RALEIGH - In keeping with what may be the hottest summer on record, Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy is closing its third season with its steamiest show yet.

"Ain't Misbehavin'," the Thomas "Fats" Waller revue, is as hot a collection of tunes as you could ask for. And first-time director Matthew-Jason Willis does the legendary musician justice with a lively production by a gifted and charismatic cast.

"Ain't Misbehavin,'" a Tony Award-winning show from 1978, celebrates the music of the Harlem Renaissance in the early 1900s. It ran for four years, aired on television and was revived on Broadway a decade later.

It has been a regional theater staple since and for good reason. With an infectious, complex and superbly paced score -- including "The Joint is Jumpin'," "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter," "Honeysuckle Rose" and other familiar songs -- the only way to fail with it would be to feature subpar musicians.

But there's not failing, and then there's excelling. This production excels, with equal parts fiery passion, sensuality and cheeky humor.

The characters are named after the Broadway actors who originated the show, including Nell Carter and Andre DeShields. But Willis doesn't direct them to mimic the originators' idiosyncratic styles. This cast creates its own distinct personalities, from the comical Dale Sanders to the assured and playful Yolanda Rabun, the sweet Nina Gunnell, the cocky Jason Dolby and the mischievous Tina Morris-Anderson.

Musical director McCrae Hardy accompanies the singers on piano with a rollicking sextet. His playful personality might have added more flavor to the show had he not been placed with his back to the audience, facing his musicians. But with the Kennedy Theatre's small stage, designed as a nightclub by Curtis Jones, compromises were necessary.

Willis' choreography made smart use of the limited playing space, particularly in the full ensemble numbers, when too much movement would have been chaotic. His dances were clever and comical and helped define the characters. And he wasn't afraid to use stillness to heighten tension, as in the charged lament "Black and Blue" or Morris-Anderson's mournful solo, "Mean to Me."

Casey Watkins' costume designs capture the mood and period stylishly, except for poor Gunnell, whose shapeless purple dress looks like something you'd find on a dime-store doll.

The script could do without its teaching moments, such as an explanation of what stride piano is. And opening night saw a few technical mishaps, one apparently involving a wayward hat that rubbed on a head microphone and made such a racket that the mike had to be turned off for the rest of the song. Also, the actors' proximity to one another's mikes made for uneven sound balances.

But those are minute flaws in a major success for Hot Summer Nights. This is as steamy an evening of theater as you'll find in the Triangle, in any season. Seek the heat before it dissipates.