I’ve never been to a play that made me cry before. Maybe it was my attachment to this characters or solely how great the performers were, but whatever it was, it made for one compelling story. Truthfully, I was wary at first. There were some pauses in the music, which I know were intentional from what I have seen in rehearsals that I’ve dropped into, but I kept waiting for someone to fill them. Everyone looked really cool though- Charlotte and Giana especially. The backdrop looked great and the costumes were colorful but clearly distinguished the peasants from the rich. But I recognized some pre-opening night jitters and had a hard time seeing my peers as their characters. But after Maggie’s song, I was watching the Jewel of the Antilles. Her costume looked great under the lights and I believed that this was Agwe- that this was the gods enacting their will. I liked the gods, but I kind of wish there was more of them. I picture them as these Hercules-esque characters, which I think was achieved well through the positioning of them on the pedestals and their various poses, but I don’t know, maybe I’m just so used to the gods in our adaptation putting their two sense in every other minute, but I wanted to hear more from them. But admittedly somewhat hypocritically, I appreciated that they weren’t so in your face. I think Agwe and Asaka were more distant in this retelling than is portrayed in the book, but I liked how Erzulie and Papa Ge took the lead. Erzulie’s direct intervention into Desiree’s life paints her as a fairy godmother character. She’s the good guy among her more meddling, self-serving peers. Papa Ge was perfectly evil, but not entirely despicable. She acted more as a dose of reality than as an ever- looming reminder of impending tragedy. The gods are really crucial members of Desiree’s story, especially to me, so I really appreciated the work that went into the nuances of their arm foldings and facets of their personality.
My favorite part of this entire show would have to be Tonton Julian and Mama Euralie. They, Tonton especially, will do anything for Desiree. They love her unconditionally and unabashedly. I think the book makes it seem as if it was logical to leave her parents behind. We see things more from Desiree’s side and we root for her to find her dreams, but Once On This Island shows both sides if not focus on her parents’ perspective. Tonton Julian risked his life to bring news to a man who didn’t care if he lived or died. He risked his life to help save that of a boy only because Ti Moune asked him to. They gave their livelihoods to this girl and she just shoved them away. He was still sarcastic, but so,so caring. The same can be said for Mama Euralie. Her “conversation” with Ti Moune in Pray was sooooooo good- like so good. It was a dose of reality that I missed in My Love, My Love. But they let their daughter go to chase a boy who they do not trust because they love her and they can't stand to send her out on her own without even their reluctant blessing. What killed me in the end was when the kneeled over Ti Moune and promised that they would love her forever and that they were still together. This became not a failed love story, but a story of the strength of the love of a family and how they will always be there for you even when you feel as if you have no one to fall back on. Ti Moune was so obsessed with achieving this dream and it wasn’t until she died that we can all see that she had already achieved her great love story so many years before. It was a bittersweet ending that stayed true to its Little Mermaid influence.
I think the play may give Daniel too much of an easy out. The song he had was too pretty and made me feel sympathy for him even though I didn’t want to. He gave into the pressure of his family, which shows that he had a weak backbone, but the storyline made it seem as if it wasn’t entirely unwarranted of him to kick her out on the street. He’s a weakling who wouldn’t marry her, but when she held that knife to him, it gave him an out. The whole scene reminded me of that scene in Ella Enchanted when she’s ordered to kill the prince and when she overcomes the very real power that was being held over her only to have the prince so horrified that she had raised a knife to him in the first time. Except this time, there was no happy ending. Even though this play embraced magical realism perhaps even more than the book, it stayed closer to reality. It didn’t hide Desiree’s naivety behind clouds of superstition and was not afraid to paint her as ignorant. They also gave Daniel some more redeeming qualities. The story showed the gods as all-powerful, but also rested the final decision in Desiree’s hands. It removed some of the extremes of the story and allowed the story to be seen from all sides. It was no longer just about Desiree and her unchangeable fate. It was about her family and Daniel’s family and our roles in determining our own destiny. I really liked it even though it left me with a post-cry headache. It think everyone that helped with the play should be immensely proud of their efforts.
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