Play On! Reviews

Washington Post- Highly Recommended

"..."Play On!" is a Duke Ellington jukebox musical that doesn't get around much anymore since its two-month Broadway run back in the spring of 1997. Signature Theatre's vibrant and propulsive revival - directed by Lili-Anne Brown and boasting a sterling cast 15 strong - will leave you wondering why."

MetroWeekly- Highly Recommended

"...Music director Jermaine Hill has the score, the performers, and musicians operating in admirable synchrony, and the band keeps the joint jumping all night long - not only when Secka is singing, although she delivers another highlight of the show with a powerfully passionate "I Ain't Got Nothing But the Blues.""

Talkin Broadway- Highly Recommended

"...Sheldon Epps conceived the work both as a reflection of Shakespeare's views on how people can claim or conceal their identities and as a way to give Ellington, who never wrote a Broadway musical, and his classic songs a place in the canon. Audiences who know Twelfth Night will be amused by the way bookwriter Cheryl L. West has adapted (some of) its characters and experiences to fit into an utterly different world, but knowledge of the play is not required to enjoy this show."

Washington City Paper- Highly Recommended

"...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."

MD Theatre Guide- Highly Recommended

"...Signature Theatre’s production of “Play On!” takes place in the Shirlington company’s MAX Theatre, but you will forget that as soon as you step through the door. The space has been transformed into Harlem’s legendary Cotton Club of the mid-1930s. More than a set, Dan Conway’s design is a resurrection of a performance hall from the period, with a thrust dominating the room and small round tables topped with dim lamps surrounding it."

BroadwayWorld- Highly Recommended

"...Twenty-three songs from the catalogue of the legendary composer and musician Duke Ellington creatively exploding with swinging energy or calming with mellow moods are enough to make one's mind spin ---but combine this with a creative book by Cheryl L. West (the project was conceived by Sheldon Epps) that is based on playwright William Shakespeare's famous comedy Twelfth Night, and you have hit the merriment mother lode courtesy of the Signature Theatre."

DC Theater Arts- Highly Recommended

"...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."