I first dug “Play On!,” Sheldon Epps’ delightful combination of the song stylings of Duke Ellington and the plot twists of the Bard, back in 1998.
Chicago’s Goodman Theatre had resurrected the slick title after a too-brief Broadway run, and Chicago audiences delighted in the Cotton Club setting and the bravura song-and-dance performances of such Ellington classics as “In a Mellow Tone,” “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” and “Solitude” — along with 19 other joint-is-jumpin’ numbers from “Drop Me Off in Harlem” to “Don’t You Know I Care.”
The show also came with an excellent and underrated book by Cheryl L. West, a gifted Illinois writer who constructed a clever, sophisticated and very funny landscape that moved the romantic machinations and characters of “Twelfth Night” to Harlem in deft and creative ways, and also developed a bespoke scat, verse and prose styling that was both true to its early 1940s reality and wittily reminiscent of William Shakespeare’s iambic pentameters and original verbal flourishes. “Twelfth Night” is one of Shakespeare’s true feasts of linguistic prowess, and West managed to build a verbal world in which “if music be the food of love, play on,” and the like, felt perfectly natural. She also made the point that the preening Malvolios and the yearning young Violas of this world are with us still, flailing and hoping their way through life.
Now “Play On!” is back in Chicago at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in a commercially enhanced production very much up to Broadway standards (the sweet set is by Beowulf Boritt), with a New York and Chicago-based cast, following on from a 2025 London staging of the title. The music is taken very seriously (there is a six-piece, horn-heavy live band) and Edgar Godineaux’s fresh, tap-driven choreography honors the period and is exceptionally well executed by the company.
I very much enjoyed the return of this unpretentious show, which features strong vocals and richly marinated comedy flowing from the lead performances of Krystal Joy Brown, Alan H. Green, James Harness, Kaylah Janssen and the very guileless Hailee Kaleem Wright (a name to watch). Chicago’s James Earl Jones II adds more comedy and, well, you can just tell that Epps has literally decades of experience with a piece he conceived as a much younger man.
“Twelfth Night” has, of course, a gender-bending narrative and it struck me Thursday night that this particular 1990s adaptation, or riff, which is very inclusive and non-judgmental, fits the current moment rather better than its original era, given its showcasing of Black musical talent and Black entertainment history. This highly entertaining but nonetheless gentle show never preaches, never takes itself too seriously and embraces everyone in its orbit, all qualities that tend to lead to success in the theater. And there is not a video screen in sight. Thank the lord, this is a purely retro and analog experience that bops along quite deliciously.
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Add in the relative modesty of the physical production and cast size and you have what looks a lot like a show that could better now succeed on Broadway; I supposed they’d need a star or three, but that has never been a pre-requisite for success in Chicago, greatly to the benefit of Chicago audiences.
That’s especially true here. Swing and jazz fans will have a blast watching all these pros. And those in a search of a classy, dressy, old-school date night should find themselves well pleased.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic
Review: “Play On!” (4 stars)
When: Through Oct. 18
Where: The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave.
Running time: 2 hours, 20 mins.
Tickets: $55-150 at 312-595-5600 and chicagoshakes.com
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