Students take a day off Friday, March 16 for the Superintendent’s Conference Day while teachers still work. Sloatsburg Elementary School and both Suffern Middle School and Suffern High School students will be out for the day.
But the play goes on.
“Once on This Island is a musical fable about a poor peasant girl who falls in love with the son of a wealthy landowner,” said Kathy Muenz, who directs the Suffern Middle School production. “The music is infectious, imbued with a Caribbean beat, and the tale that is told is a story of love conquering all — even death.”
Thursday night was the first night of performances for the Suffern Middle School Spring 7th/8th Grade Musical, which continues through Saturday. The one-act calypso-flavored musical combines a bit of Romeo and Juliet with a splash of The Little Mermaid fairy tale.
The story takes place on stormy tropical island — think semi-colonial Haiti — awash in local lore and magic, where the inhabitants live strictly separate lives. There are the original island natives scraping by on one end of the island and the rich landowning descendants of the French planters on the other end.
The play’s central story revolves around a bet of the reigning deities over which is stronger, death or love. The story unfolds in the telling of the tale of an orphan girl named Ti Moune, who gets caught up in matters of life and death between two of the local gods. Mere pawns, Ti Moune saves handsome young Daniel Beauxhomme, one of the island’s Grand Hommes, during a fierce storm, cheating Papa Ge or the demon of death, of the catch he wanted. Peasant girl meets rich boy. This event sets into motion the complex actions of fate, leading to Ti Moune’s eventual demise. But Ti Moune does not go gentle. She’s able to overcome her fear and still hold onto her true love. Guess who wins the bet? All this action is set to some snappy island songs. Ti Moune dies in the end but the power of love lives on.
Lots of singing and dancing, with fun costumes and makeup.
Sloatsburg students involved in the production include Julie Goetz (Mama Euralie), chorus member Francesca Furey and pit musician Jason Springer.
Other cast leads include Phoebe Lachenauer (Ti Moune), Clare Cunningham (Little Ti Moune), Craig Specht (Daniel), Chris Vinelli (TonTon Julian), Katelyn Warbrick (Erzulie), Ari Lachenauer (Papa Ge), Vinay Ramaswamay (Agwe), Molly Ferguson (Asaka), Calli Santangelo (Andrea), and Adam Mariano (Armand).
Director Muenz teaches dance at Suffern High School and also runs The Dance Loft in downtown Suffern.
Once on This Island performances continue at the Suffern Middle School auditorium Friday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 and should be available at the door.
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