Once On This Island

5 reasons you should get tickets now to see the Broadway revival of Once On This Island:

by Tom Coppola

1. The producers are doing an international casting search for the lead. A majority of the Broadway cast has been announced (and it’s a relative DREAM CAST of Broadway talent), but the lead role of Ti Moune is being filled by a yet-to-be-named unknown, plucked out of a casting call that stretched as far as Haiti. HAITI, people!

2. It’s being directed by Michael Arden. Already known in the Broadway community as a bona fide talent on stage, he’s been flexing some serious directing muscle as of late, and was nominated for his direction of Broadway’s recent revival of Spring Awakening.  PS—Michael is one of our inaugural 40 Under 40 alums. So…guess we can chalk that one up as a “told ya so”.

3. It’s playing at Circle in the Square Theatre. Known as Broadway’s most intimate theater, shows that play here are staged “in the round” (action is seen from all sides of the audience), so there is not one bad seat in the house and it’s PERFECT for a show that takes place on an island. Piña coladas not included.

4. It’s written by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens. Responsible for some of Broadway’s most prolific writing over the past 25 years, you’ve probably already seen and loved a show they’ve written: Ragtime, Suessical, Anastasia…just to name a few. The power house team have stated themselves that Once On This Island is their “most perfect musical”. No other testimonial is necessary.

5. It’s the first ever Broadway revival. The show won critical acclaim and a host of Tony nominations when it first premiered in 1990, and hasn’t been on Broadway since. From what we know of how they’re retooling the orchestrations, it’s a shoo-in for the Tony Award for Best Musical Revival in 2018. 

Prefer to watch a video instead of reading? Check it out: