Forget the chilly weather. Throw on some shorts because it's about to heat up at Baldwin Theatre in Royal Oak.
Stagecrafters presents the beautiful tropical-tinged musical "Once On This Island" from Jan. 12-Feb. 4. The production, based on a book by Rosa Guy that adapts Hans Christian Andersen's classic "Little Mermaid" story and transplants it to a Caribbean island setting, touched director Jerry Haines after seeing it on Broadway.
"I can't get through a listening of this musical without dancing, singing, laughing and crying. Most of all it is the story touches me," said Haines, who started with Guy's novel to prepare for the production, in a statement. "The adaptation is not quite the same but the message of love as a very powerful force carries over. Love crosses cultures, survives in the face of tragedy, and transcends death. Every human being on this planet is capable of loving and being loved and should be free to love without judgment. Knowing and experiencing love is being one with God. Or, in the vein of the show, being one with the gods."
Set on an island in the French Antilles, this story of a love doomed by class differences gets a rich and colorful staging inspired by Caribbean sounds, folklore and tradition. The show features a multi-cultural cast in continuous movement and song.
As a group of peasants wait out a violent storm, they entertain a frightened little girl (Olivia Bryant of Troy) with a story told in song and dance as they transform themselves into flora, fauna, humans and the four gods who preside over their island: Erzulie, the Goddess of Love (Schianti Jaramillo of Detroit); Agwe, the God of Water (Andy Kavalos of Warren); Asaka, Mother of the Earth (Tawna Dabney of Ann Arbor); and Papa Ge, Demon of Death (Albert Massey of Detroit).
The gods initiate a fateful meeting when a young peasant girl, Ti Moune (Sara Rydzewski of Livonia), rescues a wealthy young aristocrat, Daniel Beauxhomme (Michael Lapinsky of Farmington), from an automobile accident. She pleads with Papa Ge for the gentleman's life offering her own life instead. As she nurses him back to health, the two fall in love.
But a deep divide between the island's peasants and the wealthy planters overpowers their love and Ti Moune must contend with the pull of Daniel's fiancee, Andrea Devereaux (Patricia Raney of Warren), and father, Armand (Brian Moultrup of Royal Oak). Ultimately Daniel succumbs to his well-bred heritage, leaving a heartbroken Ti Moune. However, as the storytellers bring the story full circle, it becomes clear that Ti Moune's sacrifice has not been in vain.
For the production, the Baldwin main stage has been transformed into a lush and exotic tropical island getaway – complete with palms, cliffs, majestic ocean view, and even a 7-foot-tall flowing waterfall – to capture the dynamic energy of the show.
"Drew Hall designed a set for this show that manages to capture all I wanted to convey," Haines says.
Musical offers tropical getaway
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