Once On This Island, which features a score by Anastasia and Ragtime duo Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, premiered at Playwrights Horizons in 1990 before transferring to Broadway later that year. The story, set in the Caribbean, follows a peasant girl and her star-crossed romance with a young man from the wealthy side of her island, which is ruled by four island gods. The production starred LaChanze as Ti Moune, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award.
The immersive Tony-winning revival of Once On This Island, which was re-imagined by Tony-nominated director Michael Arden, currently plays at the Circle in the Square Theatre where it opened December 3, 2017.
Flip through photos of the original production below:
Graciela Daniele, Stephen Flaherty, and Lynn Aherns
LaChanze with the original cast of Once on This Island.
Martha Swope / The New York Public Library
Ellis E. Williams, Afi McClendon, and Sheila Gibbs
Afi McClendon, Andrea Frierson, Kecia Lewis-Evans, Eric Riley, Nikki Rene, and Milton Craig Nealy
Eric Riley, Nikki Rene, Kecia Lewis-Evans, Ellis E. Williams, Jerry Dixon, LaChanze, Andrea Frierson, Milton Craig Nealy, Sheila Gibbs, and Gerry McIntyre
Eric Riley and LaChanze
Jerry Dixon and LaChanze
La Chanze and Jerry Dixon
Jerry Dixon and LaChanze
LaChanze
LaChanze and Jerry Dixon
Cast
Milton Craig Nealy, LaChanze, and Gerry McIntyre
Martha Swope/©NYPL for the Performing Arts
Kecia Lewis-Evans and cast
Sheila Gibbs, Ellis E. Williams, and LaChanze
LaChanze and Jerry Dixon
Martha Swope/©NYPL for the Performing Arts
Cast
La Chanze and cast
Kecia Lewis-Evans and cast
Eric Riley
LaChanze, Kecia Lewis-Evans, and Nikki Rene
Eric Riley, Milton Craig Nealy, LaChanze, and Ellis E. Williams
LaChanze, Jerry Dixon, and Andrea Frierson
