Tag Archives: Tanaka Bingwa

PLAY ON!

โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…

Lyric Hammersmith

PLAY ON!

Lyric Hammersmith

โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…

โ€œThe unique quality of this musical is that each number comes with its own ever-increasing โ€˜wow factorโ€™.โ€

The atmosphere in the bar is electric. The only thing missing is the fog of cigarette smoke, otherwise weโ€™ve walked into an old brownstone building on the corner of 52nd Street. It is the early 1940s. Was that Charlie Parker over there by the bar? Iโ€™m sure I just saw Dizzy Gillespie. Through the crowds clutching their Daiquiris and Manhattans, I think I can hear Duke Ellington strike a few opening chords on the grand piano. But then the chime of the intercom โ€“ with its five-minute call โ€“ brings us back into the twenty-first century, as we file into the auditorium for Sheldon Eppsโ€™ musical โ€œPlay On!โ€

The title comes from the Dukeโ€™s famous opening line from โ€œTwelfth Nightโ€ on which this musical is based. Eppsโ€™ concept, with the book by Cheryl L. West, takes brazen liberties with Shakespeare while still convincing us of its faithfulness. The result is a revelation โ€“ as we are transported from Illyria to the Cotton Club in Harlem in nineteen-forty-something. The music of Duke Ellington slots into the narrative as though he were commissioned to write the songs specifically for this show. This is hardcore jazz, steeped in tradition, but sharing the stage with its modern sister โ€˜hip-hopโ€™ thanks to the stunning choreography of Kenrick H2O Sandy MBE.

The opening routine sets the tone โ€“ a burst of precision and emotion, the ensemble moving as one, led by Llewellyn Jamal. Breaking free from the song and from his magnetic dance moves, Jamal coaxes us into the action, playing Jester โ€“ a chancing, two-timing yet loveable rogue. Into the club wanders his niece, Viola (Tsemaye Bob-Egbe), an aspiring songwriter looking to make it big in the Big Apple, and hoping to join the ranks of the clubโ€™s band leader โ€˜Dukeโ€™. She hasnโ€™t bargained for the reception she receives though. โ€œAinโ€™t no woman can do songwritingโ€ her uncle Jester tells her. To be taken seriously she dresses as a man and becomes Vyman. Meanwhile โ€˜Dukeโ€™ (Earl Gregory) is suffering from writerโ€™s block, unable to complete his melodies. With his Mojo gone, so too has the affections of Lady Liv (KoKo Alexandra) the nightclubโ€™s diva. Vyman is tasked with trying to put things right and, with the help and hindrance of Rev (Cameron Bernard Jones), Miss Mary (Tanya Edwards) and Sweets (Lifford Shillingford) we embark on a very Shakespearean comedy of errors. With all that jazz.

The unique quality of this musical is that each number comes with its own ever-increasing โ€˜wow factorโ€™. And each performer matches the demands of the material with equal virtuosity. Gregoryโ€™s plaintive โ€˜I Let a Song Go Out of My Heartโ€™ is followed by Alexandraโ€™s โ€˜Mood Indigoโ€™ (what an entrance Alexandra makes!). Bob-Egbeโ€™s โ€˜Donโ€™t Get Around Much Anymoreโ€™ rightly betrays the fact that she does get around a lot on the musical theatre scene. Smoky, bluesy ballads interlock with Bebop, big band syncopation. โ€˜It Donโ€™t Mean a Thing If It Ainโ€™t Got That Swingโ€™, but โ€œPlay On!โ€ swings over the edge, and we cling on in ecstasy as it sways to the rhythm. An infectious and irresistible rhythm courtesy of the onstage five-piece band, led by musical director Ashton Moore at the grand piano.

Each number is a highlight โ€“ the solos, duets, quartets and more. Jamal and Shillingford deliver a brilliantly hilarious โ€˜Rocks in My Bedโ€™ while the first act closes with a rousing โ€˜Solitudeโ€™, each singer overlapping before coming together into a rousing, show-stopping ensemble. The vocal dexterity is matched by their handling of Westโ€™s text. Bob-Egbeโ€™s fluidity and Jamalโ€™s flexibility are a master class in acting and timing, while Gregoryโ€™s cool smoky tones evoke the period with echoes of a young Leslie โ€˜Hutchโ€™ Hutchinson in his Harlem days.

The ending of the story plays fast and loose with the original plot. Rev, who represents Malvolio, has a very different fate. The reconciliations are not wholly expected by those familiar with Shakespeareโ€™s text. In fact, in some ways, this has a more satisfactory conclusion. The feelgood factor is one that the Bard may not have sanctioned, but we endorse it, and love it. And we leave the auditorium with more than a dance in our step. โ€œIf music be the food of love, play onโ€ฆ Give me excess of itโ€. That sums it up really.



PLAY ON!

Lyric Hammersmith

Reviewed on 31st January 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Ellie Kurttz

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

OTHELLO | โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜… | January 2023

PLAY ON!

PLAY ON!

PLAY ON!