The stars and creative team of the upcoming Broadway revival of Lynn Ahrens and Steven Flaherty's Once on this
Island met the press this week to sing, dance, and chat about why this musical is
so loved by theater goers.
Once on this Island is set in the aftermath of a
devastating storm and tells the story of a peasant girl Ti Moune, and her quest to
reunite with the man she loves.
--It isn't your typical Cinderella story. We start
out the show. Devastation has just hit, and these are people who are not rich,
these are people who are not wealthy, or famous, or she's just your everyday young
woman with an open heart and an eye for adventure.
--I'm psyched, you know it's what I feel like it's it's it's the right time, it's
just the right time. It feels right. 27 years later you know look at the world,
look what we have right now, this show is going to welcome everybody in, and it's
going to say you are part of the human heart, no matter what they're saying out
there. we tell a very powerful message in an intimate way, and that to me is much
needed, and greatly needed in the wide spectrum of not only Broadway theater,
but in theater in general. You know and so so a beautiful blessing that we have
to do the show.
--When they get something that really hits them right in the gut
of what we're dealing with right now, I think some people are gonna walk away
with a little bit of healing, with a little bit of inspiration, and a pep in
their step, and a desire just hug somebody you know
--The music, the music
and the heart behind the music. There's every it's like Lynn and Steven took
time to like bleed their heart into it. And they know how to write a damn lyric
to make you, I mean, Ti Moune, I'm out, every night. I'm just like sobbing.
--When you
hear the music, it just sends you off into some other spiritual plane that is
not of this earth, and it's just one of those miraculous pieces of musical
theater.
I think that Lynn and Steven have this way, it's kind of like
Stevie Wonder, it's like they know how to put the chords together that pull at your
heartstrings, or to evoke joy.
--The joy of this show is palpable, but even people who think they know Once on
this Island might be surprised by what the new production has in store.
--It's gonna be an experience. They're gonna walk and they're like what is happening?
I mean I don't want to give anything away, other than me being amazing, and
everyone else being amazing, mainly me, mainly everybody else really.
--It is going
to be wild. It's incredibly environmental. Wind, there's fire, there's rain
there's sand on the floor. I wanted it to to feel like we were really you were
really stepping foot on this island when we came in.
--And an animal or two. -- And an
animal or two and wind. Don't give it away.
--We have totally reimagined what
it's what the sound elements are of the show. It's not just voices and
instruments anymore. We have trash-struments, which is literal garbage that
has been tuned to make specific notes that we have people in the company
playing on stage.
-- It kind of goes along with our theme of making something
beautiful out of something tragic, so we've made these instruments out of
trash, and we'll be playing them throughout.
--Oooh, it's some good stuff, oh my god. Way
beyond anything I would have thought of for the show, and I absolutely love it.
I'm very excited for you all to come and see it, check us out.
--And I'm glad that
they didn't revive it until now because now I get to be a part of it.