Once On This Island - What's it All Mean?
Some of you may know that I've been working on a production of Once On This Island at Mount Mansfield HS this spring. I think it's a wonderful show and we've got a pretty darned good production. As a shameless plug, we run tonight (Thursday) through Sunday, shows at 7:30 today through Saturday, and 2:00 on Sunday.
Anyway, below are some musings I've had about the show. I posted this this morning in the MMU Drama Facebook community, but I thought I'd put it here as well, for those of you who know the show:
Ok, so today is opening night for Once On This Island (2007 Version), and I figure I'll take this oportunity to blab about some random thoughts I have about the show.
First, even though I love the show, for a long time (listening to the CD pre-rehearsals, and even during rehearsals for a while) it made me kind of angry.
I mean, here's Ti Moune, this girl who can already see her entire future mapped out for her, who wants something more out of life, and the gods decide to use her to settle a stupid bet. They contrive for her to rescue Daniel and fall in love with him, even though they pretty much know how it's going to end up. And then, when she dies, the gods have the balls to be sad about it!?!? They basically killed her; used her as a pawn in their own game of "who's the more powerful god?" The song "A Part of Us," was so frustrating to me, because it is both at the same time beautiful and stupid. Why do the gods care so much about her once she's died (as a result of their game), when they didn't at all before hand.
And then there's Daniel, a man who is too cowed by "tradition" or his father or something like that to actually be with the woman he loves, but he's certainly willing to sleep with her and lead her on, up until two weeks before his wedding to someone else!!
And, the happy ending? Daniel gets married and has a family, while Ti Moune gets to be a lawn ornament. There's an uplifting story if I ever heard one!
So, that's where I was at with the story this February. Great music, a decent story, but an ending that really and truly pissed me off.
Then, one day, listening to the cast recording in the car, it hit me. I was listening to "Why We Tell The Story," and I heard the lines:
"It will help you feel the anger and the sorrow, and forgive. For out of what we live and we believe, our lives become the stories that we weave."
A light came on in my head. This isn't a story about happy endings. And really, while most of the musical is about Ti Moune, the play itself isn't really about Ti Moune at all, but about the story of Ti Moune. When the little girl begins the story of Ti Moune at the very end of the show, that is what it's about. It's about the fact that some times in our lives the gods/fates/etc conspire against us. Some times the people we love aren't willing or able to do what is necessary. Some times we have wonderful adventures, and some times we suffer horrible loss. All of these things are a part of who we are, and we need to embrace the good as well as the bad, because there is no avoiding either one.
To quote one of my favorite books, "Life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death, that's all." A more fatalistic attitude, but kind of the same point.
Love is why, pain is why, hope is why, you are why. Where does the story end and real life begin? What stories are we creating right now? In what stories are we treading well-worn paths, going where countless have gone before? Is the story of Ti Moune true? As it becomes part of the history/mythology of the storytellers and the little girl of the play, does it matter if it is true or not? What is the difference between truth and myth, and how does it make us who we are? Our lives become the stories that we weave; is the little girl Ti Moune? Does Ti Moune "live" in the heart of the little girl, and all the little and not-so-little girls of the island? Who lives inside of you? What stories, "true" or not, have you become, in some way?
So, these are the things I've been thinking about while we've been working on the show. Any thoughts? Oh, and let's break some legs tonight. ;)
Anyway, below are some musings I've had about the show. I posted this this morning in the MMU Drama Facebook community, but I thought I'd put it here as well, for those of you who know the show:
Ok, so today is opening night for Once On This Island (2007 Version), and I figure I'll take this oportunity to blab about some random thoughts I have about the show.
First, even though I love the show, for a long time (listening to the CD pre-rehearsals, and even during rehearsals for a while) it made me kind of angry.
I mean, here's Ti Moune, this girl who can already see her entire future mapped out for her, who wants something more out of life, and the gods decide to use her to settle a stupid bet. They contrive for her to rescue Daniel and fall in love with him, even though they pretty much know how it's going to end up. And then, when she dies, the gods have the balls to be sad about it!?!? They basically killed her; used her as a pawn in their own game of "who's the more powerful god?" The song "A Part of Us," was so frustrating to me, because it is both at the same time beautiful and stupid. Why do the gods care so much about her once she's died (as a result of their game), when they didn't at all before hand.
And then there's Daniel, a man who is too cowed by "tradition" or his father or something like that to actually be with the woman he loves, but he's certainly willing to sleep with her and lead her on, up until two weeks before his wedding to someone else!!
And, the happy ending? Daniel gets married and has a family, while Ti Moune gets to be a lawn ornament. There's an uplifting story if I ever heard one!
So, that's where I was at with the story this February. Great music, a decent story, but an ending that really and truly pissed me off.
Then, one day, listening to the cast recording in the car, it hit me. I was listening to "Why We Tell The Story," and I heard the lines:
"It will help you feel the anger and the sorrow, and forgive. For out of what we live and we believe, our lives become the stories that we weave."
A light came on in my head. This isn't a story about happy endings. And really, while most of the musical is about Ti Moune, the play itself isn't really about Ti Moune at all, but about the story of Ti Moune. When the little girl begins the story of Ti Moune at the very end of the show, that is what it's about. It's about the fact that some times in our lives the gods/fates/etc conspire against us. Some times the people we love aren't willing or able to do what is necessary. Some times we have wonderful adventures, and some times we suffer horrible loss. All of these things are a part of who we are, and we need to embrace the good as well as the bad, because there is no avoiding either one.
To quote one of my favorite books, "Life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death, that's all." A more fatalistic attitude, but kind of the same point.
Love is why, pain is why, hope is why, you are why. Where does the story end and real life begin? What stories are we creating right now? In what stories are we treading well-worn paths, going where countless have gone before? Is the story of Ti Moune true? As it becomes part of the history/mythology of the storytellers and the little girl of the play, does it matter if it is true or not? What is the difference between truth and myth, and how does it make us who we are? Our lives become the stories that we weave; is the little girl Ti Moune? Does Ti Moune "live" in the heart of the little girl, and all the little and not-so-little girls of the island? Who lives inside of you? What stories, "true" or not, have you become, in some way?
So, these are the things I've been thinking about while we've been working on the show. Any thoughts? Oh, and let's break some legs tonight. ;)