Show Plot Once on This Island

Authors: book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty

Time Period: A tropical Caribbean island in the French Antilles archipelago, referred to as the "Jewel of the Antilles". The island is physically and socially divided: darker-skinned, impoverished peasants live on one side, wealthy, lighter-skinned landowners (descended from French colonial masters) live in luxury on the other side behind tall gates.

Summary: Once on This Island is a one-act musical with set on a divided Caribbean island in the French Antilles during a post-colonial time period, and tells the tragic, mythic story of a peasant orphan named Ti Moune who falls in love with a wealthy boy.