Tony Award winner Lea Salonga, Alex Newell (“Glee”), Merle Dandridge (“Greenleaf”), and Quentin Earl Darrington (Cats) will join the cast of the Broadway revival of Once On This Island, which will play the Circle in the Square Theatre (235 W. 50th street, NYC) this fall.
Dandridge will play Papa Ge, Darrington will play Agwe, Newell will play Asaka, and Salonga will play Erzulie.
Known across the world for her powerful voice and perfect pitch, Lea Salonga is a singer and actress who is best known for her Tony Award winning role in Miss Saigon. In addition to the Tony, she has won the Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards, in the field of musical theatre. She was also the first Asian to play Eponine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway and returned to the beloved show as Fantine in the 2006 revival. Salonga has toured all over the world, performing sold out concerts in such locations as the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Singapore’s Esplanade (twice), Kuala Lumpur Convention Center (twice), Hong Kong Cultural Center (multiple times), Queen Sirikit Convention Center in Bangkok, Carnegie Hall in New York, and in various venues in Vancouver, Sacramento, San Diego, Phoenix, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, San Bernardino, Cerritos and San Francisco. She was also the first artist to sell out two shows at Brigham Young University’s deJong Concert Hall in Provo, Utah since The Kings Singers in 2009. In 2017, Salonga broke the record for the most consecutive performances at Feinstein’s/54 Below with her acclaimed show Blurred Lines, also an album. Many fans of all ages recognize Salonga as the singing voice of Princess Jasmine from Aladdin and Fa Mulan for Mulan and Mulan II. For her portrayal of the beloved princesses, the Walt Disney Company bestowed her with the honor of “Disney Legend” in August of 2011. Salonga made a guest appearance on the acclaimed CW television show “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”. In the fall of 2015 Salonga began her celebrated run as Kei Kimura in the Broadway production of Allegiance. Ms. Salonga garnered a Craig Noel nomination for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical for her performance in the Old Globe production of Allegiance, and can be heard on the show’s original cast album. She has also appeared on Broadway in David Henry Hwang’s revisal of Flower Drum Song and internationally in Fun Home, Cats, Cinderella, God of Carnage. Other TV appearances include Les Miserables for PBS (10th and 25th Anniversary concerts), “Hey, Mr. Producer.”
www.leasalonga.com.
The revival of the Olivier Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated Best Musical will be directed by Tony nominee Michael Arden, and choreographed by the critically-acclaimed Camille A. Brown. The production will begin preview performances on Thursday, November 9, 2017 and officially open on Sunday, December 3.
Director Michael Arden said, “In casting the Gods that inhabit our island, it became imperative for me to break expectations and stretch beyond the bounds in which Gods are traditionally represented. It felt important that young people watching our production see themselves reflected back from the stage at them. The Gods are simply that: Gods. They are not bound by gender, race, sexuality or being human at all. I’m so very pleased to be collaborating with these four artists exploring the important and timely themes of this musical through their unique and incredible abilities.”
Dandridge, Darrington, Newell and Salonga will join the previously announced Phillip Boykin (Tonton Julian), Alysha Deslorieux (Andrea), David Jennings (Armand), Kenita R. Miller (Mama Euralie), and Isaac Powell (Daniel). The Storytellers for this production are Darlesia Cearcy, Rodrick Covington, Cassondra James, David Jennings, Grasan Kingsberry, Tyler Hardwick, Loren Lott, T. Oliver Reid, and AureLia Williams.
Additional casting will be announced at a later date.
Once On This Island is written by the Tony Award-winning team of Lynn Ahrens (Book and Lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty (Music), and based on the novel “My Love, My Love” by Rosa Guy. This production will feature new orchestrations by original orchestrator Michael Starobin who is joined by AnnMarie Milazzo.
The creative team also includes Dane Laffrey (Scenic Design), Clint Ramos(Costume Design), Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer (Lighting Designers), Peter Hylenski (Sound Designer), Chris Fenwick (Music Supervisor), Alvin Hough, Jr (Music Director), David Perlow (Associate Director), Nikki M. James (Assistant Director), and Telsey + Co / Craig Burns, CSA (Casting Agent).
Once on This Island will be produced on Broadway by Ken Davenport, Hunter Arnold, Carl Daikeler, Richard Hopper and WitzEnd Productions, with Kayla Greenspan and Valerie Novakoff as associate producers.
Once On This Island is the Broadway musical celebration that sweeps us across the sea to a small village-where, in the aftermath of a great storm, a joyous new life begins. It is the tale of Ti Moune, a fearless peasant girl who falls in love with a wealthy boy from the other side of the island. When their divided cultures threaten to keep them apart, Ti Moune, guided by the island gods, sets out on a remarkable quest to reunite with the man who has captured her heart.
Bursting with Caribbean colors, rhythms and dance, the story comes to vibrant life through the score by Tony Award® winners Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (Anastasia, Ragtime).
Tickets for Once On This Island are on sale through Telecharge. Group tickets are available at www.YourBroadwayGenius.com or by calling 855-329-2932.
Once On This Island premiered at Playwrights Horizons in May of 1990. The Broadway production opened in October of that year and ran for 469 performances garnering eight Tony nominations including Best Featured Actress (LaChanze), Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical and Best Musical. The 1994 West End production won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical.
Backstage Pass with Lia Chang 