"What a delight it is to enter the world of ONCE ON THIS ISLAND!" raves The New York Times. Time Out New York cheers, "After seeing this imaginative and dynamic musical, you may feel once is not enough!"
This is the sweeping theatrical power of ONCE ON THIS ISLAND - the universal tale of Ti Moune (2018 Tony Award nominee Hailey Kilgore), a fearless peasant girl in search of her place in the world, and ready to risk it all for love. Guided by the mighty island gods (played by Tony Award winner Lea Salonga, Glee's Alex Newell, American Idol's Tamyra Gray, and Cats' Quentin Early Darrington), Ti Moune sets out on a remarkable journey to reunite with the man who has captured her heart.
The groundbreaking vision of two-time Tony Award nominated director Michael Arden (Spring Awakening revival) and acclaimed choreographer Camille A. Brown (NBC's Jesus Christ Superstar Live) conjures up "a place where magic is possible and beauty is apparent for all to see!" (The Huffington Post).
Gather around for ONCE ON THIS ISLAND - the musical NY1 hails as "exhilarating theater! It's impossible to resist!" And where the timeless power of theatre brings us together, moves our hearts and helps us weather the storm.
Over a fast-moving 90 minutes, the score mixes captivating calypso beats and warm ballads, all brought to life vividly by the fine-tuned cast. Exuberant dancing adds bursts of excitement. Imaginative storytelling lends delights. Pieces of wood combine to become a Daniel's car. A whirled length of hose turns into a whooshing almost musical instrument. In the end, Ti Moune's journey doesn't lead to happily ever after - but to a mythical sort of transformation.
This is a show that works on one heart at a time (yours). In so doing, the story of the peasant girl Ti-Moune, and her audacious capacity for love, homes in on the essential simplicity of the musical art and, especially, its place in the great human trajectory of assuaging life's crises through the collective telling, and the collective hearing, of pedagogical, allegorical and soothing stories. You do not need to spend much time with the current news to know that producer Ken Davenport has judiciously timed his revival of a show featuring a fearless female protagonist self-actualizing inside a story within a story, finding herself empowered by her community and thus able to take down the walls constructed by those with privilege.
Videos