''Play On!'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

adaptation of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's '' Twelfth Night'', featuring the music of

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

, conceived by Sheldon Epps, with a book by Cheryl L. West. The musical resets the story from Illyria to 1940s Swing-era

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

. Premiering at the Old Globe Theatre in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, the production was moved to Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in 1997. The later production received three nominations at the 51st Tony Awards including for lead performances for both Tonya Pinkins and André De Shields and for Best Orchestrations to Luther Henderson.

Production history

The original production, conceived by director Sheldon Epps, premiered in

at the Old Globe Theatre in September 1996. After 19 previews, it opened on Broadway on March 20, 1997, at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, where it ran for 61 performances. The cast included Tonya Pinkins, André De Shields, Carl Anderson. Yvette Cason and Angela Robinson. An original cast recording was released on May 20, 1997, on Varèse Sarabande. A 1999 production of ''Play On!'' at the Pasadena Playhouse was recorded for the PBS series '' Great Performances''. From September 2024 Talawa Theatre Company is touring the musical in the UK, directed by Michael Buffong, first to the Belgrade Theatre,

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, then Liverpool Playhouse, Salisbury Playhouse, Birmingham Hippodrome, Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith and Bristol Old Vic.

Synopsis

Vy comes to swinging 1940s Harlem to write songs for the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, Harlem's greatest band leader. To overcome the sexist barriers of the time against women songwriters, she disguises herself as a man, Vy-man. She finds the Duke in tears over his loss of Lady Liv, Harlem's "queen of the blues". The Duke likes Vy-man's music, so he instructs the songwriter to go to the Cotton Club and present one of her songs as if it were a new song written by the Duke for Lady Liv. Lady Liv finds Vy-man charming, and a series of mistaken pairings results. Meanwhile, several of the performers at the Cotton Club are rebelling against the overly serious and tyrannical club manager, Rev. Since Rev has a crush on Lady Liv, the performers persuade him that he should woo her by learning to swing and scat, giving up his old fashioned ballads. More confusion results before the truth is revealed, and the couples are appropriately united.

Cast

Original casts of notable productions

Musical numbers

;Act 1 *" Take the A Train" (Music and Lyrics by Billy Strayhorn) *" Drop Me Off in Harlem" (Music by Duke Ellington, Lyrics by Nick Kenny) *"I've Got to Be a Rug Cutter" (Music and Lyrics by Duke Ellington) *" I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" (Music and Lyrics by Duke Ellington,

Irving Mills Irving Harold Mills (born Isadore Minsky; January 18, 1894 Odessa, Ukraine – April 21, 1985) was a music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz promoter. He often used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose. Personal life Mills ...

, Henry Nemo, John Redmond) *" C Jam Blues" (Music by Duke Ellington) *" Mood Indigo" (Music and Lyrics by Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Albany Bigard) *" Don't Get Around Much Anymore" (Music by Duke Ellington, Lyrics by Bob Russell) *"Don't You Know I Care" (Music by Duke Ellington, Lyrics by

Mack David Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...

) *" It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" (Music by Duke Ellington. Lyrics by Irving Mills) *" I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good" (from ''Jump For Joy'') (Music by Duke Ellington. Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster) *"Hit Me With a Hot Note and Watch Me Bounce" (Music by Duke Ellington. Lyrics by

Don George Don R. George (August 27, 1909 – 1987) was an American lyricist of popular music. His songs include " The Yellow Rose of Texas" " I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues" (1937), " I'm Beginning to See the Light" (1944) and " Everything but You" (194 ...

) *" I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So" (Music by Duke Ellington. Lyrics by Mack David) *" Everything But You" (Music and Lyrics by Duke Ellington, Don George,

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...

) *"

Solitude Solitude, also known as social withdrawal, is a state of seclusion or isolation, meaning lack of socialisation. Effects can be either positive or negative, depending on the situation. Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may wo ...

" (Music and Lyrics by Duke Ellington, Eddie DeLange, Irving Mills) ;Act 2 *"Black Butterfly" (Music and Lyrics by Duke Ellington, Ben Carruthers, Irving Mills) *" I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues" (Music by Duke Ellington. Lyrics by Don George) *" I'm Beginning to See the Light" (Music by Duke Ellington, Don George, Harry James,

Johnny Hodges Johnny Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophone, alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on sop ...

) *" I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good" (reprise) *" I Didn't Know About You" (Music by Duke Ellington. Lyrics by Bob Russell) *" Rocks in My Bed" (Music and Lyrics by Duke Ellington) *" Something to Live For" (Music by Duke Ellington. Lyrics by Billy Strayhorn) *"Love You Madly" (Music and Lyrics by Duke Ellington) *" Prelude to a Kiss" (Music and Lyrics by Duke Ellington, Irving Gordon, Irving Mills) *" In a Mellow Tone" (Music by Duke Ellington. Lyrics by Milt Gabler)

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

References

External links

* * {{Twelfth Night 1997 musicals African-American musicals Broadway musicals Plays and musicals based on Twelfth Night Swing music Duke Ellington songs Musicals set in Harlem Musicals set in the 1940s