Novi Middle School Presents 'Once on This Island' Musical

Once on This Island, the original and theatrical Caribbean adaptation of the popular fairy tale The Little Mermaid, garnered eight Tony nominations during its Broadway run, including Best Musical, Book and Score.

Now, the community can see the show locally at the auditorium on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

More than 50 middle school students are involved in the production, whether in painting sets, acting or technical support.

"We want to get to the point where it's all student-run," said director and Novi special education teacher Lori Burkhardt. "We want to train the students to be independent."

In almost non-stop song and dance, the show tells the story of Ti Moune, a peasant girl who rescues and falls in love with Daniel, a wealthy boy from the other side of her island. When Daniel is returned to his people, the fantastical gods, who rule the island, guide Ti Moune on a quest to test the strength of her love against the powerful forces of prejudice, hatred and death.

Burkhardt said they only have one performance of the musical because they have to pay to use the auditorium, and the show takes a large part out of the budget. The middle school productions are funded solely by proceeds from the shows. 

Tickets can be purchased in the main office between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily or at the door. Cost is $7 for adults, and $5 for children 12 and younger and for seniors.

Students ready to perform

Eighth-grade students Julia Sultana and Caleb Ascencio and seventh-grade students Ben Doughty and Jessica Koh, who play the gods in the show, said they are excited to put the show on Friday.

The gods control other characters in the play, and they each have their own special attribute, such as making people fall in love. 

"We like to mess things around," Jessica said of their characters. 

The four have been rehearsing with the rest of the crew for a little more than a month, but they said they don't mind the time commitment.

"We're doing what we like to do. It's not a chore. It's not a bad thing that we're spending all this time here," Caleb said.

While all four students said they enjoy the singing and acting, they also like seeing the production come together.

"I like knowing that you got to create a show and that it will entertain people," Julia said. "It's pretty cool to think about."

The students admit they sometimes get stage fright, but they're getting over it.

"It's pretty nerve-racking when you don't know anyone at the beginning, but you get used to it after a while," Julia said.

Ben said he joined the musical because he wanted to try something new, besides sports.

"I've gotten to meet a lot of new people, and it's helped me be less socially awkward," he said.

Novi alumni help with the production

Burkhardt began directing the middle school shows one year ago, years after her two sons, Andrew and Adam, started working behind the scenes in tech.

Adam worked tech for productions when he was in high school in Novi, and now he is an auditorium technician for the school district and a business student at the University of Michigan. He teaches the students how to run the audio and lights. His brother, Andrew, is also a Novi alum and an astrophysics student at U-M; he serves as the stage manager.

The set design is lead by Becky Goodearl, a Novi alumna and set design major at Central Michigan University. Choreography was done by Wayne State University student and Novi alumna Maryanne Barcomb.

Yet, Adam said he hopes the students will be able to run the show on their own.

"During the show, hopefully I'll just have to stand there," he said.

Cast/Characters

Little Girl ……………………………………Julia Tvardek
Little TiMoune …………………………..Kat Malokofsky
Storyteller 1 ………………………………Megana Deme
Storyteller 2 ………………………………Madaleine Armstrong
Storyteller 3 ……………………………..Sean Inglese
Storyteller 4 ……………………………..Brennan Martin
Storyteller ………………………………..Ian Dunbar Gaynor
Mama Euralie …………………………..Denisse Flores
Tonton Julian ……………………………Mitchel Huang
TiMoune ………………………………….Allison Bailey
Daniel Beauxhomme ……………….Mario Melone
Daniel’s Father ………………………..Soorya Ramappan
Daniel’s Son ……………………………..Adrian Koutras
Andrea …………………………………….Bryanna Lee
Gatekeeper ……………………………..Christina Ditri
Papa Ge ……………………………………Ben Doughty
Asaka ……………………………………….Jessica Koh
Agwe ……………………………………….Caleb Ascencio
Erzulie ……………………………………..Julia Sultana
Gossiper 1 ……………………………….Claire Wojan
Gossiper 2 ……………………………….Alexis Hines
Gossiper 3 ……………………………….Jessie Zhao
Gossiper 4 ……………………………….Karen Xu
Gossiper 5 ……………………………….Sona Raju
Gossiper 6 /Dance Captain………Anna Mikkelsen
Villager 1 …………………………………Maddie Eiler
Villager 2 …………………………………Erica Bryant
Villager 3 /Dance Captain……….Ellie Oegema
Villager 4 …………………………………Katie Piesz
Villager 5 …………………………………Makayla Smith
Villager 6 …………………………………Sydney Carlson
Villager 7 …………………………………Jenn Duran
Villager 8 …………………………………Anahi Orozio
Villager 9 …………………………………Meena Seetharaman
Villager 10 ………………………………Carolyn Watson

Technical Student Support

Stephen Siitari
Daud Taha
Andrew Stemkowski
Janhavi Deshpaunde
Eric Foard
Thomas Bertus
Kira Hurley
Ryan Rose