Once On This Island

Friday, November 22, 2013
Saturday, November 23, 2013

Book by  Lynn Ahrens
Music by  Stephen Flaherty
Lyrics by  Lynn Ahrens
Based on My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy

Director’s Note

Welcome to Phoenix Players’ fall musical, Once On This Island! On behalf of the cast, the crew, and myself, thank you for joining us on this magical journey. It has been a pleasure directing these young women and men and watching them grow as performers and people.

While it’s easy to believe that the problematic themes that run through Once On This Island exist only on a far distant island, the reality is colonialism and racism are systems of oppression, the effects of which are still very much felt today. Indeed, many of our own students here in chilly Boston have been affected by some of the issues we see on our fictitious sunny Caribbean island.

Characters like Ti Moune remind us of the barriers many interracial couples must overcome, and the obstacles that our impoverished dear neighbor faces everyday. We “tell the story” so that our students might learn from the mistakes of the past and work towards a more just society in the future. Ti Moune’s actions allow us to believe that one day love may pave the way to overcoming social injustices. Perhaps we may all embrace the “courage of a dreamer.”

With all the pain of the past and the hope of the future, we welcome you to our island, where the rivers run deep…

Cast

Keturah Washington as Ti Moune
Sara Kiritsy as the Little Girl/Young Ti Moune
Joadley Duplan as Asaka
Ji Yeon (Jessica) Kwon as Agwe
Jeong-A (Claire) Kim as Erzulie
Cameron Chang as Papa Ge
Terry Shin as Daniel
Akua Okyere as Mama Euralie
Young Song as Tonton Julien
Mary Evers as Andrea
Reginald Fils as the Gatekeeper/Armand
Anthony Malary, Danny Donabedian, Elaine Wang, Kelly Shea, Natalie Pierre-Louis, Ramikah Colimon, Samantha McCue, and Taylor Myers as Storytellers