Marriott's 'Once on this Island' tackles race, traditions
No show better suits the season than "Once on this Island," the sun-kissed, calypso-flavored musical that opened Wednesday at Lincolnshire's Marriott Theatre.
Prettily sung and exuberantly performed by a small but mighty ensemble, director/choreographer David H. Bell's lovely, lilting revival is as refreshing as a fruit smoothie on a summer day.
But don't be lulled by the quaint folk tales and the sensual, irresistible Caribbean rhythms that comprise this 1990 fairy tale by writer/lyricist Lynn Ahrens and composer by Stephen Flaherty, the duo responsible for the masterful "Ragtime." This isn't some frothy concoction to be savored and forgotten. The enchanting "Once on this Island" is more substantial, and its lessons about love, compassion, tolerance and forgiveness more resonant.
Inspired by Rosa Guy's 1985 novel for young adults "My Love, My Love" and Hans Christian's Andersen's "The Little Mermaid," "Once on this Island" addresses racial prejudice and class conflict through the story of the dark-skinned peasant girl Ti Moune (Chasten Harmon) who falls in love with Daniel (Brandon Koller), a light-skinned aristocrat.
The tale takes place in the West Antilles, simply but sumptuously evoked by lighting designer Diane Ferry Williams and costume designer Nancy Missimi whose work reflects the surf and sand color palette. Set designer Thomas M. Ryan also earns kudos for his use of cheesecloth, fishing nets and fabric to recreate the island idyll on which Bell's imaginatively staged production unfolds.
Following a horrific storm, a childless couple played by Michael James and Leslie Joslyn Jones discovers an orphaned youngster (played by the cute-as-a-button Nya) who has taken refuge in a tree. Naming the girl Ti Moune, they raise her as their own.
As a young woman, Ti Moune (the enchanting Harmon in a heartstring-tugging performance) becomes infatuated with upper crust Daniel, the handsome descendant of a French colonist. After a car crash nearly kills him, Ti Moune begs the god of death Papa Ge (Jesse Means) to spare Daniel's life and offers her own in exchange. As she nurses Daniel back to health, the two fall in love. The lovesick Ti Moune envisions marriage and family. But Daniel, bound by tradition and his engagement to the light-skinned Andrea (the regal Caitlanne Rose Gurreri), cannot marry outside his class, a dilemma wistfully expressed by Koller in the ballad "Some Girls." Instead, he proposes Ti Moune become his mistress, a proposal she rejects.
Bell's casting is as expert as his staging which concludes with a bit of whimsy that suits perfectly the musical's breezy style. The honey-voiced ensemble, under music director Ryan T. Nelson, is first-rate. Leslie and Jones offer an achingly honest expression of parental love in "Ti Moune," a bittersweet paean to letting a child pursue her own dreams. Melinda Wakefield Alberty's love goddess Erzulie hits all the right notes in her silken performance of the poignant "The Human Heart" and Melody Betts stops the show with her volcanic performance as the earth goddess Asaka.
"Once on This Island" Rating: #9733; #9733; #9733; #189;Location: Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, (847) 634-0200 or marriotttheatre.com.Showtimes: 1 and 8 p.m. Wednesday; 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 4:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday through Aug. 29Running time: 90 minutes, no intermissionTickets: $35 to $48; $5 discount for matinee and Sunday performances; dinner theater packages available for $55 on Wednesday and ThursdayParking: Free lot, valet parking available Rating: For most audiencesFalse20001630Marriott Theatre's exuberant revival of "Once on this Island," a calypso-flavored, musical fairy tale by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, is the perfect complement to sultry summer days. False <div class="infoBox"><h1>More Coverage</h1><div class="infoBoxContent"><div class="infoArea"><h2>Video</h2><ul class="video"><!-- Start of Brightcove Player --><div style="display:none"></div><!--By use of this code snippet, I agree to the Brightcove Publisher T and Cfound at https://accounts.brightcove.com/en/terms-and-conditions/.--><script type="text/javascript" src="http://admin.brightcove.com/js/BrightcoveExperiences.js"></script><object id="myExperience111283384001" class="BrightcoveExperience"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="width" value="300" /><param name="height" value="255" /><param name="playerID" value="18011347001" /><param name="publisherID" value="1659832549"/><param name="isVid" value="true" /><param name="dynamicStreaming" value="true" /><param name="@videoPlayer" value="111283384001" /></object><!--This script tag will cause the Brightcove Players defined above it to be created as soonas the line is read by the browser. If you wish to have the player instantiated only afterthe rest of the HTML is processed and the page load is complete, remove the line.--><script type="text/javascript">brightcove.createExperiences();</script><!-- End of Brightcove Player --></ul></div></div></div>