By Lindsay Hawthorne
The Jewel of the Antilles, known in real life as modern day Haiti, is the setting of one unique retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s fable, The Little Mermaid.
This story of the struggle for love between a beautiful peasant girl and an upper-class young man began as a book: My Love, My love or The Peasant Girl by Rosa Guy. It then was made into a musical that opened on Broadway in 1990 and ran for about a year, receiving much recognition including nominations for eight Tony awards.
The musical, Once on this Island, even made it all the way to the UK, premiering there in 1994 at the Birmingham Rep and the Royalty Theatre, (now known as the Peacock Theatre), where it received the Olivier Award for Best New Musical.
This story was re-told by a large revival in the UK in 2009, and now it is being retold once again: at Woodland.
Once on this Island will be coming to Woodland on March 30th to 31st. Although the show dates are still far away, the auditions are here and the excitement is spreading.
Eric Gomez, a junior at Woodland, has been in the two most recent Woodland Theater productions of Stage Door and Jesus Christ Superstar, both directed by theater teacher at Woodland, Susan Cinoman.
Gomez wholeheartedly enjoyed his roles in these productions and is looking forward to being a part of Once on this Island.
“It’s such a great story; it’s filled with such high energy songs and opportunities for the actors to really come alive on the stage,” said Gomez.
“I’m really happy that Woodland is doing it because it’s a really great story that sticks with the audience,” added Gomez.
Other students as well as Gomez are looking forward to this production, which will be directed by Chamber and Concert Choir teacher at Woodland, Sean Lewis.
For the actors, this upcoming show is a chance to bond, express themselves, and show their talents.
Come March, Once on this Island will be a must-see.
