REVIEW: Once on This Island | Regent's Park Open Air Theatre London Musical Revival
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OHMYGOD HEY!
Last week I was invited to review the new London revival of the musical ONCE ON THIS ISLAND at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.
The show was written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and stars Gabrielle Brooks as Ti Moune.
Check out today's brand new review video for my thoughts on this new production...
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For the opening, it sounds like the issue here is that they are trying to use the recent revival on Broadway opening as an "inspiration" but didn't actually UNDERSTAND the point of Michael Arden's directional choices. Because on Broadway, it was also started in modern day Haiti but was set in the aftermath of a terrible storm that has devastated the island. There was a 15-20 pre-show where the actors came out and worked on cleaning up their home. There is a little girl among them to has been traumatized and when there is the sound of distant thunder, she panics and those around her start to tell her the story of Ti Moune as a way to comfort her/distract her from the state of their homeland. These modern day people not only then become the story tellers but the very characters in the story they are telling. They take piece of the devastation to dress up and then when they later become the gods, these piece are integrated more elegantly into their costumes. Like how "Erzulie" is a doctor that wraps herself in a Mosquito net and then when she appears later as a god, her gown is made of the same kind of Mosquito netting and her head dress is make up of stethoscopes. Later at the end, they change back into their more makeshift costumes to return the musical's ending song back to that same modern day Haiti it started in.
Wow -- now I really wish I'd seen that production. (I saw the original Broadway production, but I was just nine or ten years old at the time, and I don't really remember a lot of it.)
I saw the broadway revival and to this day it is the best thing I have ever seen on stage. I still think about it sometimes!
I was wondering if that police framing device was their production! I have seen this production before but don't remember that part at all.
I’ve seen both the original and the recent Broadway reimagining. WE got sand and goats and chickens
I saw Once On This Island two years ago & it is easily one of my top favorite musicals. It is very underrated. I love the music! Flatherly & Aherns also wrote Seussical The Musical.
Yes! And Anastasia and Ragtime!
I loved the fairly recent revival on Broadway. The set was authentic and fascinating. Water, sand, a goat. Plus we were blessed with Alex Newell's amazing rendition of Mama Will Provide and a very charming Isaac Powell. I could listen to him sing all day. Hailey Kilgore was also a joy. I loved everything about it ❣️
I couldn't agree more! The Broadway Revival was truly on a different league - it was a superior production primarily because of a surgical yet heart-warming approach to the story-telling of the show. The Regent's Park production was so convoluted in its directorial choices. The show confuses and creates cognitive dissonance like: One small girl in a tree... then they had two girls, I had to even double think what was happening. Or Timoune tending to his wounds, getting herbs from her mom, with a line in the show too saying that "I gave you my own mat to lie on", elements in the written show that clearly alluded that they were in an intimate space like their house or in privacy but the staging was like they were in a cemetery and almost in a communal ritual, again it was just confusing - I get what it wanted to do but it did not really lend to story-telling and clarity of the show and as a sung show, it needs to lessen moments of cognitive dissonance- because it takes me away from just soaking in the moment. This show over-complicates, superfluous and saccharine. I still loved the show, but it had nothing to do with the production but just everything to do with the material.
On the style: I saw a talk with Stephen Flaherty a few months ago where he was talking about that. For Ragtime, he said that, when he was a student, he'd been in a music group that focused on music of that time period, so when he started writing it, he had all those sounds in his head already. When he started on Once on this Island, he said he felt like he wasn't as sure that he really knew what he was doing for that type of music, but he started learning about it, and when he was performing at a club and just messing around on the piano in between sets, one of the other performers, who was Caribbean, said that what he was playing sounded like the islands, and he figured that meant that he'd gotten the sound right.
First of all, I am soooo happy for you and Aeron, my favorite couple!! Good to see Anne Bearlyn and the Flying Monkey are unpacked!🥰 This was a very interesting review as I have always wanted to see it but haven't had the chance. I know the story and music and have seen many TH-cam videos when it was at Circle in the Square. The biggest take away is WHY they didn't utilize being outside??? A perfect place to be on an island!! Not using the trees, what were they thinking!!
I love the show!!!!!!!!!! Once on this island....is truly an amazing broadway show....saw it in Canada and online (US) version...I was captivated....the music and everything....simply breathtaking.
I once saw a highschool production of Once On This Island, and it was STUNNING, been a fan of the show ever since
The 2017 Circle in the Square production was amazing! My favorite rendition by far!
Aww that’s wonderful!! So happy for you and Aeron. Hope the move is going smoothly ❤️
I'm very happy that Aeron and you have moved in together. You are such a cute and happy couple.
I discovered Once on this Island via the original cast recording. I fell in love with it. Never got to watch it. ut saw videos on it. Recently got to watch some bits of the revival with Alex Newell & Lea Salonga. ❤
I saw it at the circle in the square. It was amazing. I thought the round was really great for this show
I saw the ORIGINAL Broadway production back in 1990 with LaChanze - it was magical! (... yeah, I'm OLD!!)
Enjoyed your review. I loved the Broadway revival so much I saw it twice. Sorry I won’t be in London this summer to see it in the park.
i saw this today at regents open air. I love this musical but i found it hard to let go of the lacklustre set and costume that didn’t live up to its previous broadway revival. WHERE WAS THE SAND, BARE FEET, RED DRESS ??
I saw Once On This Island twice at Circle in the Square. I didn’t win the in person lottery for wicked, so I decided to do the lottery for Once On This Island. I knew nothing about it. Either my mom or I won(I forgot) and we went and loved it so much. Did the lottery again with my friend Joñi, and won and we went. Saw Hailey Kilgore the second time, but she twisted her ankle badly somewhat early in the run, so I saw it first with Loren Lott. It was so good. It’s also where I discovered Isaac Cole Powell(he is great) and Alex Newell(who played Asaka- apparently they don’t sign or take photos at Shucked, so I am lucky I have their signature and photo from OOTI).
The Papa Ge costume is giving me Dr. Facilier from Princess and the Frog!
Very that!
Congratulations on moving in with aeron. So happy for you both
video idea: You should create a top 10 ranking of your favourite ever theatres and why, and also your top 10 productions seen of all time
I was first introduced to OOTI with the video of lin-manuel Miranda spinning around in an office chair lip syncing in his hotel room to Mama Will Provide. I looked up the cast recording and fell in love with it. I am thankful I got to see it at circle in the square. It really was an amazing production.
Do you happen to know where one could see this video?
@@kl-1447 th-cam.com/video/MWQwjDqykJY/w-d-xo.html
Sadsadconversation was a very interesting channel with unique videos from a bunch of random celebrities
I saw this last week! I had no knowledge of the show before and thoroughly enjoyed it. Gabrielle Brooks blew me away!
I was sad though to see how many empty seats there were ˙◠˙
How exciting! Congratulations on your move!
One day late lol we was looking for this review yesterday before we booked rush tickets. We did anyway and was presently surprised with the venue and show with no previous knowledge about either 🙂
I taught theatre in the US and took my students to see the Broadway Revival; two years later we produced the show (my last musical) because of Covid and retirement; It was one of our better productions and everyone loved it, almost as my students loved the Broadway revival. It is magic on stage.
Congratulations on moving in together!
Went to see this the other day - I had seen the Broadway production a few years ago and I did enjoy that one more but still a fun show and as you said amazing score. I definitely agree that the interpretation of Daniel seemed a lot harsher than I remember it being on Broadway, which I agree can make sense for the character but makes it a story I didn't particularly enjoy watching as I found what happens a bit too upsetting. The theatre was also quite empty when I saw it despite decent weather which was a bit of a shame, but the audience that was there was appreciative.
I waited to watch this video until I'd watched it, but I largely agree!! I was absolutely blown away by the vocal talent, and the child performers were phenomenal.
I saw Once On This Island many years ago at a local production here in Dallas, Texas and I was totally caught off guard by its beauty and charm and the way it moved me! And the scenery and staging was minimal, but there were only a couple of hundred seats, and they let the singing and story take center stage. But for a bigger outdoor theater, it’s shocking to me that they didn’t use the outdoor elements to elevate the story and show to higher level. Seems like such a wasted opportunity!
I was the lightning designer for Once on This Island in grad school. Such an enchanting show.
I went to see this production last week but during the matinée, I was so excited for there to be sand and when I went in and it was just a blank stage, I turned to my mother and said okay they’re going to make an artistic choice to poor the sand on the stage themselves. By the end of the show there was still no sand but I did really enjoy the production and especially the cast. Only other complaint was there were a few people behind me talking during moments that were supposed to embrace quietness which was annoying…
Saw the in New York a few years ago and it was wonderful!
I fell in love with Once on this Island the first time I saw it, but ironically it was a production put on by little children? Like, 8-11 year olds, approximately? A friend of mine invited me to watch some kids she babysat, in a play. In retrospect, picking OOTI for white elementary schoolers is absolutely WILD to me, but they had toned down some of the intimacy and violence themes, so when I was seeing it for the first time, it seemed more like just a fairy tale. I got a better handle on the full significance of the show from immediately buying the original cast recording lol.
I can never get enough of Rain and Pray. NEVER ENOUGH.
Once On This Island is a great piece of theatre! The production I saw in Boston a couple years ago also chose to set the show in Haiti. The entire concept of the production I saw set the show after a big storm. The context was: Haitian residents were telling each other the story as they were cleaning up debris and aftermath of a tropical storm or hurricane. (Then, they became the characters.) There was an involved scene wordlessly depicting the storm clean-up, before the music actually started. I thought the production I saw was excellent, and the concept really worked.
Interesting: the production you saw also used the location of Haiti, but a different context. Of the two approaches, the idea of a community coming together to clean up after a hurricane is probably easier to make a through-line than the idea of responding to police brutality. One reason Haiti is an interesting choice as a framing device is: Haiti was the location of one of the most impactful rebellions of enslaved people in world history. Thinking about the context of what is happening now, Haiti is now experiencing some of the most tragic consequences of current and past global inequities. These inequities can be traced directly back to the history of Haiti, and its very precarious position in the global economy after its rebellion of enslaved people and its movement to become independent and no longer colonized. To come back to the question of whether the concept of setting the show in Haiti works, I'm not sure - unless they make the location a through line of the show and use the show to comment upon the current inequities and tragic reality that Haiti is experiencing. (Also, if they really make explicit the Afro-Caribbean hybrid aspects of Haitian identity, which it sounds like the costumes of this production may have done?)
I'm assuming the choice of Haiti was intentional for this production's director, as I assume it was also for the production I saw in Boston. In the one I saw, the choice really worked well. I'm wondering if for the production you saw, there was a personal connection for the production team to Haiti? So they decided to set it there, which would be very timely right now.
Hey Mickey Jo! I love this show and it’s been a while since I have seen it. When you spoke of Ti Moune turning into a tree and having no reference to that. If I remember correctly she doesn’t just turn into a tree but because she dies at the gate, the tree grows and eventually breaks the gates so that people can come in and out to love anyone as they please.
I wouldn’t think they would just refer to any tree around them but seems as if they would portray this on stage somehow.
It’s the whole reason they are free to come and go I believe.
Just thought I would ask you thoughts or if my memory is wrong.
Wooden hangers, I approve. "No. Wire. Hangers. Ever!"
Seems like a few directional changes & this could have been even better. It's such a beautiful & heartbreaking show that luckily even with a misstep or two quality performances can make for a theater experience you won't forget. I saw the US tour based on the Broadway revival & it was one of the exciting/memorable/frightening experiences I have ever had in a theater that I wish I could relive over & over. (I had on stage seating & I was almost physically shaking from a bit of "stage fright"? but after I was on such a high being so close to everything that the uncomfortable feeling of it all was so worth it)
Ironic you reviewed this Today considering this premiere day of the New Disney Little Mermaid movie 😁
Which i am looking forward to a LOT by the way🥰
I am going to London i One week with my Dad 🥳🏴
I saw this production in its second preview and it was a particularly windy night where rain loomed throughout which added to the atmosphere and really lent itself to the material. I'd never been to Regent Park theater and what a special place to see a show. I adore this show and have had the privilege of having seen both the original Broadway production and the recent revival. Comparing anything to the Arden's revival is just cruel. I think it's a stand alone staging that can't be touched. That said, I completely agree about the disjointed nature of the opening number. As someone who knows the show well and seen more than a half dozen productions I was excited about the setting in Haiti and modern day and thought we were going to remain there precisely because the issues of class and colorism continue to be deeply resonant. However, I thought the combination of strong performances really propelled it past any flaws. And as for the ending I too thought it was a missed opportunity given the surrounding environment. But I am also biased because nothing will ever touch what Arden did a Circle in the Square, including the fact that the tree was comprised of messages/memories of loved ones lost by the cast and crew. I thought your take on Daniel was interesting. And while I agree, what I lost in that interpretation was the resonance and emotional impact of TiMune at the gate when Daniel and Andrea marry. In the Broadway revival especially, it's a devastating moment because you see in Daniel the regret of not having the bravery, belief and fortitude of TiMune.
We did this show in my 2nd year of training, with an all white cast and did ‘richer poorer’ like people sometimes do with hairspray, which makes me feel a little ick now.
Oh my if you read this yesterday I said something opned at the New Amsterdam before Lion King. My memory came back and it was King David. Not a full all out show but it did open the theater after the renovation. I have everything but not King David. Have a great day. Love you and your boyfriend
The gods usually seen to have the best outfits 😀
Did plan to go, but chicken out with overcast weather. Went to see B&C instead 😁
That pun in the thumbnail belongs in a museum also congrats on the move
Thank you! Apologies I changed the thumbnail 😅
What was the pun?
hi idilll
I LOVED OBC
Saw it twice at Booth and circle in square. Had the goat next to me at circle. Like it until end where Timu becomes a tree. She gave everything and got to be a tree his kids would climb. Boo
bring back star ratings