By Carolyn Hayes Harmer

Posted: Feb. 15, 2015 at 11:38 p.m.

Meadow Brook Theatre embraces the capricious rhythms of the Caribbean-set musical “Once on This Island” (book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; music by Stephen Flaherty). A retelling of classic fairy-tale epic love, the script aims for a symbiosis of the fantasy escapism of stories and the cultural importance of oral tradition. This production, with direction by Travis W. Walter, takes a flying leap at both.

The story is based on the 1985 Rosa Guy novel “My Love, My Love; or, The Peasant Girl,” which transposes “The Little Mermaid” to an island in the French Antilles, with a dash of “Romeo and Juliet” thrown in. Here, rather than interspecies love between man and mermaid, differences in class and skin color divide the orphan peasant Ti Moune (Darilyn Castillo) from her unattainable love, the wealthy and powerful Daniel (Jeremy Gaston). Ti Moune incites and defies the island’s four gods of earth (Jayne Trinette), water (Nkrumah M. Gatling), love (Jasmin Richardson), and death (Tyrick Wiltez Jones), who intervene with the humans’ lives and force the young woman to test the power of her love against mortality itself.

But the story is just that: a story, specifically one being told by a collection of villagers to distract and calm a young girl (Makayla Annaleese Flowers, alternating in the role with Jada Marie Sanders) during a frightening storm. The pull of tradition and escapism is hinted at in the less-than-picturesque building blocks of designer Jeremy Barnett’s wide elemental set, a gaping abstract vortex of driftwood, corrugated metal, and empty bottles that elegantly points out the have-not realities of these island storytellers.

Walter and company pay lip service to the device, carefully trotting the youngest cast member around the stage and aiming bits of narration at her as demanded by the script. Yet there’s a divide between the story and its purported audience; the bulk of the production feels desperate to retreat fully into the fairy tale, as exemplified in Matthew J. Fick’s forceful primary lighting scheme and the deities’ incongruous Mardi Gras excesses by costume designer Corey T. Globke.

The result is something ambitious, but also inconstant and incomplete – both in vision and in execution. As of the press opening, the ensemble work and grasp of the music still felt undercooked; although gaffes were skillfully repaired, there was an evident lack of sync with band leader/music director Daniel Feyer, and Daryl L. Foster’s choreography fared better with personalized flair than in unison movements. Individually, the performers (many making their MBT debuts) are clearly skilled: Trumpet-voiced Castillo’s Ti Moune is willful and bursting with childlike conviction, and the scene where her adoptive parents (Erich McMillan-McCall and Angela Birchett) give her leave to follow her dream is a tearjerker.

Yet between these strong solo moments, there’s not much buzz of community or collective energy, which are critical to the thematic importance of culture and oral tradition. Even the barrier-shattering love between Ti Moune and Daniel is at best lukewarm, leaving her journey and consequences that much harder to justify. Without that invigorating sense of purpose, the production can’t take a firm step regarding the play’s themes of institutionalized racism and inequality, and instead becomes a pleasant, hummable imitation of the powerhouse it ought to be.

The ingredients in this “Once on this Island” are of unquestionable quality. The production is vibrant and visually appealing, the catchy numbers almost never stop, and the cast knows what it’s doing. Make no mistake: If a show’s chief flaw is that it doesn’t quite reach greatness, that must mean it’s still very good – perhaps with more time to blend and simmer, it will rise all the way and meet its considerable potential. But for viewers ready to shake up the winter with a little tropical heat and a lot of hip-heavy rhythm, this infectious entertainment certainly fits the bill.

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SHOW DETAILS:
“Once On This Island”
Meadow Brook Theatre
2200 N. Squirrel Road, Rochester
8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, 18, 25, Mar. 4
2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12
8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, 20, 27, Mar. 6
6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, 28
2 p.m. & 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21 & Mar. 7
2 p.m. & 6:30 p.m. Feb. 15, 22, Mar. 1
2 p.m. Sunday, Mar. 8
Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes (no intermission)
$26-41
248-377-3300
www.mbtheatre.com

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