As an artist who loves Shakespeare and musical theater, I had high hopes for Play On!, a jukebox musical transporting Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night to the Harlem Renaissance with Duke Ellington’s discography. I’m biased here: from formerly working at Ford’s Theatre, I know DC audiences last saw Cheryl L. West’s work as a playwright with SHOUT SISTER SHOUT!, and its conceiver, Sheldon Epps, is a major leader in A First Look efforts for BIPOC playwrights. I was excited to see their work in a new environment — and how this American story set in the Harlem Renaissance would do at Signature. I also loved the recent openly queer and kink-influenced Folger take on Twelfth Night by Mei Ann Teo, and was intrigued by what Lili-Anne Brown (also slated to direct at Arena this fall) would do with the material as director. With such collaborators, and the formula that comes with Twelfth Night, it has the ingredients for a special experience. It is an experience, for sure.
Inside the Max Theatre, its reimagined stage layout is like nothing you’ve ever seen before at Signature, with an expanded thrust stage opening out to the audience, stunning opulent art deco set design by Dan Conway, and dining tables as a partial seating area for audiences right by the stage — Paradise Blue at Studio Theatre-style. I was entranced by the space’s possibilities. In the end, I was left with mixed feelings. It was a spectacle, but it had script and pacing issues. I loved its musical theater technicalities. I didn’t love the storytelling.
Throughout, there were powerhouse vocal pyrotechnics by its stars and toe-tapping performances by its onstage band (music directed by Jermaine Hill, piano-conducted by Brian P. Whitted). The joyous tap-heavy choreography was performed energetically by its hardworking ensemble, with great attention paid to intentional movement, line, bounce, and rhythm by choreographer Breon Artzell. And the period costumes by Samantha C. Jones were jaw-dropping, especially sparkly numbers for Vy and Lady Liv. The show as a whole was Shakespeare meets jazz club without beating your head about it. However, because it felt under-directed on the acting side and the songs in general are less diegetic, it’s more Duke Ellington than Shakespeare; and if you’re making a musical, you need more motivation.
In this version, Viola, or Vy (Jalisa Williams, in a deserved star turn, though more subdued than fiery in her take), wants to be a Cotton Club composer during the Harlem Renaissance. Because she’s a woman in the 1930s, she’s not taken seriously. Encouraged by her uncle, the Jester (Wesley J. Barnes, who can seriously croon and seriously tap), she disguises herself as a man — “Vy-Man” — to pitch her music to the Duke: not Orsino, but Duke Ellington, played with suaveness and a powerful tenor by Greg Watkins. He’s in love with the club’s headliner, Lady Liv (Olivia, a stunning, melodramatic diva-like leading lady in Awa Sal Secka, who absolutely carries this show), and he entrusts Vy to send her love songs. In turn, Lady Liv falls for Vy, even as this show’s Malvolio, the Rev (an uptight, then free Chuckie Benson), has feelings for Lady Liv. Enter mistaken identity chaos, though perhaps less chaos than a typical Twelfth Night.
Some script choices left me puzzled: Vy has no “She left no ring with me” moment, nor does Lady Liv have a “What is your parentage” moment or any apparent grief to constitute being a diva, like that of the original Olivia’s loss of her father and brother. Both feel woefully needed for a play where it feels like the main female characters, especially Vy, need more character development in the first act. It’s not helped that the pair has only one song together — “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” which is, nonetheless, a standout moment for both Williams and Sal Secka as both have fun with the flirtation.
There’s also no equivalent to Sebastian — leaving Lady Liv with a less developed, bizarre final romantic partner. It also gives Jester a romantic interest, a new character in chorus girl CC, with whom he has an on-and-off again relationship — whereas in Twelfth Night, Feste is more on the outside looking in, without a lover. Because of the emphasis on all these heteronormative relationships, the “gender stuff” that is often a huge topic to be made with Twelfth Night is not as prevalent. In fact, Vy’s posing as a man is discovered much later in the plot, at which point the dramatic tension in the second act is less thick, from build-up that doesn’t seem to quite matter much anymore.
I concede that this is a rarely produced musical many don’t even know. It’s quite a feat, as a brainchild of Signature’s Matthew Gardiner after discussing with Folger’s Karen Ann Daniels how to bring it to the DC area. This show has talent to spare and is a spectacle that deserves to be seen even if its script — first written and seen on Broadway in the early 1990s — could use some work.
The music is reason enough to see this show. It’s Duke Ellington music, performed close to Ellington’s hometown of DC. There is scatting like no one’s business, and belting like there’s no tomorrow. Effortless riffing and growling, in combination with pure feeling, powerful control and release, and full voice and clarity had me ascending. Awa Sal Secka’s heart-wrenching “I Ain’t Got Nothing But the Blues” is one example: she lets it rip with her whole being, giving a reminder of the power of subtlety, intentionally placed riffs, and taking up space as your full self with true raw emotion.
Derrick D. Truby as Sweets, this show’s version of Toby, and Wesley J. Barnes are a delightful pair in “Rocks in My Bed,” a paean to being spurned by their lovers, delivered with intense grit and comic audience interaction. Kanysha Williams consistently aims high and lands perfectly on insane vocal riffs and runs as Miss Mary (Maria, a maid to Lady Liv, who’s a phenomenal performer in her own right). These performers were not afraid to go full out this way. I wish this commitment had been given to the book scenes.
Because the thing is, this show is a good example of a contemporary Shakespeare adaptation that goes beyond mere regurgitation of Shakespeare. It builds upon Shakespeare with a story about how marginalized people may have to hide or suppress aspects of who they really are to survive. Right now, in a time when I am looking for more than survival — I am looking for resistance — I was hoping for more revolution. This energetic production has cream-of-the-crop local talent exuding Black excellence, which is an act of revolution in itself when joy is needed and local casting is not always guaranteed. But despite appearances, it doesn’t go beyond surface-level representation.
I wonder: Is it so bad to want a pastiche show that is undeniably a good time to be a more powerful social-justice story? Do I want it to be something that it’s not, or am I challenging it to rise to a higher level it deserves? It is because I understand the kind of show this is that I want it to go further. Signature can do it; they did Soft Power last year.
This is indicative of my larger recent disillusionment with DC theater: an emphasis on aesthetics over content, during a time when our home is literally being attacked. This musical may have been conceived in the ’90s, but it is being performed now, here; why? Give me a play that is ugly and unafraid to go there. The performers are already giving that in spades. I wish they weren’t elevating the material, but performing in work deserving of their talents. This work is necessary; it is not simple escapism and still deserving. So let this show play on for a good run, but let shows that dive deeper find their way to local stages, too.
Running Time: Approximately two hours and 30 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.
Play On! plays through October 5, 2025, in the Max Theatre at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA. Tickets start at $47 and are available by calling the box office at (703) 820-9771, online, or through TodayTix. Information about ticket discounts is available here.
The program for Play On! is online here.
Closed captions are available via the GalaPro app.
COVID Safety: Masks are optional in the lobby and other public areas of the building except that face masks are required inside the performance spaces on September 7 at 2 p.m. Signature’s COVID Safety Measures can be found here.
Effects Warnings: This show will contain strobe and lighting effects, loud noises, theatrical haze and herbal cigarettes.
Content Warnings: This show contains adult themes around gender/sexuality/sex.
Age Recommendation: Recommended for ages 8+. Signature does not admit anyone under 6.
Special performances include Discussion Nights on September 10 at 7:30 p.m. and September 30 at 7:30 p.m., Pride Night on September 5 at 8 p.m., and a Chocolate City: A Ball for Black Excellence Affinity Night on September 12 at 8 p.m., hosted by Pussy Noir.
Play On!
Conceived by Sheldon Epps
Book by Cheryl L. West
Music by Duke Ellington
Music Directed by Jermaine Hill
Choreographed by Breon Arzell
Directed by Lili-Anne Brown
SEE ALSO:
Signature Theatre announces cast and creative team for ‘Play On!’ (news story, July 18, 2025)