The Roeper Theatre Company’s Production “Once on This Island” to Open February 9th
By: Mark Winter
BIRMINGHAM, Mich., February 6, 2012 – Middle school students from The Roeper School (Roeper), a co-educational day school for gifted children, that are members of The Roeper Theater Company, will be launching their production, “Once On This Island,” on February 9, 2012. Interim Head of School Phillip Deely made the announcement.
“Once On This Island” is a one-act musical based on the book “My Love, My Love” by Rosa Guy. Set in the French Antilles in the Caribbean Sea (specifically Haiti), the play includes elements of “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Little Mermaid,” as it tells the story of the star-crossed love between a peasant girl and a wealthy boy. The history of Haiti and its class struggles are explored while their love story is told. The script and music were written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, the same composers who collaborated on “Ragtime,” “Lucky Stiff” and “Suessical, The Musical.”
“Once On This Island” includes a cast of 30 Roeper middle school students performing in The Roeper Theatre Company’s first production of 2012. Supported by their Director Ttari Hellmer, the students will be fundraising for Haiti at the show. All funds raised for charity will benefit the rebuilding of a performing arts school on the island.
“Once On This Island” will open on Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at the R. Dean Acheson Theatre on Roeper’s Birmingham campus, located at 1051 Oakland Ave. 7pm. Additional performances will be held throughout the weekend on Friday, February 10th at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday, February 11th at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.; and Sunday at 7:00 p.m.
To reserve tickets, or for more information on The Roeper Theater Company’s production of “Once On This Island,” please call 248-203-7933 or email [email protected].
Click here to view and download a photo of the cast of “Once on This Island”
Founded in 1941, The Roeper School is a uniquely personalized, coeducational school for gifted and talented children in preschool through grade 12 from over 60 communities in southeast Michigan. With campuses in Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills, Mich., Roeper was conceived on founding principles that recognize the power of education, choice and self-expression, and the transformative impact these principles have on young minds. For more information, please visit www.roeper.org.
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