By Mabel Pais

NY’s Broadway: Once On This Island (Musical)

Once On This Island is the first Broadway revival of the musical, currently running at The Circle in the Square Theatre (235 West 50^th Street).

The musical is written by the Tony Award-winning team Lynn Ahrens (Book and Lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty (Music), and based on the novel “My Love, My Love” by Rosa Guy. This production features new orchestrations by original orchestrator Michael Starobin who is joined by AnnMarie Milazzo.

Bursting with Caribbean colors, rhythms and dance, the story comes to vibrant life in a striking production by Tony Award®-nominated director Michael Arden (Spring Awakening revival) and acclaimed choreographer Camille A. Brown. This production transforms the reality of a tropical village devastated by a storm into a fantastical world alive with hope.

Once On This Island is the universal tale of Ti Moune (newcomer, Hailey Kilgore), a fearless peasant girl in search of her place in the world and who falls in love with a wealthy boy from the other side of the island. When their divided cultures keep them apart, Ti Moune is guided by the powerful island gods, Erzulie (Tony award winner Lea Salonga), Asaka (Alex Newell) , Papa Ge (Merle Dandridge), and Agwe (Quentin Earl Darrington), on a remarkable quest to reunite with the man who has captured her heart.

Additional cast includes Phillip Boykin (Tonton Julian), Darlesia Cearcy (Storyteller), Rodrick Covington (Storyteller), Emerson Davis (Little Girl) Alysha Deslorieux (Andrea), Tyler Hardwick (Storyteller), Cassondra James (Storyteller), David Jennings (Armand), Grasan Kingsberry (Storyteller), Loren Lott (Storyteller), Kenita R. Miller (Mama Euralie), Isaac Powell (Daniel), T. Oliver Reid (Storyteller), Aurelia Williams (Storyteller), and Mia Williamson (Little Girl).

The main producers of the musical are Ken Davenport and Hunter Arnold.

Additional producers include Carl Daikeler, Roy Putrino, Broadway Strategic Return Fund, Caiola Productions, H. Richard Hopper, Sandi Moran, Diego Kolankowsky, Brian Cromwell Smith, Ron Kastner, Rob Kolson, Judith Manocherian, Kevin Lyle, Jay Alix, Una Jackman, Jeff Wise, WitzEnd Productions, Jeff Grove, Wishnie-Strasberg, Mark Ferris, Michelle Riley, Marie Stevenson, Mojgan Fajiram, Jesse McKendry, Silva Theatrical Group, Conor Bagley, Brendan C. Tetro, Invisible Wall Productions, The Harbert Family, Keith Cromwell, and Red Mountain Theatre Company. The associate producers are Kayla Greenspan and Valerie Novakoff.

The creative team also includes Dane Laffrey (Scenic Design), Clint Ramos (Costume Design), Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer (Lighting Designers), Peter Hylenski (Sound Designer), John Bertles/Bash The Trash (Unusual Instruments), Cookie Jordan (Hair/Wig & Makeup Designer), Chris Fenwick (Music Supervisor), Alvin Hough, Jr. (Music Director), David Perlow (Associate Director), Nikki M. James (Assistant Director), Rickey Tripp (Associate Choreographer) and Telsey + Co / Craig Burns, CSA (Casting Agent).

Once On This Island premiered at Playwrights Horizons in May of 1990. The Broadway production opened in October of that year and ran for 469 performances garnering eight Tony nominations including Best Featured Actress (LaChanze), Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical and Best Musical. The 1994 West End production won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical.

Once On This Island  currently running, has no closing date.

Running Time: 90 minutes with no intermission.

For more information on the musical, visit www.OnceOnThisIsland.com

Follow Once On This Island on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram: @OnceIslandBway

Tickets for Once On This Island are on sale through Telecharge. Group tickets are available at www.YourBroadwayGenius.com or by calling 855-329-2932.

NJSO and NJPAC present in Concert Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban™

“This will be another unforgettable event.”

Justin Freer, creator & producer: Harry Potter, CineConcerts Series

 

“Harry Potter is synonymous with excitement around the world”

Brady Beaubien, CineConcert Producer

Audiences will experience the next chapter of the Harry Potter Film Concert Series with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) performing music from the entire film live to picture.

NJSO will perform the magical score live from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban while the entire film plays in high-definition on a 40-foot screen.

MSU Vocal Accord, a choir from Montclair State University, will be singing during the performance (there is some featured chorus in the film).

The Harry Potter Film Concert Series, which is another magical experience from J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, kicked off in June 2016 with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and is scheduled to include hundreds of performances across more than 35 countries around the world through 2018.

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry, Ron and Hermione, now teenagers, return for their third year at Hogwarts, where they are forced to face escaped prisoner, Sirius Black, who seems to pose a great threat to Harry. Harry and his friends spend their third year learning how to handle a half-horse, half-eagle creature known as a Hippogriff, repel shape-shifting Boggarts and master the art of Divination. They also visit the wizarding village of Hogsmeade and the Shrieking Shack, which is considered the most haunted dwelling in Britain. In addition to these new experiences, Harry faces a werewolf and must overcome the threats of the soul-sucking Dementors. With his best friends, Harry tackles advanced magic, crosses the barriers of time and impacts the course of life changing events for those around him.

Earning an Oscar-nomination for the score, the spellbinding and incredible music composed by John Williams became an instant classic, conjuring beautiful, soaring motifs continuing the adventures of Harry Potter on his magical journey.

This film concert series has been created by CineConcerts, in partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, and will be conducted by its creator and producer, Justin Freer. He explains, “The Harry Potter film series continues to be a once-in-a-lifetime cultural phenomenon that delights millions of fans around the world. It is with great pleasure that we introduced for the first time ever an opportunity to experience the award-winning music scores played live by a symphony orchestra, all while the beloved film is simultaneously projected onto the big screen. This will be another unforgettable event.”

Brady Beaubien of CineConcerts and Concert Producer for the Harry Potter Film Concert Series added, “Harry Potter is synonymous with excitement around the world and we hope that by performing this incredible music with the full movie, audiences will enjoy returning to this world, and to the many wonderful characters that inhabit it.”

For more information on the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, visit www.harrypotterinconcert.com.

To purchase tickets, from NJSO visit www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476); or, from NJPAC www.njpac.org or by phone at 1.888.GO.NJPAC (888.466.5722).

(Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Health and Wellness, and Spirituality)