Play On!

Musical by Cheryl West and Duke Ellington

Play On!

Original Cast Recording Artwork

Music| Duke Ellington
Lyrics| Various (see below)
Book| Cheryl L. West
Basis| Twelfth Night
by William Shakespeare
Premiere| September 1996 (1996-09): Old Globe Theatre, San Diego
Productions| 1996 San Diego
1997 Broadway
2024 UK tour

Play On! is a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, featuring the music of Duke Ellington, conceived by Sheldon Epps, with a book by Cheryl L. West. The musical resets the story from Illyria to 1940s Swing-era Harlem.[1][2]

Premiering at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, 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.[3]

## Production history

[edit]

The original production, conceived by director Sheldon Epps, premiered in San Diego 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.[4][5] The cast included Tonya Pinkins, André De Shields, Carl Anderson. Yvette Cason and Angela Robinson.[6] 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.[7]

From September 2024 Talawa Theatre Company is touring the musical in the UK, directed by Michael Buffong, first to the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, then Liverpool Playhouse, Salisbury Playhouse, Birmingham Hippodrome, Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith and Bristol Old Vic.[8]

## Synopsis

[edit]

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

[edit]

### Original casts of notable productions

[edit]

Character  | Broadway

|

1997
Duke  | Carl Anderson
Miss Mary  | Yvette Cason
Jester  | André De Shields
Vy  | Cheryl Freeman
Lady Liv  | Tonya Pinkins
Rev  | Lawrence Hamilton

## Musical numbers

[edit]

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, 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)
* "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)
* "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)
* "Solitude" (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)
* "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

[edit]

### Original Broadway production

[edit]

Year  | Award  | Category  | Nominee  | Result

|
|
|
|

1997  | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical | André DeShields | Nominated
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | Tonya Pinkins | Nominated
Best Orchestrations | Luther Henderson | Nominated
Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | André DeShields  | Nominated
Drama League Award | Outstanding Production of a Musical  | Play On! | Nominated

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Viagas, Robert (April 21, 1997). "Playbill Critics Circle: Your Reviews of Play On!". Playbill. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
2. ^ "Play On!". Guide to Musical Theatre. Retrieved 2013-01-24.
3. ^ ""The Life" leads Tony Nominee". The Washington Post. May 6, 1997. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
4. ^ Evans, Greg (March 21, 1997). "Play On!: a musical has to work pretty hard to let such an inspired idea slip through the floorboards". Variety. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
5. ^ Grimes, William (April 18, 1997). "On Stage, and Off". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
6. ^ "Play On!". Playbill. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
7. ^ Jones, Kenneth (June 21, 2000). "Play On! Finds Its Way to Small Screen, on PBS, June 21". Playbill. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
8. ^ Singh, Amarjeet. "Play On! at Belgrade Theatre and on tour – Duke Ellington musical review". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 19 October 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* ​Play On!​ at the Internet Broadway Database
* Play On! at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Duke Ellington

Discography

Studio albums|

* Harlem Jazz, 1930
* Ellingtonia, Vol. One
* Ellingtonia, Vol. Two
* Braggin' in Brass: The Immortal 1938 Year
* The Blanton–Webster Band
* Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band
* Smoke Rings
* Liberian Suite
* Great Times!
* Masterpieces by Ellington
* Ellington Uptown
* The Duke Plays Ellington
* Ellington '55
* Dance to the Duke!
* Ellington Showcase
* Historically Speaking
* Duke Ellington Presents...
* The Complete Porgy and Bess
* A Drum Is a Woman
* Studio Sessions, Chicago 1956
* Such Sweet Thunder
* Studio Sessions 1957 & 1962
* Ellington Indigos
* Black, Brown and Beige
* Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque
* The Cosmic Scene
* Happy Reunion
* Jazz Party
* Anatomy of a Murder
* Festival Session
* Blues in Orbit
* The Nutcracker Suite
* Piano in the Background
* Swinging Suites by Edward E. and Edward G.
* Unknown Session
* Piano in the Foreground
* Paris Blues
* Featuring Paul Gonsalves
* Midnight in Paris
* Studio Sessions, New York 1962
* Afro-Bossa
* The Symphonic Ellington
* Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session
* Studio Sessions New York 1963
* My People
* Ellington '65
* Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins
* Ellington '66
* Concert in the Virgin Islands
* The Popular Duke Ellington
* Far East Suite
* The Jaywalker
* Studio Sessions, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967, San Francisco, Chicago, New York
* ...And His Mother Called Him Bill
* Second Sacred Concert
* Studio Sessions New York, 1968
* Latin American Suite
* The Pianist
* New Orleans Suite
* Orchestral Works
* The Suites, New York 1968 & 1970
* The Intimacy of the Blues
* The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse
* Studio Sessions New York & Chicago, 1965, 1966 & 1971
* The Intimate Ellington
* The Ellington Suites
* This One's for Blanton!
* Up in Duke's Workshop
* Duke's Big 4
* Mood Ellington

Live albums|

* Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live
* Black, Brown, and Beige
* The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943
* The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1944
* The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1946
* The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1947
* Ellington at Newport
* Dance Concerts, California 1958
* Dance Dates, California 1958
* Newport 1958
* Jazz at the Plaza Vol. II
* Duke Ellington at the Alhambra
* Live at the Blue Note
* Hot Summer Dance
* The Great Paris Concert
* A Concert of Sacred Music
* In the Uncommon Market
* Soul Call
* Yale Concert
* 70th Birthday Concert
* Togo Brava Suite
* Live at the Whitney
* Third Sacred Concert
* Eastbourne Performance

Collaborations|

* Blue Rose
* Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book
* Side by Side
* Back to Back
* The Great Summit
* First Time! The Count Meets the Duke
* Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins
* Money Jungle
* Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
* Serenade to Sweden
* Ella at Duke's Place
* The Stockholm Concert, 1966
* Ella and Duke at the Cote D'Azur
* Francis A. & Edward K.
* It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing

Compositions|

* "African Flower"
* "All Too Soon"
* "Azure"
* "Black and Tan Fantasy"
* "Black, Brown and Beige"
* "C Jam Blues"
* "Come Sunday"
* "Cotton Tail"
* "Creole Love Call"
* "Day Dream"
* "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue"
* "Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me"
* "Don't Get Around Much Anymore"
* "Drop Me Off in Harlem"
* "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo"
* "Echoes of Harlem"
* "Everything but You"
* "I Ain't Got Nothin' but the Blues"
* "I Didn't Know About You"
* "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)"
* "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart"
* "I'm Beginning to See the Light"
* "I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So"
* "In a Mellow Tone"
* "In a Sentimental Mood"
* "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"
* "Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin'"
* "Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)"
* "The Mooche"
* "Mood Indigo"
* " Prelude to a Kiss"
* "Rocks in My Bed"
* "(In My) Solitude"
* "Sophisticated Lady"
* Queenie Pie (unfinished opera)

| by Billy Strayhorn|

* "Take the 'A' Train"
* "Lush Life"
* "Chelsea Bridge"
* "Something to Live For"
* "Satin Doll"
* "Blood Count"

|

by Juan Tizol|

* "Caravan"
* "Perdido"

Orchestra
members|

* Hayes Alvis
* Cat Anderson
* Ivie Anderson
* Harold Ashby
* Alice Babs
* Shorty Baker
* Butch Ballard
* Art Baron
* Aaron Bell
* Louie Bellson
* Joe Benjamin
* Barney Bigard
* Lou Blackburn
* Jimmy Blanton
* Wellman Braud
* Lawrence Brown
* Harry Carney
* Johnny Coles
* Willie Cook
* Buster Cooper
* Kay Davis
* Wild Bill Davis
* Wilbur de Paris
* Bobby Durham
* Mercer Ellington
* Rolf Ericson
* Jimmy Forrest
* Victor Gaskin
* Peter Giger
* Tyree Glenn
* Paul Gonsalves
* Sonny Greer
* Fred Guy
* Jimmy Hamilton
* Otto Hardwick
* Shelton Hemphill
* Rick Henderson
* Al Hibbler
* Johnny Hodges
* Major Holley
* Charlie Irvis
* Quentin Jackson
* Hilton Jefferson
* Herb Jeffries
* Freddie Jenkins
* Money Johnson
* Herbie Jones
* Wallace Jones
* Taft Jordan
* Al Killian
* Queen Esther Marrow
* Wendell Marshall
* Murray McEachern
* Louis Metcalf
* James "Bubber" Miley
* Harold "Geezil" Minerve
* Ray Nance
* Tricky Sam Nanton
* Oscar Pettiford
* Eddie Preston
* Russell Procope
* Junior Raglin
* Betty Roché
* Ernie Royal
* Al Sears
* Joya Sherrill
* Willie Smith
* Elmer Snowden
* Rex Stewart
* Billy Strayhorn
* Billy Taylor
* Clark Terry
* Juan Tizol
* Norris Turney
* Ben Webster
* Arthur Whetsel
* Cootie Williams
* Nelson Williams
* Skippy Williams
* Booty Wood
* Jimmy Woode
* Britt Woodman
* Sam Woodyard

Related|

* Mercer Ellington (son)
* Sacred Concerts
* Duke Ellington Bridge
* Duke Ellington Circle
* Duke Ellington Memorial
* Duke Ellington House
* Duke Ellington School of the Arts
* Luther Henderson
* Irving Mills
* Sophisticated Ladies
* Play On!
* Jam Session
* Steve Ellington

* v
* t
* e

William Shakespeare

Plays|

| Comedies|

* All's Well That Ends Well
* As You Like It
* The Comedy of Errors
* Cymbeline
* Love's Labour's Lost
* Measure for Measure
* The Merchant of Venice
* The Merry Wives of Windsor
* A Midsummer Night's Dream
* Much Ado About Nothing
* Pericles, Prince of Tyre ✻
* The Taming of the Shrew
* The Tempest
* Twelfth Night
* The Two Gentlemen of Verona
* The Two Noble Kinsmen ✻
* The Winter's Tale

|

Tragedies|

* Antony and Cleopatra
* Coriolanus
* Hamlet
* Julius Caesar
* King Lear
* Macbeth
* Othello
* Romeo and Juliet
* Timon of Athens
* Titus Andronicus
* Troilus and Cressida

Histories|

* King John
* Edward III ✻
* Richard II
* Henry IV
* 1
* 2
* Henry V
* Henry VI
* 1 ✻
* 2
* 3
* Richard III
* Henry VIII ✻

Early editions|

* Quarto publications
* First Folio
* Second Folio

Related|

* Problem plays
* Late romances
* Henriad
* Characters
* A–K
* L–Z
* Ghost character
* Chronology
* Performances
* Settings
* Scenes

Poems|

* Shakespeare's sonnets
* comparison to Petrarch
* A Lover's Complaint
* The Phoenix and the Turtle
* The Rape of Lucrece
* Venus and Adonis

Apocrypha|

| Plays|

* Arden of Faversham
* The Birth of Merlin
* Cardenio ✻†
* Double Falsehood
* Edmund Ironside
* Fair Em
* Locrine
* The London Prodigal
* Love's Labour's Won †
* The Merry Devil of Edmonton
* Mucedorus
* The Puritan
* The Second Maiden's Tragedy
* Sejanus His Fall
* Sir John Oldcastle
* Sir Thomas More ✻
* The Spanish Tragedy
* Thomas Lord Cromwell
* Thomas of Woodstock
* Ur-Hamlet †
* Vortigern and Rowena
* A Yorkshire Tragedy

|

Poems|

* The Passionate Pilgrim
* To the Queen

Life
and works|

* Birthplace
* Bibliography
* Complete Works
* Translations
* Coat of arms
* Collaborations
* Editors
* English Renaissance theatre
* Globe Theatre
* Handwriting
* Lord Chamberlain's Men/King's Men
* The Theatre
* Curtain Theatre
* Music
* New Place
* Portraits
* Religious views
* Sexuality
* Spelling of his name
* Stratford-upon-Avon
* Style
* Will
* Grave

Legacy|

* Attribution studies
* Authorship question
* Bardolatry
* Festivals
* Gardens
* Influence
* Memorials
* Screen adaptations
* Shakespeare and Star Trek
* Shakespeare's influence on Tolkien
* Works titled after Shakespeare

| Institutions|

* Folger Shakespeare Library
* Shakespeare Quarterly
* Royal Shakespeare Company
* Royal Shakespeare Theatre
* Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
* Shakespeare's Globe (replica)
* Shakespeare Institute

|

Family|

* Anne Hathaway (wife)
* Susanna Hall (daughter)
* Hamnet Shakespeare (son)
* Judith Quiney (daughter)
* Elizabeth Barnard (granddaughter)
* John Shakespeare (father)
* Mary Arden (mother)
* Gilbert Shakespeare (brother)
* Joan Shakespeare (sister)
* Edmund Shakespeare (brother)
* Richard Shakespeare (grandfather)
* John Hall (son-in-law)
* Thomas Quiney (son-in-law)

* ✻ Shakespeare and other authors
* † Lost

* Category

* v
* t
* e

William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

Characters|

* Viola
* Orsino
* Olivia
* Sebastian
* Malvolio
* Maria
* Sir Toby Belch
* Sir Andrew Aguecheek
* Feste

On screen|

* 1933
* 1955
* 1966 (TV)
* 1970 (TV)
* 1980 (TV)
* 1986
* 1988 (TV)
* 1992 (TV)
* 1996

Musical|

* Your Own Thing (1968)
* Music Is (1976)
* Play On! (1997)
* Illyria (2004)
* All Shook Up (2004)

Adaptations|

* Kanniyin Kathali (1949)
* Just One of the Guys (1985)
* Motocrossed (2001)
* She's the Man (2006)
* Dil Bole Hadippa! (2009)

Opera|

* Viola (unfinished)

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