Jalisa Williams plays Vy, modeled after Viola of 'Twelfth Night,' joined by Signature Theatre’s cast of the Duke Ellington musical 'Play On!' The production runs until Oct. 5. Photo by Daniel Rader

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“I can sing and speak to him in many sorts of music,” says Viola, the protagonist in Twelfth Night.

In Shakespeare’s classic comedy, a shipwrecked young lady finds herself in the unfamiliar land of Illyria. To protect herself, she disguises herself as a page for Duke Orsino and tries to help him win the affections of the Countess Olivia.

Riffing off the original play’s focus on transformation, Signature Theatre’s production of Play On! transforms the Shakespeare play into a musical with “many sorts of music”: Duke Ellington tunes.

At the beginning of the performance, an announcer intones, “Welcome to the Cotton Club!”

Rather than Illyria, Viola, now Vy, finds herself in Harlem’s Cotton Club during the Harlem Renaissance, where she must navigate a man’s world. Duke Orsino is now Duke Ellington, and Vy is not his page but his songwriting protégé. Will Vy and the Duke find love in this new time and place?

Play On!, conceived and directed by Sheldon Epps and written by Cheryl L. West, was first performed in 1996 in San Diego. It made it to Broadway the following year and received three Tony Award nominations during its short run.

Interestingly, the Shakespeare-Ellington connection began long before the 1990s. An informative essay in the Signature Theatre playbill, “The Bard and the Duke,” notes that “Ellington even adapted Shakespeare’s work himself with his 12-part suite ‘Such Sweet Thunder.’”

This production of Play On!, directed by Lili-Anne Brown and choreographed by Breon Arzell, is a delight for both Shakespeare and Ellington fans as well as those who enjoy classic musicals and artistic intersections across genres and time.

Familiar numbers

The sets, designed by Dan Conway, are wonderfully evocative of the Ellington era of the 1920s and 1930s: Feather fans descend from the ceiling, vintage Broadway stage lights illuminate the actors, and a streamlined stage balcony resembles the upper deck of an old cruise ship.

In addition to Ellington’s famous tune “Take the ‘A’ Train,” you’ll hear some of the Duke’s lesser-known pieces, such as “I Didn’t Know About You” and “Something to Live For.”

The Ellington music is performed superbly by an excellent jazz aggregation (directed by Jermaine Hill) of pianist Brian P. Whitted, saxophonist Grant Langford, trumpet player Kenny Rittenhouse, trombonist Reginald Cyntje, bassist Paul Henry, and drummer Carroll Dashiell III. (More Ellington music is heard via recording before, after and during the intermission of the show, including “The Mooche” and “Swampy River.”)

Countess Olivia from Twelfth Night has transformed into the jazz singer Lady Liv (played wonderfully by Awa Sal Secka), who sings a sultry “Mood Indigo.” The lovesick Duke himself (played with sophistication by Greg Watkins) sings “I Got It Bad (and That Ain’t Good)” in duet with Vy (Jalisa Williams performs brilliantly), and Rev, the stand-in for Shakespeare’s stern puritanical Malvolio (depicted skillfully by Chuckie Benson), sings “I’m Beginning to See the Light” in riotous fashion.

Brush up your Shakespeare

Viewers may want to familiarize themselves with Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night before attending, not because Play On! copiously copies Twelfth Night, but because it does not. Instead, its well-placed Shakespearean quotes and references can surprise the audience and become delightful inside jokes.

For example, the character of Feste the Fool (Jester, played by an engaging Wesley J. Barnes) makes a sly reference to “What You Will,” the subtitle of the original Twelfth Night.

Of course, the musical’s name, Play On!, alludes to the fuller quote: “If music be the food of love, play on.” At the very end of the production, Jester ponders the undercurrents of illusion in rhyme — how very Shakespearean!

Play On! offers some thought-provoking insights into the original play’s themes of disguise. As Lady Liv wisely notes, it’s a pity that “people think they have to transform themselves for their true selves to be discovered.”

The musical runs through Oct. 5 at Signature’s MAX Theatre. Tickets are available at sigtheatre.org. The box office can be reached at (703) 820-9771 from noon to 8 p.m. daily.

Reserved ticket prices range from $40 to $131. While no senior discounts are available, a 25% discount is offered to veterans, military retirees, educators and front-line workers, from nurses to grocery store employees.

Family Pack tickets ($50 each) are available for a maximum of two adults (parents/guardians) attending with one to three children ages 6 to 17.