This island tale is hot stuff on a cold night
GOODNESS me, there are some powerful voices in Ola Ince’s striking revival of this 1990 Broadway musical, which puts a Caribbean spin on the story of the Little Mermaid.
The tale of Ti Moune, a foundling peasant girl who falls for one of the wealthy, lighter-skinned “grand hommes” of her island (identified here as Haiti) is a simple one, bordering on the simplistic; it’s billed as suitable for children over 10. But it’s told in just 90 minutes with real force and verve.
The long-running composing and writing partnership of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty stripped narrative back to basics here while packing the score with an array of belting anthems, insidious rhythms and sly wit.
Ince’s production is similarly pared down, with a minimal set by Georgia Lowe of slim scaffolding towers — avoiding sunshine-island cliches— but glorious lighting and costumes. Among many stirring performances, Gabrielle Brooks once again proves herself a devastating emotional and vocal powerhouse in the lead role.
Even though she was battling the glacial temperatures that traditionally greet the first show at the Open Air Theatre each year.
Myth, religion and history are entwined here. The peasants work the land and the sea; the “grand hommes”, descendants of French colonists and their slaves, are the urban aristocracy. When princeling Daniel (Stephenson Ardern-Sodje) nearly dies in a car crash, Ti Moune makes a bargain with the gods to save his life.
Later, her healing takes an erotic turn. For all this, she pays a harsh price. The score is insistent: the song Pray in particular has a hectic, driven pulse behind it, while Forever Yours and Some Girls are lethally ominous.
Ince stages an ostensibly light-hearted historical ditty with giant carnival body parts that make the legacy of slavery wittily, starkly clear.
As a reappraisal of a classic, potentially kitschy musical, her production ranks alongside Jamie Lloyd’s dazzling Evita at this venue in 2019 .
Seriously, when did the Open Air Theatre get so cool? Once On This Island is a brisk, energising piece of theatre. It’ll be even better on a hot night.
To June 10, openairtheatre.com