‘Once on This Island’
Last night I went to see Once on This Island at Round House Theatre in Bethesda. I had planned to get my ticket at Ticketplace (as I’ve mentioned before, a great place to get half-priced tickets), but as I perused the Round House website, I was reminded that they have a “young audiences” discount for theater-goers under 30. Like me! Score! (Thirty does sound like a high limit for a “youth” discount; do their audiences skew towards an older demographic?) So on my lunch break I walked to the box office and bought my ticket for a total of $12. The theater is only a couple of blocks from where I work, but this was my first time there. I really should see more shows there, while I still work in the area. And am still under 30.
Once on This Island takes place on a Caribbean island and is about a peasant girl, Ti Moune, who saves the life of a rich boy, Daniel, and falls in love with him. Complications of class ensue, of course. The entire cast was really good, all strong singers and dancers, and the sets were spare and effective. It did take me a while to get into the story, though, but as the story progressed I went with the flow and found it kind of moving.
Aside: when I was a senior in high school, my parents and I visited Stanford, and as we passed Memorial Auditorium, I saw that Once on This Island was the spring musical being produced by Ram’s Head, the theater group that I joined a couple years later when I was a sophomore there.
» Related: Post and Potomac Stages reviews.