ABSTRACT

The musical production Once on This Island tells the mythical tale of a beautiful peasant girl (Ti Moune) who saves the life of a young Mulatto aristocrat (Daniel) after his car crashes near her rural village. Ti Moune pledges her own life to the god of Death in order to keep the boy alive; when he survives, Ti Moune becomes convinced that the powerful gods of her island have destined her to share his life. Against the warnings of her beloved parents, Ti Moune sets off on a journey to find Daniel and convince him that he must marry her; she becomes his mistress, and he falls in love with her. But at a magnificent ball where she is presented to island society, Ti Moune learns that Daniel’s parents have already arranged for their son’s marriage to a girl from his own class. In despair and goaded on by the god of Death, Ti Moune tries to kill Daniel, but at the last moment her love for him triumphs. Ti Moune fulfills her promise to the gods, proving the power of love by giving her life in exchange for Daniel’s. At the end of the play, Ti Moune becomes a tree.