In 'Once On This Island,' Now at the Beck Center, the Gods of the Caribbean Play With the Lives of the Mortals

Usually, when you get a hankering for a taste of the Caribbean, you follow your inner Jimmy Buffet (“Margaritaville”) or Rupert Homes (“The Pina Colada Song”) to get the vibe of the tropics along with a medium-size buzz.

But just as refreshing and intoxicating—minus the hangover—is Once On This Island, the 1990 musical now on the Beck Center stage. This mostly sung-through 90-minute piece by Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (book and lyrics) is a brisk but immersive trip to an isolated island world where the gods play with the lives of the mortal residents like so many poker chips.

As directed and choreographed by Christopher Chase Carter, this Island is a pleasure to visit, featuring a cast that sings and dances to the mesmerizing beats. And it all plays out on a scenic design by Cheri DeVol that uses the expanse of the main Beck stage to maximum effect.

Based on a 1985 novel by Rosa Guy, Island tells the story of how a quartet of deities decide the destinies of mortals under their control. Years before, the God of Water, Agwé (Carlos Antonio Cruz), unleashed a brutal storm on the island, but he and his three other god pals decided to rescue a young peasant girl by having the waves perch her up safely in a tree.

She grows up as Ti Moune with her adoptive parents Mama Euralie (Tina D. Stump) and Ton Ton Julian (Jason Emo) in the poor part of the island where the dark-skinned population lives. But once she’s a young woman, she’s attracted to a young, wealthy, light-skinned Daniel from across the tracks who is fond of racing his car up and down the hills.

Turns out the gods are intrigued by her yearning and mock her pretension. But Erzulie, the Goddess of Love (Alexis Prewitt), wants to support Ti since Erzulie claims love is the strongest of all the elements. This pisses off the Demon of Death, Papa Ge (Isaiah Blue) and he sets up a bet to determine which is more powerful, love or death.

The details of the bet involve another storm, a car accident, and the bonding of Ti and Daniel as she nurses him back to health. The story is told through song and, while some of the tunes sound alike, they are similar in a most pleasing manner. The one number that stands out as a showstopper is “Mama Will Provide,” sung with power by the god Asaka, Mother of the Earth (Danielle Grays).

Ti Moune is played by two actors, first Edith Foley and then Israeljah Reign, and they both burst with girlish enthusiasm. But when tragedy strikes and the stakes are raised, Reign employs her elegant voice to show how Ti Moune mellows without losing her hope that love will conquer all. She is matched in enthusiasm by JT Snow as Daniel, crafting a young man who is a product of his culture as much as he is a man in the throes of a forbidden romance.

Sure, it’s a story as old as time, but in this telling the allure is created by director Carter and his clean, evocative movement of the players who shift and flow like the unpredictable water that surrounds the island.

Both a visual and audio treat, Once on This Island will transport you in more ways than one. It’s a show worth at least one toast afterwards with frosty Margaritas.

Once On This Island
Through August 6 at Beck Center, Senney Theater Main Stage, 17801 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, beckcenter.org, 216-521-2540.

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