Blackfriars Theatre Presents ONCE ON THIS ISLAND

Join Blackfriars Theater (795 East Main Street) for a deep, yet joyful dive into one of Broadway's most celebrated musicals, Once on This Island, running March 24th through April 8th, 2023. Based on the novel, My Love, My Love, by Rosa Guy, this heart-filled celebration of Haitian culture tells the story of Ti Moune, a fearless peasant girl in search of her place in the world, and ready to risk it all for love. Guided by the mighty island gods, Ti Moune sets out on a remarkable journey to reunite with the man who has captured her heart. This highly original and theatrical Caribbean adaptation of the popular fairy tale, The Little Mermaid, garnered eight Tony nominations for its Broadway run, including Best Musical, Book and Score.

Leading the charge as Once on This Island's director is Blackfriars artistic director, Brynn Tyszka. "Under the best of circumstances, mounting a production so steeped in history and culture would be a challenge," says Tyszka. "That said, we are benefitting from the wisdom of cultural consultant and choreographer, Jayme Bermudez of Borinquen Dance Theatre. With his guidance not only in assisting our actors with cultural context, but also in bringing authenticity to our production's physical movement, our team feels that we are in a great position to meet that challenge."

While this is not the first time that Tyszka and Bermudez have been involved in a theatrical production together, it is a first-time collaboration for the two theatre companies. "We are elated to partner with Borinquen Dance Theatre on this project," says Blackfriars executive director, Mary Tiballi Hoffman. Creating a piece from the ground up is always an exciting process, but getting to do that work in collaboration with another creative force in our community is absolutely thrilling. This partnership enhances the work and provides a richness and an authenticity that is vital to bringing this story to life."

Borinquen Dance Theatre is equally thrilled for the partnership. As Jayme Bermudez says, "I am extremely excited about the collaboration Borinquen Dance Theatre is building with Blackfriars on Once on This Island. Working together has allowed us to create an authentic and culturally relevant show, while creating much needed platforms of visibility for BIPOC shows and actors in our community. Borinquen is known for their folkloric styles in Afro Caribbean dance and it's been a pleasure to share that with the cast of Once on This Island at Blackfriars."

The Once on This Island cast includes Alvis Green Jr (Asaka), Amara Briony (Ensemble, Ti Moune u/s), Anais Rivera (Andrea), Ariana Rivera (Erzulie), Cameron Tyson (Agwe), Catherine Gregory (Papa Ge), Cynthia Brito (Ensemble, Papa Ge u/s, Armand u/s), Daniyah Prosser (Ti Moune), Ian Canniotto (Daniel), Indigo Rose (Little Ti Moune), Jaimi McLean (Ensemble), Jennel "Nelly" Bryce (Mama Euralie), Jesniely M. Roman (Little Ti Moune u/s), Jessica James (Ensemble, Asaka u/s, Erzulie u/s, Mama u/s), Jonathan Ntheketha (Tonton Julian), Jose Ismael Ortiz (Armand), Sachel Torres (Ensemble), Yakira Coleman (Ensemble, Agwe u/s), Zanyla Penn (Ensemble, Andrea u/s). The production is directed by Brynn Tyszka with music direction by Andrew Rodriguez and choreography by Jayme Bermudez.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:

· Friday, March 24th 8pm

· Saturday, March 25th at 8pm

· Sunday, March 26th at 2pm** (Sunday Salon to follow)

· Thursday, March 30th at 7:30pm

· Friday, March 31st at 8pm

· Saturday, April 1st at 8pm

· Sunday, April 2nd at 2pm

· Thursday, April 6th at 7:30pm

· Friday, April 7th at 8pm

· Saturday, April 8th at 8pm