Monday, February 4, 2019, at Cab Calloway School of the Arts, all Cab middle and high school students were treated to a morning performance of the middle school musical production of “Once on This Island”.

Taking place in the French Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea, “Once on This Island” is a musical set during a hurricane when a group of children decide to tell a story to comfort one another during the storm. The story is about a young woman who tries to follow her heart and four magical gods who make her journey difficult, however, in the end she uses the power of love to bring together people of different social classes. This is a modern retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” and explores Haitian culture and spirituality through beautiful Caribbean-style music.

The Musical consisted of a large cast of sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. Most of which were comprised of Cab Calloway Theater, Vocal Music and Dance majors. Directed by middle school theatre teachers Sarah Nowak and Amanda Curry, original lyrics written by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty.  The production included Caribbean themed songs such as “Why We Tell the Story”, “We Dance”, “Waiting for Life”, “Pray” and “Mama Will Provide”.

Elaborate production went into prop, costume and stage design.  Attendees were treated to dazzling light and sound production from high school Theater Production and Communication Arts majors.  At one point during the musical it was actually raining in the middle of the stage, unsurprisingly during the song “Rain”.

On Tuesday, February 5th, there will be an encore performance of the musical for Red Clay Consolidated School District elementary school students.  This is a rescheduled performance due to the two hour delayed schedule from last week’s freezing weather.