Top Five Songs: Once On This Island

Seeing the revival of this Ahrens & Flaherty musical last summer was so great. As is typical for this duo, there’s some breathtaking music here and some pretty gorgeous lyrics, both of which brought tears to my eyes when I saw it live.  These are my favorites (a few spoilers.)

“We Dance” – As I say each time I do a Top Five Songs for an Ahrens & Flaherty show, these two really know their way around an opening number.  This song introduces the island, the gods, the peasants, and the grand hommes, and it does it all in a beautifully-melodic way that immerses you in the world of the show from the first note.

Best lyric:  “How fine our clothes are! / How fast we drive! / We dance at parties…” – “While we are dancing just to stay alive.”

“One Small Girl” – Such a lovely, lovely number, showing how Mama and Tonton find young Ti Moune in the tree and take her in.  It so beautifully captures the way love can change hearts, can make room in lives that were thought full enough already, can go against our judgment for the better.  The melody is simple but wonderfully sweet.

Best lyric:  “And the hut was crowded / And food was scarce, / And somehow, their lives held more. / One small girl / To live for.”

“Waiting for Life” – Easily the standout song of the show, Ti Moune’s “I want” number is as full of yearning as it is spirit.  Our leading lady is effervescent dreaming about more than unchanging peasant life, praying for the real beginning she knows has to be coming.

Best lyric:  Oh, Gods, / Oh, Gods, / Please, be there. / Don’t you remember / Your little Ti Moune from the tree? / Wake up! / Look down! / Hear my prayer! / Don’t single me out / And then forget me!”

“Forever Yours” – This is where, out of her love for Daniel, Ti Moune offers her life to Papa Ge in exchange for his.  And look, I know Daniel isn’t worth it – hell, I know no guy would’ve been worth it.  And that’s right, it’s as it should be.  But there’s still something bold about Ti Moune standing up to a demon of death, not only for the sake of this man she wants to save, but also for the life she’s never known that she dreams of.  The melody is haunting, and LaChanze sounds amazing on the original cast recording.

Best lyric:  “Even the gods / Won’t dare to cross this line / Where my life is forever yours / And you are mine…”

“The Sad Tale of the Beauxhommes” – A handy way to explain the socio-cultural divide on the island, the history of how the light-skinned grand hommes came to be and what fuels their dislike of the Black peasants.  The “beautiful one…” refrain is really pretty, and I love the wistfulness that fills the melody as the storytellers explain the curse.

Best lyric:  “They despise us for our blackness - / It reminds them where they’re from…”

Once on This Island (2017)

I’m still catching up on the TV I missed during my super-quick New York trip, which means the usual News Satire Roundup isn’t ready to go yet (I’m shooting for posting it tomorrow.)  Luckily, I have in its place a write-up on the other, non-Boys-in-the-Band show I saw while I was there, a revival of Ahrens and Flaherty’s Once on This Island.  I’d discovered after I booked my trip that I’d be seeing it the day after Lea Salonga left the show and had prepared myself accordingly.  There were also a couple of understudies on the night I saw it, but that was no knock against it at all.  On the whole, a really gorgeous production.

On an island in the French Antilles, we’re told of the divide between the Black peasants and the light-skinned grand homme, mixed descendants of peasants and French colonizers.  The two groups live entirely separate lives, but one day, a young peasant woman called Ti Moune challenges that – and the gods themselves – when she falls in love with a grand homme.

I’ll start by saying that, while Ahrens and Flaherty’s score is wonderful, the story definitely has its problems.  Based on a book, I’ve heard it described as an island reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s original Little Mermaid, with colorism instead of mermaids.  I don’t think I’d go so far as to say that the story itself is racist, but it’s certainly disappointing in places, especially the ending (I walked out of the theatre beside a couple who’d been unfamiliar with the show and were a little taken aback by it.)

All that said, I do love the music – beautiful enough to make me tear up multiple times – and the journey the show takes getting to that unfortunate ending.  And truth be told, this production is exquisite.  Performed in the round, the stage is transformed into our island, complete with sand, rain, a felled “tree” laying across a few of the seats, and (as I’ve said before) live animals.  The peasants are also the storytellers, and those playing the peasants’ gods put together their costumes as they go from whatever’s on hand.  With inventive staging and exuberant choreography, my eyes were glued to the stage the whole time.  (Note:  one negative I’ll mention is that the sound wasn’t mixed all that well, especially since the actors sometimes move into the aisles during songs.  There were points when I couldn’t hear the main melody over the actor singing a descant a few rows away.)

The entire cast is very good, with incredible energy and powerful voices.  If I single out too many of them, I won’t stop, but I will applaud the four actors playing the gods.  Alex Newell (formerly Unique on Glee) is a hugely-entertaining Asaka, Quentin Earl Darrington has a great presence as Agwe, Darlesia Cearcy (who replaced Lea Salonga) is very sweet as Erzulie, and Merle Dandridge is effectively menacing as Papa Ge.

I mentioned that there were a couple of understudies on, including the actress playing Ti Moune!  Courtnee Carter was filling in for Hailey Kilgore, and I thought she was fantastic in the lead role.  An excellent voice, lovely acting, and great dancing – I was thoroughly impressed with her and hope she gets an opportunity to take over the role when Kilgore leaves the show.

Warnings

Brief violence, sexual content/references, drinking, and strong thematic elements.

Top Five Songs: Dessa Rose

As far as Ahrens & Flaherty musicals go, Dessa Rose is a little hit-or-miss for me, but as is usual with this composing duo, when they’re on, they’re really on.  Here are my favorite songs from the show.

“Ol’ Banjar” – I feel Dessa Rose puts a bit too shiny a veneer on its story at times, but even though this is an upbeat song, it works for me.  That’s because it’s specifically about clinging to the few good things that make life bearable, and for Kaine, that’s two things:  music and Dessa Rose.  The simple but lovely tune fits it to a tee.

Best line:  “Ain’t no white folks down in Africa, / Ain’t no white folks near or far. / You own yourself / And you own your soul / and the music of ol’ banjar.”

“Something of My Own” – Just like music gives Kaine happiness, Dessa Rose’s unborn child gives her both hope and strength.  Her ode to how her child is already changing her and everything she’ll do on its behalf (especially her vow to “only name him free”) is gorgeous.

Best line:  “I could be as strong as thunder / With his hand in mine. / Tear the very storm asunder. / Make the sun to shine.”

“Twelve Children” – The Act I finale is a stunning showcase for Dessa Rose, introducing her newborn daughter to the stories of all the family she’s lost.  This beautifully-understated song validates Dessa Rose’s lost brothers and sisters, despite the repeated indifference of the white masters.

Best line:  “Some sold away. / Some passed away. / Some run. / Twelve children brought from her body. / All gone but one.”

“Better If I Died” – This is such a great drama!! song, with a strong driving rhythm and fantastic harmonies between Ruth and Dessa Rose.  It’s a fine release for everything that’s been building up between them in the second act.

Best line:  “Nothing more to ruin. / Nothing left to say…” – “Nothing left to take away.”

“Just over the Line” – Full disclosure:  I mostly love this song because the chorus is so blame catchy.  It pulls me in every time.  Plot-wise, I find it fairly incredulous, but ooh!  That music, especially when Nathan sings it; in general, I don’t think the show makes great use of Norm Lewis’s talents, but he’s just wonderful here.

Best line:  “Tuscaloosa, Pickens, Greene. / Counties we ain’t never seen. / But look who’s here! / Just over the line.”