ONCE ON THIS ISLAND
Book & Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens Music by Stephen Flaherty
Directed by Michael Arden
Producer, Conor Bagley
Starring Raffi Barsoumian, Owen Campbell, Rufus Collins, John Keating, Owen Laheen, Seán McGinley, Seth Numrich, Oona Roche, Erin Wilhelmi and Mary Wiseman
Performed on Broadway at Circle In The Square
“The hallmark ingenuity, warmth and intensity bordering on excess that characterize Mr. Arden’s style is recapitulated everywhere within the production, from the frankly stupendous singing (Chris Fenwick is the music supervisor) to the electric choreography of Camille A. Brown. Everyone is working on the same crammed page.”
—Jesse Green, New York Times
“There has probably never been a production quite like the stunning new Broadway revival at Circle in the Square. Emphasizing the musical's themes of natural disaster and economic inequality, director Michael Arden brings an unexpected dose of gritty realism, while also honoring its gorgeous score of dynamic group numbers and tender ballads. Vocal fireworks and full-bodied dance choreography imbue spirituality and joyful theatricality.”
—Matt Windman, amNY
“A joyful noise thunders through Circle in the Square theater, as Broadway welcomes a smashing revival of Once On This Island. Michael Arden's exuberant staging of this 1990 musical fairy tale set on a Caribbean island conjures a spell that is devastatingly timely yet affectingly timeless in its evocation of how love goes when the indifferent, capricious whims of gods and nature intervene in the deepest yearnings of the human heart.”
—Jeremy Gerard, Deadline