to Detroit on a musical project with members of the singing Winans family. “It was inspiring to see Detroit through Marvin Winans’ eyes, ” Horwitz says, “and I’ m proud to be able to show the world Fats Waller in all his glory. ” ■ SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER theater arts&life JET brings the classic Ain’ t Misbehavin’ to the stage. Murray Horwitz A Toe-Tapping Good Time Lauren LaStrada Alvin Waddles Ashley Lyle as Charlaine, Elizabeth Grey as Armela and Jason Alan Briggs as Andre JET THEATRE details Ain’ t Misbehavin’ runs Aug. 2-25 at the Jewish Ensemble Theatre in Walled Lake. $16-$44. “Fats Waller: The Man Behind Ain’ t Misbehavin’ ” will begin at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 12. $18. (248) 788-2900. Jettheatre.org. Tickets are on sale for this year’ s JET fundraiser — “Back Home Again: A Tribute to John Denver,” which will be held Wednesday, Oct. 23, at Temple Israel. Patron ticket with dinner, $180; show only, $75; under 35 audience members, $35.