An Ill-Favored Story with a Beautiful Soundtrack
I did not know the story of this musical. I knew the controversy surrounding it and the local San Diego hullabaloo over miscasting some years ago.
Once on This Island is based on Rosa Guy’s 1985 novel My Love, My Love or The Peasant Girl, which is described as “the tropical retelling of ‘The Little Mermaid’. The musical, written by Lynn Ahrens, gives the plot a Caribbean coat with Ti Moune (Timyra-Joi) at the center. An orphaned peasant girl who saves Daniel (Xavier J. Bush), an aristocrat, from drowning. They fall in love, but society has other plans due to colorism and classism, which are still real and palpable today. The romanticism around it killed me, and in contrast, was Stephen Flaherty’s music, which made for a beautiful score rendered nicely by the cast under Lyndon Pugeda’s musical direction.
Alyssa “Ajay” Junious’ choreography, encompassing group numbers and solos, stood out. Timyra-Joi performed a powerful solo during the song We Are Wed complemented by Zoë Trautmann’s costume design, which for this scene had a beautiful yellow ruffled dress. Xavier J. Bush, as the wonderful choreographer/dancer they are, had a tight performance and worked well with both Joi and Jasmine January as the fiancé Andrea. January continues to display growth in her roles both histrionically and vocally. I had not seen Eboni Muse since Little Shop of Horrors, and the interpretations as Mama Euralie and Asaka were moving and strong, having good rapport with Kingsley Jackson as the sweet Tonton Julian. Matthew Javier was vicious as the demon Papa Ge with a mighty delivery of the song Forever Yours and its reprise. Ali Nelson and Kayla Hatashita were tender as the storytellers, displaying charm and engagement with the audience, who was also won over by Nia Castro’s cute interpretation of little Ti Moune.
Michael Wogulis’ stage design used the space creatively for the actors to use it all, imparting the needed dimension to bring the scenes to life, contoured by Nate Cargill’s juxtaposed lighting, which favored the actors switching roles onstage.
Sound is one of the bases for a good musical performance, and Estefania Ricalde’s design, along with Jordan Gray’s mixing, created crisp waves that camouflaged the recorded tracks compared to live music.
OTC Artistic Director Kevin “Blax” Burroughs directed the piece, genuinely reflecting his vision for the theatre company by curating their season, bringing up-and-coming talents to the Oceanside stage, and adding a new flair to the boards. There is love and care in what he does, and that goes beyond the stage. I cannot wait to see what OTC does with Spring Awakening—finally produced in San Diego!
Tori Jones was the Stage Manager and Props/Set Dresser for this musical with
Assistant Stage Manager pug lee.
