Westcoast Black Theatre star takes spotlight in new Fats Waller revue

Leon Pitts II insists he was just joking a few years ago when he suggested that Nate Jacobs, the founder and artistic director of the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, write a show for him called "Big Sexy.”

“I didn’t know he was going to take it seriously,” said Pitts, a long-time member of the troupe who has had women fanning themselves when he wanders into the audience and croons around them.

At the time of the suggestion, Pitts was playing Marvin Gay Sr. in Jacobs’ biographical musical “Marvin Gaye: Prince of Soul.”

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Jacobs said he thought about the idea for a while and recalled how Pitts had come to life on stage during the company’s first production of “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” the Tony Award-winning revue that celebrates the music of composer and performer Thomas “Fats” Waller.

“He wrapped his lips, arms and legs and everything around that role,” Jacobs said. “I remember our guest director, Reggie Kelley, came to me with tears in his eyes saying that Leon was so inspiring. He had not seen an artist with that much passion for theater in years.”

Rather than bring back “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” which he did briefly consider, Jacobs decided to explore more of Waller’s life and music by creating his own biographical show. And he’s doing that by wrapping Pitts’ life around Waller’s story and music with “Big Sexy,” which Jacobs also is directing.

“I get to tell some of my story in the beginning, about how Mr. Jacobs got me into the theater,” Pitts said. “I’m always telling him how grateful I am for him seeing this man who was going to school for electronic engineering and I come here and he says I’m going to show you how to do a soft shoe dance. In school, I was the background guy, I was never the guy down in front and Mr. Jacobs brought out something that was lying dormant.”

As much as he loves “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” Jacobs said the revue “gives very little biography or facts about Fats Waller, so I wanted to include that in the piece.” It features some of the familiar hits, including “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “Honeysuckle Rose,” “Your Feet’s too Big” and “The Joint is Jumpin’,” all of which Waller either wrote or composed. But there are dozens more songs that were not in that revue.

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“He wrote at least 400 songs and maybe 1,000 or more others that he did not get copyrighted,” said Pitts. Many of the songs were written with his collaborator Andy Razaf, who once described Waller as “a man who made the piano sing.”

Waller, who was born in 1904, started playing piano as a child, became a professional organist at 15 and was recording music by 18. He died at age 39 in 1943. He was a key figure in the development of the stride jazz piano style, which grew out of ragtime.

Pitts shares the stage with Ariel Blue as his leading lady, a diva who Pitts describes as “very high class about her money and professionalism.” The cast also includes Jazzmin Carson, Andrea Coleman and Ulric Taylor.

Jacobs said the show has been built around Pitts’ charisma. “He was the inspiration for this show. He’s such a dedicated artist here and I wanted to give him that kind of honor and opportunity to spread his wings. He’s like a little kid at a birthday party and you can add in Christmas morning with his favorite toy. He is so excited.”

‘Big Sexy’

Created and directed by Nate Jacobs. Featuring the music of Thomas “Fats” Waller. Runs April 19-May 28 at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota. Tickets are $50, $20 for students and active military. 941-366-1505; westcoastblacktheatre.org

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Westcoast Black Theatre salutes life and music of Thomas 'Fats' Waller