'Once on This Island' at Manatee Players

"Once on This Island" will be performed by the children of Broadway Bootcamp, a summer camp that features intensive training in acting, technical theater and performance prepration. The show, a Caribbean adaptation of "The Little Mermaid" by the creators of "Ragtime," is the culmination of their camp.

Public performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. July 29, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. July 30, and 2 p.m. July 31. Tickets are $25 for adults and $11 for ages 12 and younger.

All performances are held at the Manatee Players Riverfront Theatre, 102 Old Main St. in downtown Bradenton. Tickets for both shows are now on sale and can be purchased by calling the Manatee Players’ box office at 941-748-5875 or online at www.manateeplayers.com.

"Once on This Island," an enchanting musical fable, tells the story of forbidden love between people from two different worlds. Originally inspired by Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Mermaid," the Broadway show transports the story to a Caribbean island where social prejudice divides the island. Presented as a "play within a play," a cast of village storytellers, attempting to calm a frightened young child, tell the romantic tale of a peasant girl who saves a rich city boy from death.