'Once On This Island' Enlivens Clarksburg High Stage: Cappies Review

By Jessup Gravitt/Annandale High School
Cappies Review

CLARKSBURG, MD — The clap of thunder, the smooth downpour of rain and flood, and a setting imbued with life constructed Clarksburg High School's "Once on This Island" into a naturally charming production.

With the book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty, "Once on This Island" imbued Broadway with life from 1990 to 1991, then opened in the West End in 1994, winning an Olivier Award for best new musical. Based on a Caribbean retelling of the Little Mermaid, Rosa Guy's "My Love, My Love," "Once on This Island" grounds itself on Caribbean culture, taking place in the French Antilles. The flow of Caribbean dance and rhythms combined with Haitian mythology and the culture of a thriving island population to create a vibrant world present at every moment.

The musical was centered around an adopted peasant Ti Moune (Jayla Hamelin) and the love she shows for Daniel (Elijah Beeler), a rich French-descendant boy who crashed his car on the peasants' side of the island. Hamelin gave her performance as Ti Moune an undying motivation and showed intent behind all her actions as Beeler supported her and built on their chemistry with soft, controlled vocals and changes in his expression to show his comfort around his love interest. Powerful mythological beings also played a vital role in the support of Ti Moune's journey, particularly the goddess of love Erzulie (Amber Ruiz) and the demon of death Papa Ge (Anusha Dasgupta). Both Ruiz and Dasgupta impressed with their contrasting dynamic as they influenced Ti Moune's actions to make either love or death prevail. Ruiz's angelic nature and gentle puppeteering of the lovers contrasted Dasgupta's threatening aura, with her powerful voice and towering demeanor showing that death was never far behind.

The tale was given further support through ensemble work, with a strong background of dance and vocals from peasants and rich townspeople alike. The ensemble worked together to develop the scenes and guide the story, serving as narrators for important moments, then returning quickly to their water-like movements. This flow seen throughout the production was especially present in the God of Water Agwe's performance (Brandon Miller). Miller stretched out his body and flowed with the music, providing intention behind his movements while also acting as the rain and water he controlled, supported by his vocal power and expression.

The background work by Clarksburg's tech needed to transform the stage into a colorful Caribbean setting was prominent and gave the world much more character. The costume designs by Molly Ridgeway, Leila Rickoff, Aastha Shrestha, and Sofia Burkhardt gave each character more expression and were constructed to give a vibrant aura to the actors, particularly the gods with their colorful handmade costumes. The makeup by Kat Vallejo, Orli Marshall, and Madison Sprites followed suit with the addition of color and character Clarksburg's tech provided, with shades of pink and glitter to highlight Erzulie's beauty and the deep red handprints on Papa Ge's arms to signify demons scratching her arms as part of the grand work that makeup and tech overall did to add to the characters portrayed. The set, done by Esther Petersen, Madeline McClure, Cindy Lai, and Divine Aniugo, covered parts of the stage with moss and the peasants' house items to expand the world they presided in, with a large tree in the center that changed seasons to provide immersion to the Caribbean land shown.

A bright balance of nature and color tied in with an enticing love story, Clarksburg's "Once on This Island" flowed smoothly and captured the heart of Caribbean culture while providing an outstanding production.