It may not be the Kodak Theatre, but Eisenhower Auditorium will be filled with American Idol stars tonight as the Broadway touring company of Ain't Misbehavin' hits University Park.
Featuring three contestants from the show's second season -- including winner Ruben Studdard -- the show is quickly approaching selling out for its one-night-only performance.
Ain't Misbehavin' -- a show that performs the compiled musical compositions of jazz personality Fats Waller -- is a completely sung performance, said Trenyce Cobbins, an Idol finalist.
"Basically it's a review of Fats Waller as a musical composer," Cobbins said.
Though the show takes place in the 1930s during the Harlem Renaissance, all the characters play themselves and take on aspects of Waller's personality.
"From the get-go, the show has very high energy just like he did," she said. "Each of the songs we take on a different characteristic of him to portray."
Cobbins said the fact that she, Ruben Studdard and Frenchie Davis -- all three second season Idol contestants -- are in the show together is a complete coincidence, but she had to work for her role.
"They wanted Ruben, and Frenchie was coming off of Rent so they signed her," she said. "And I had to send in a tape, while they were still auditioning other people."
She said that when casting directors asked Studdard how Cobbins was, he responded "Aw, that's my sister."
Cobbins said working together on this production is the "time of my life."
"There is no competition this time," she said. "And we are very aware of each other's talents."
Cobbins doesn't credit much of her success on this production to American Idol.
"If anything, it helped give me the confidence to keep going," she said. "There is nothing like losing to get you going."
She said the entire cast looks forward to performing on college campuses.
"In most cases the people in the audience want to be an entertainer in some aspect," she said. "They are closer to our age group and that makes it easier to relate."
Cobbins said her favorite part of being in this show has been allowing the audience to feel whatever they want.
"When we are singing 'Black and Blue' in five-part harmony, it is all about the music and the audience gets emotionally involved," she said. "We take you there."
She hopes audiences walk away knowing that sometimes a strict structure is not always needed in a play.
"There is a way of doing things that get people talking," Cobbins said. "This show goes against the grain. It is stretching the imagination by being a part of something bigger and better."
Laura Sullivan, marketing and communications director for the Center of the Performing Arts, wrote in an e-mail that a handful of tickets are still available for tonight's production. She recommended students interested in attending call the box office to check for ticket availability.
