PRODUCTION GUIDE www.townofcary.org
Applause! Cary Youth Theatre 20th ANNIVERSARY SEASON:
Book and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and Music by Stephen Flaherty Based Upon the Novel “My Love, My Love” by Rosa Guy Originally Directed and Choreographed on Broadway by Graciela Daniele Playwrights Horizons, Inc. Produced “Once On This Island” Off-Broadway in 1990 Originally Produced on Broadway by The Shubert Organization, Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. Suntory International Corporation and James Walsh, In Association With Playwrights Horizons
ONCE ON THIS ISLAND JR is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com October 19-21, 2018
The story of one small girl who finds love in a world of prejudice. For all ages. As the play opens, Storytellers tell the story of an island where peasants pray to the gods for help while wealthy Grands Hommes enjoy fine clothes, cars, and parties. After a terrible storm on the island, little Ti Moune is discovered high in a tree. She is adopted by Mama Euralie and Tonton Julian, who tell Ti Moune she must have been saved by the gods for something special. Ti Moune grows into a beautiful young woman. One day Daniel, a handsome young Grand Homme, drives past, and Ti Moune prays for the gods to give her a new, different life. That night, Agwe, God of Water, sends a storm that causes Daniel’s car to crash. Ti Moune rescues Daniel, who is badly injured, and pledges her love to him. When Papa Ge, Demon of Death, comes to claim Daniel’s life, Ti Moune bargains with him to take her life instead, if Daniel can be spared. Daniel’s parents come to take him home and Ti Moune insists on following them. Her parents reluctantly allow Ti Moune to go, and Asaka, Mother of the Earth, helps her on her journey. Ti Moune finds Daniel at the Hotel Beauxhomme and tells him she has been sent by the gods to make him well. Erzulie, Goddess of Love, watches over them and as their love grows, gossip spreads through the hotel. At a magnificent ball, Ti Moune dances for the guests. As the crowd clears, Ti Moune learns that Daniel is betrothed to marry Andrea Devereaux and that the wedding will be soon. Ti Moune is stunned and heartbroken. Papa Ge returns with an offer: he will let Ti Moune live, but she must kill Daniel. Ti Moune refuses; her love for Daniel is too strong. Cast out of the hotel, Ti Moune waits outside, not eating or sleeping. She calls out to Daniel, but he turns away and leaves with Andrea. Ti Moune dies and is mourned by gods and peasants alike. The gods transform Ti Moune into a tree that cracks the walls of the hotel “so that its gates could never close again.” The tree brings together all the people of the island, and they celebrate the life of Ti Moune. Betrothed: Engaged, promised, or pledged in marriage
Activity: Representation of Power
In Once On This Island, Agwe, Asaka, Erzulie, and Papa Ge each represent different aspects of island life: water, earth, love, and death. The Costume Designer for a play or musical creates costumes that help convey the mood and style of the production. Costumes provide the audience with visual information about a character’s age, gender, status, occupation, and many other qualities. Use this costume design template to create a costume design that represents the powers and qualities of one of the gods from the musical. “There is an island where rivers run deep. Where the sea sparkling in the sun earns it the name “Jewel of the Antilles.” An island where the poorest of peasants labor – And the wealthiest of the grands hommes play. Two different worlds on one island!” Opening lines from Once On This Island Jr.
Jewel of the Antilles was a nickname for Saint-Domingue at the height of its great wealth.
Once On This Island is set in Haiti, which shares an island with the Dominican Republic in the Greater Antilles. The island was called ‘Ayiti’ (“land of high mountains”) by the native Taino people, its original inhabitants. Christopher Columbus claimed the island for Spain in 1492 and named it ‘Hispaniola’. In 1697, Spain ceded the western third of the island to France. The colony of Saint-Domingue prospered under vast plantations, which were worked by slaves imported from Africa. Conditions were atrocious for the slaves and many died. In 1791, led by former slave Toussaint l’Ouverture, the slaves rose up in rebellion. In 1804, Haiti became the first independent Black republic in the world. Even though slavery was abolished, race and class divisions remained. An elite group of Haitians lived in towns and controlled government, military, and business. Poor peasants farmed the countryside, and many villages did not have electricity, schools, or even running water. Today, Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Nearly 80% of Haiti’s over 10 million people live in poverty and only about 25% have running water. Even now, the top 20% of households hold over two-thirds of the country’s total wealth. Current president Jovenel Moïse has vowed to help the Haitian people and better their conditions through improved access to food, clean water, education, and jobs. Activity: Bands of Destruction
Haiti’s location in the Caribbean makes it vulnerable to hurricanes, tropical storms, and earthquakes. Even if not hit directly by a hurricane, heavy rainfall, storm surge, and high winds from the storm’s bands have resulted in widespread loss of life, flooding, and soil erosion. Make a hurricane in a bowl to observe how storm bands radiate outward from the center of a hurricane. SUPPLIES: ❑ Large bowl ❑ Spoon ❑ Water ❑ Food coloring (1 drop) 1. Pour water into the bowl to about 3/4 full. 2. Stir the water in a circle until it is spinning. 3. Place a drop of food coloring near the center of the bowl as the water spins. 4. Observe how the bands spin and then lose as the spinning
Hurricanes (called “typhoons” in the Pacific Ocean) spin counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. The 2018-2019 season is Applause!’s 20th anniversary! To celebrate, we’re bringing back three previous productions that represent major “firsts” for Applause!. Once On This Island Jr. was Applause!’s first-ever musical, presented in 2006 at Cary Academy. Check out some photos from twelve years ago! Recognize anyone?
Mini Activity: Another Chapter
Once On This Island is based on the novel My Love, My Love, or The Peasant Girl by Rosa Guy, which it itself was an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid. What book, film, fairytale or play would you like to see adapted into a musical?
Rosa Guy (1922-2012) was an acclaimed Trinidad-born American author and one of the founders of the Harlem Writers Guild, which was highly influential in encouraging African-American writers. BIBLIOGRAPHY: ❖ http://www.teachingforchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/cchaiti.pdf ❖ http://www.teachingforchange.org/teaching-about-haiti-3 ❖ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiti ❖ https://ufondwa.org/history-natural-disasters-haiti/ ❖ https://olneyonceonthisisland.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/jewel-of-the-antilles/ ❖ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Haiti ❖ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_on_This_Island ❖ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Guy ❖ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/print_ha.html ❖ https://borgenproject.org/facts-about-poverty-in-haiti-2/ ❖ http://experimentexchange.com/earth-space/make-a-hurricane-in-a-bowl/ ❖ http://musicalstagecompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Once-On-This-Island-Study-Guide.pdf ❖ http://www.skylightmusictheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ONCE-ON-THIS-ISLAND-guide_website.pdf
More at www.townofcary.org (search “Applause”) or (919) 465-4792. Ticket information at (919) 462-2055.