"Once On This Island" - musical review

I had previously mentioned that the Reprise Theatre Company was going to be putting on a production of "Once On This Island", and I was able to get tickets for the show, so the husband and I went last night. After having dinner in nearby Westwood Village, we headed to the theatre where the show was being performed.

Reprise apparently has a number of locations where they put on their performances, and this particular production was being held at the Freud Playhouse on the UCLA Campus. The directions on Reprise's website made it easy to find the location of the nearby parking structure ($9 for parking) and the theatre itself. As we approached the front of the theatre, we saw a friend who had separately gotten a ticket for the show. As we compared seats, we were happily surprised to discover that she was in the row right in front of us, and her seat ended up being right in front of mine.

Our seats were in the fourth row, to the right of the stage, so we had a terrific view.

Overall, I really enjoyed the show. The staging was a little bit more elaborate than the production we'd seen previously by International City Theatre in Long Beach, but it wasn't more elaborate by much. There was a proscenium of sorts that would be used periodically, and there was a scaffold that was used a few times. All of the actors were dressed in white. All of the actors were just terrific, with great singing and fabulous dancing. I've previously said that I'd really like to see a full-scale production of this show, but I've now changed my mind. Sure, nice sets are pretty, but this show is really about the power of the performances, how the events that transpire during the course of the show can bring joy and laughter to you but can also reduce you to tears. However, I really enjoyed the shadow staging when the story was told of how the Grande Hommes came to be. The previous production did have an intermission, but this production did not, and I actually preferred not having it since it is just then one continuous story, and it's not overly long in any case.

The only aspect of the show that I didn't particularly like was the wraparound story. An orphan girl is having a coronation ceremony, and as part of the ceremony, the company tells her the story of Ti Moune, so the entire production is performed as if for her. Throughout much of the play, she is sitting and watching just like everyone else, though she does join in parts, and the end of the show itself is her coronation. That wasn't in the production I'd seen previously, and it's not on the CD of the Broadway cast recording, so I'm not sure if it comes from some other source material for the show or if it's an original creation. I didn't care for much of the show being directed to the girl rather than the audience, but I didn't dislike it enough to affect how much I loved the show overall.

I've loved this show since the first time I listened to the CD of the Broadway cast recording, and I was thrilled when I had the chance to see it the first time. Being able to see it again this time just cements what I'd been thinking - this is my second favorite musical theatre show, a position that used to be held by "The Phantom of the Opera". If you know me or have read my blog at all, you probably won't have trouble figuring out what my favorite musical theatre show is.

The production runs through next Sunday, September 14, and seats may still be available for some shows.


Our next visit to a Reprise production will hopefully be "Chess", with single tickets going on sale on February 24, 2009.