'Once On This Island' brings familiar fairytale to Winnipesaukee Playhouse stage

MEREDITH — When selecting the next play to be performed at the Winnipesaukee Playhouse, Timothy L’Ecuyer’s thought was to bring a little joy to the stage.

“Once on This Island” rose up for L’Ecuyer, the producing artistic director, because it doesn’t shy away from the difficulties of life, but is ultimately uplifting.

“There is real value in presenting a piece right now that talks about hanging on and getting through, and finding joy in difficult circumstances,” he said. “There’s a lot of chaos in the world right now. I know I find it encouraging to engage with a piece like this.”

The show will be performed this weekend, with dates through next week.

Lesley Pankhurst, patron and company services director for the Winnipesaukee Playhouse, explained the production is a musical fable roughly aligned with Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid.”

The musical is more closely based, though, on a 1985 adaptation, “My Love, My Love: or The Peasant Girl,” a novel with a Caribbean flavor by Rosa Guy.

“Once on This Island” was performed on Broadway in 1990 and 2017. In it, peasant girl Ti Moune, played by Adeera Harris, sets out on a perilous journey to save a wealthy boy from the other side of her island, who has stolen her heart.

“They come from two different worlds,” Pankhurst said. “She goes on a journey to him, and then has to make a choice about whether to sacrifice herself to save him. It’s very beautiful, but also joyful. It’s got really wonderful dancing, great performances and is appropriate for families.”

While the story is about mermaids, there are no actual mer-people in the show. “All the characters are human,” Pankhurst joked.

Four characters portray gods who interfere and help Ti Moune on her journey — the God of Love, the God of the Earth, the God of Water and the God of Death. “They set her out and help her. They influence her journey,” Pankhurst said, adding the story line will be familiar.

“It’s a piece that holds a lot of interest among community theaters in the state,” L’Ecuyer added. “It’s a rare opportunity to see a professional production of it.”

The show begins with a big storm that kicks off the plot, but rather than setting the piece on a Caribbean Island, which is typical, Director Kira Sarai Helper chose New York City, during Hurricane Sandy, as the backdrop.

“I wanted to do something a little different,” said Helper, noting that “Once on This Island” is a show which offers creative license.

“New York has a huge immigrant community, and the Nostrand Avenue section of Brooklyn is also called 'Little Haiti' and 'Little Caribbean.' I thought it would be a really great way to show the beauty of those communities, and the tie they all keep to our past.”

A New York native, Helper said many people in New York were also gravely affected by Hurricane Sandy. “No matter how much money we have or don’t have, when Mother Nature decides she’s going to rage, we are all at her beck and call.”

Seth Howard created the set, which allows the storytelling by all cast members to flow.

Pankhurst said the entire cast is new to the playhouse stage this summer, but two performers have been in other shows this season. Nine-year-old Isabelle Boire, from Rochester, appears as Little Girl/Little Ti Moune.

Other cast members were chosen in a March audition in New York City: Tiffani Grace, Timothy Adams Jr., Noah Lytle, Collin Geter, Felicia Fields, KJ Nugin, Jada Bennett, Najm Muhammad and Arin Francis.

In addition to Helper and Howard, the production team includes Jay Teamer, music director; Ellicia Clayton, choreographer; John Beltre, costume designer; Erica Lauren Maholmes, lighting designer; Rory Shea, sound designer; and Kyrie Ellison, fight and intimacy director.

Show dates are 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 8-9, and Aug. 12-16, with matinees at 2 p.m. on Aug. 9, 12 and 14.

For tickets, visit winnipesaukeeplayhouse.org or call 603-279-0333.