Like many other great musicians and composers of the jazz era, Thomas "Fats" Waller's candle burned bright but too briefly.

When the 39-year-old Harlem preacher's son died unexpectedly in 1943 from pneumonia on a Kansas City train, he left behind a catalog of some 500 songs, the best of which are showcased in the jazzy musical revue "Ain't Misbehavin': The Fats Waller Musical Show," which opened Saturday in a stylish, sassy and well-sung production at San Diego Repertory Theatre.

A famously entertaining radio and stage performer, Waller didn't need much more than a piano and his Rhythm Club (the name of his jazz combo) to enthrall an audience. The small-cast revue "Ain't Misbehavin'" goes one step further, taking just Waller's music and performing it with a four-piece onstage combo and five talented singer/dancers.

The 1978 musical revue, conceived by Richard Maltby and Murray Horwitz, features 25 songs from different periods of Waller's career, starting with his 1920s rags ("Honeysuckle Rose," "Ain't Misbehavin'"), his Victor recording years in the 1930s ("This Joint Is Jumpin'"), his early 1940s honky-tonk nightclub days in Europe ("Fat and Greasy"), his radio days ("Yacht Club Swing") and the World War II era ("When the Nylons Bloom Again" and "Cash for Your Trash"). While Waller enjoyed writing comical ditties ("Your Feets Too Big") he wasn't afraid to touch on serious issues, like in the show's most haunting number, the beautifully harmonized quintet "(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue," a solemn rebuke of racism written in 1929.

The San Diego Rep production, smoothly directed and choreographed by Patdro Harris on Robin Roberts' period bandstand set, is far more entertaining than your usual revue thanks to the colorful personalities of his cast, the strong emphasis on humor, the creative ways he moves and pairs the singers onstage, and the way he gets the audience singing and clapping along.

Although the show's lead actor, TC Carson, withdrew from the production late last week after being injured during rehearsals, local actor Robert Barry Fleming has seamlessly and commandingly stepped into his shoes, so it's an invisible transition for the audience.

The show features 25 songs in two 45-minute acts, giving each of the castmates plenty of time in the solo spotlight.

John Steven Crowley has a bigger-than-life stage presence, with a wide smile, elegant dance steps and expressive vocal phrasing, shown at its best in the solos "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Your Feets Too Big."

Fleming has an ear-pleasing tenor voice, comic chops and a lithe, dancer's body that he uses to its best ability in the pot-smoking reverie "The Viper's Dog" (those are oregano cigarettes he's toking, just in case you're wondering). Fleming is prepared and polished, even though he learned the numbers, blocking and choreography in just two days last week -- an amazing achievement.

San Diego native and Rep veteran Lisa Payton has the best voice of the women's trio -- strong, supple and velvety smooth, particularly in the number "I've Got a Feeling I'm Fallin.' " Playing the show's big mama is gospel singer Valerie Payton, who's delicate and girlish in the near-orgasmic number "Squeeze Me" and hilarious as the vain opera diva in "When the Nylons Bloom Again." (though some of her high notes were shrill on opening weekend). And the Paytons -- who share a last name but aren't related -- team up for the funny duet "Find Out What They Like."

And Austene Van shows her versatility as an actress, playing the gangly, gawky flirt in the first act and the sophisticated, platinum-tressed starlet in the second act. Her comic solo "Keeping Out of Mischief" is a highlight.

The show's standouts are the full-cast ensemble numbers, thanks to the cast's big voices and Reggie Ray's often-exquisite costumes, especially "Spreadin' Rhythm Around" and "The Joint Is Jumpin.'"

Adding to the show's professionalism is the jazz combo led by stride pianist/musical director JMichael, with Kevin Cooper on bass, M'Tafiti Imara on woodwinds and enthusiastic percussionist Danny King, who's a show all by himself.

While the marijuana song may celebrate drug use more than some parents would prefer, "Ain't Misbehavin'" is a terrific show for all ages. It celebrates a period in the Harlem Renaissance that's now a memory as well as the genius of a prolific composer who died young but left a brilliant legacy behind.

"Ain't Misbehavin: The Fats Waller Musical Show"

When: 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays; 7 p.m. Sundays and Tuesdays; through Oct. 14

Where: San Diego Repertory Theatre at the Lyceum Theatre, 79 Horton Plaza, San Diego

Tickets: $28-$51

Info: (619) 544-1000

Web: www.sandiegorep.com