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My Favorite Broadway Musical! Nov 29, 2009
The carribean melodies are hyphotic! The CD moves through this brilliant story with a narrative ease. I've seen many musicals and this is no doubt my favorite. The CD is great for any collector!
just as promised! Aug 19, 2009
Thanks so much for having this cd at a VERY reasonable price. Used-but just like new.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
You can love this soundtrack even if you haven't seen the play Feb 11, 2009
I first saw this play about 12 years ago produced beautifully by the Repertory Theater of St. Louis. It was wonderful! I have owned this music on vinyl, then on tape, and am now buying it for my MP3 player.
The wonderful thing about this soundtrack is that it is the entire story told in music. There is no spoken dialogue needed in this play. If you listen to this music you will understand the entire story (and it's such a lovely story!)
The other wonderful thing about this soundtrack is that the music is of the sort with which you can - and will want to - sing along, dance along, repeat some tunes depending on your mood, and hum in the shower. The performers are wonderful and the music is memorable and the story is timeless.
This is a unique and masterful production. You'll never get tired of this music. Enjoy it.
A brilliant musical that more people should know about! Oct 12, 2008
When I discovered this amazing musical I just had to buy the CD!!!! One day while I was looking up The Little Mermaid on Wikipedia I saw that in the Adaptations section along with well known versions such as the Disney version and the Anime version I saw the entry "The musical Once on this Island is a Caribbean version of the Little mermaid set in the French Antilies" or something like that. Then I clicked on the link provided and read the summary, after that I was hooked! I went to find my mom to tell her to get me this CD, after a few tries she said my dad would take me to get it after church the next day; That day came and as soon as I popped the CD in my portable CD player and it just blew me away! After that I downloaded some of the songs from the London version on itunes and it didn't really live up to my expectations; the Ti Moune sounded like she swallowed a cotton ball! and the Papa Ge sounds like he's screaming (there go my two favorite characters) but with the Broadway version I am fully obsessed.
The songs of the Island;
1. We Dance- splended opening number! I can't stop dancing to it! The song is sung by storytellers (who become the characters of the story) who introduce the Gods of the Island; Asaka(Mother of the Earth), Agwe (God of Water), Erzulie (beautiful Goddess of love), and Papa Ge (sly demon of death), and also describes the two different worlds; the poor peasants, and the wealthy Grand Homme.
2. One Small Girl- this song describes how Ti Moune (the heroine of the story) was saved by the Gods from a flood when she was a little girl and sheltered in a tree, only to be found by caring peasants who become her parents.
3. Waiting for life- In this song, Ti Moune (now all grown up) expresses her need to find out the special reason that the Gods saved her.
4. The Gods heard her prayer/Rain- the title is the only exlanation needed for the Gods hear her prayer. Rain however is sung by Agwe who causes a Grand Homme named Daniel to crash his car from driving too fast
5. Pray- Ti Moune finds Daniel and nurses him back to health ignoring the fear of the peasants and anger of the Gods.
6. Forever yours- my favorite song on this whole CD! Ti Moune pledges her love to Daniel and then later on in the song gives her life to Papa Ge, the demon of death so that he will spare Daniel.
7. Sad tale of the Beauxhommes- kind of pointless but still fun to listen to, it describes Daniel's family history........that's all I have to say.
8. Ti Moune- Daniel's family has already taken Daniel back to the Hotel his family owns and Ti Moune begs her parents to let her go after him even though reluctant they agree.
9. Mama will Provide- Ti Moune runs into Asaka the mother of the Earth who tells her that anything she needs "Mama will provide".
10. Some say- the storytellers discuss what Ti Moune's journey was like, different opinions are tossed around. This song while fun to dance and sing to really makes you wonder along with the storytellers.
11. Part of the Human heart- very inspirational should-be classic! Once Ti Moune is with Daniel Erzulie the Goddess of love sings this beautiful piece.
12. Pray (reprise)- The Grand Homme's gossip about Daniel and Ti Moune behind their backs.
13. Some Girls- Daniel sings this song to Ti Moune. Very romantic! Makes any girl wish that the guy they love would sing this to them.
14. The Ball- A ball is held at the Hotel Beauxhomme where one of the guests (Andrea) confronts Daniel about Ti Moune.
15. Ti Moune's dance- At Andrea's request Ti Moune dances for all of the guests and does a very good job (although you don't see the dance on the CD obviously) the music of this piece is very unusual but much fun as well.
16. When we are Wed- Andrea congragulates Ti Moune on her success and asks her to dance at her (Andrea's) wedding. Saying she will be marrying Daniel.
17. Forever yours (reprise)- after Daniel explains to Ti Moune that they could never marry and leaves her heartbroken and alone, Papa Ge comes to claim Ti Moune's life but he says that she can return to her old life if she kills Daniel............She can't do it.
18. A Part of Us- Once Ti Moune dies, the Peasants and the Gods (including Papa Ge) mourn her death. Made me cry all the way through.
19. Why we tell the story- A much more uplifting song than a part of us.
The Gods turn Ti Moune into a beautiful tree that watches over Daniel forever. the storytellers then explain all of the reasons to tell this wonderful tale.
The reason I gave that summary of the songs was in hope I'll be able to give this musical more attention than it currently has and in hopes for it to someday return to Broadway (I really want to see this musical live but sadly it doesn't play anywhere near my area!)
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 More and more and more Aug 11, 2008
This review will probably get a lot of "not helpful" responses, because it does not agree that "Once on This Island" is the best thing for Broadway musicals since sliced bread.
First, and positively, it begins with an excellent story. But in this case, I believe it was the story, not the music, that carried the show to a respectable 469 performances in 1990.
For the most part, I found the music to be repetitive. I felt as if I had listened to the same thing over and over. I also sensed some obvious influences from "Pacific Overtures."
Do not throw the recording away. It is still interesting, especially if you follow the libretto as you listen. The libretto pretty much tells the story, but because of the accents, much is indistinguishable without the words before you.
Also, I was surprised, as I read the previous reviews to this recording, to see so many references to high school and even middle school productions of "Once on This Island." With the complexities of the Caribbean setting and the intricacies of the music, this seems to me to be beyond the capabilities of most schools. Be that as it may!
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