by Teniola Ayoola
This article was first published in The Washington City Paper August 25, 2025, here.
Some of D.C.’s most memorable productions of the past few years have been born from unlikely pairings—take, for example, the combination of ballet and hip-hop in The Hip Hop Nutcracker or Step Afrika!’s remounted The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence, which blended step dancing and visual art. Now, Signature Theatre joins that trend with its season opener, Play On! Fusing William Shakespeare and jazz, the musical dazzles by taking the story of Twelfth Night and setting it to the sounds of D.C.-born composer Duke Ellington.
Play On!, conceived by Sheldon Epps with a book by Cheryl L. West, weaves Ellington’s music so seamlessly with Shakespeare’s plot that viewers leave convinced that the jazz great’s compositions were not only meant to be performed, but dramatized. Director Lili-Anne Brown, who created vibrant ensemble work for Fela! at Olney Theatre Center in 2023, brings the same synergy here. Together with musical director Jermaine Hill, they guide the cast through comedy and heartbreak.
Walking into the theater is like stepping into another era. Scenic designer Dan Conway has transformed the theater into a 1930s jazz cabaret: red-cushioned tables with glowing lamps, an expansive stage framed by ornate railings, sunflower-shaped chandeliers above, and the band perched on a balcony. The effect is total immersion, sweeping audiences into Harlem’s Cotton Club. Lighting designer Jason Lynch amplifies this transportive world, shifting the atmosphere from the cool melancholy of “Mood Indigo” to the loneliness of “In My Solitude.”
The show begins with the ensemble stepping, clapping, and moving together in Breon Arzell’s choreography to Ellington’s “Take the ‘A’ Train.” They embody the Harlem Renaissance in suspenders, vests, red dresses, green trousers, and period hats. Instead of a shipwrecked Viola washing up in Illyria, here Vy (Jalisa Williams) arrives from Mississippi to 1930s Harlem, determined to write songs with Ellington. Facing the barriers of misogyny, she disguises herself as a man to be taken seriously in the music world. As in Shakespeare’s original, love triangles and comic mishaps ensue.
The show’s brightest star is not Ellington, but Awa Sal Secka as Lady Liv. Known for her work in local productions such as Ladies of Jazz, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, and Wolf Trap’s Broadway in the Park, Secka brings a dash of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill energy to the role. We hear Secka’s wardrobe tantrums before we see her, but Samantha C. Jones’ costumes transform the character into a vision of diva glamour: indigo gowns studded with rhinestones, velvet gloves with diamond bracelets, necklaces, and a sweeping blue fur-trimmed robe.
Barely a few lines into “Black Butterfly,” Secka strips off her shoes, gloves, and jewelry. “I can’t do this,” Liv says. Then she unleashes a voice that cuts through anger and heartbreak with raw defiance. Her Act 2 performance of “I Ain’t Got Nothin’ but the Blues” delivers the night’s knockout, letting Ellington’s music do the lashing. It’s a performance that says: I’m furious, I’m heartbroken, and I refuse to be ignored.
Miss Mary (Kanysha Williams) shines in “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).” Her scatting embodies Ellington’s genius for rhythm and improvisation, soaring to high notes and dropping into gravelly lows as she and her friends teach the uptight Rev (Chuckie Benson) how to let loose—a number that is both hilarious and breathtaking.
Though West’s book modernizes the dialogue, Shakespeare is never absent. Lines such as “If music be the food of love, play on,” “Better a witty fool than a fool in wit,” and, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them” land with winking resonance.
For all the disguises and hijinks, Play On! is, at its heart, a musical about love: the diva who longs to be truly seen, the men who resist commitment until it nearly costs them, even the couple who bicker endlessly but always return to each other. Unlike Twelfth Night’s bittersweet end, every character here finds joy. This adaptation stands as a love letter to Ellington’s genius and to the enduring power of performance to cross boundaries of time, culture, and identity.
Play On!, conceived by Sheldon Epps, book by Cheryl L. West, and directed by Lili-Anne Brown, runs through Oct. 5 at Signature Theatre. sigtheatre.org. $47–$133.
No Comments