Angie Alvarez, Edie Flores, Kristy Aquino, Naomi Murray, Nique Eagen, John Ramirez, and JM Appleby Photo by Sinjin Jones

Lynn Ahrens (book and lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty (music) set the award-winning Broadway musical Once on This Island on a fictitious former French colony in the Caribbean. The island's population splits, with the prosperous and lighter-skinned grands hommes, who were spawned from inter-mating with French settlers on one side, and the "black as night" peasants on the other. Hence, we have another dimension of bigotry within a population, the color of skin.

With a nod to The Little Mermaid, peasant girl Ti Moune (played by Shaneen Black) finds a dying young grand homme Daniel (Edie Flores) who has been in an accident. Her father, Tonton Julian (JM Appleby), represents a viewpoint about life and death in which he suggests that she let the young man die. In her effort to slowly nurse Daniel back to health, she enters a bargain with the Demon of Death, Papa Ge (John Ramirez), that she offers her life in return for saving his. Daniel survives, and though he and Ti Moune fall in love, Daniel returns to his previous life, whereupon conflicts emerge.

This 90-minute drama offers many pleasures. The story itself engages, with some touching moments. Much of it is told in charming songs, with all of the ensemble taking the lead at one time or another. The songs range from the hopeful and loving "Forever Yours" to the recognition of the two different worlds the communities live in ("We Dance") to the cynical "Some Girls," which notes the asymmetry in sexual relations, as males often take advantage of females for whom they have no serious intentions. This is yet another of several moral issues which underpin the narrative.

The design of this production offers a lot. Caribbean charm abounds with the barefoot players frolicking on a stage composed only of a patch of sand. Director and choreographer Sinjin Jones orchestrates a remarkable abundance of effective islands-style choreography and movement in which the cast seems joyous and committed. The look is enhanced by Nancy McClymont's monochromatic costumery and Ed Hunter's varied and thoughtful lighting.

There are two main areas that call for improvement. The house is set up "in the round," but despite its small size, much of the dialogue and singing is underpowered and gets lost to the seating areas the performers are facing away from. Oddly, the most persuasive and provocative communication comes from performers behind curtains offstage near the climax.

Acting is generally sound, with Naomi Murray as Ti Moune's mother, Mama Euralie, being the standout among lead performers. The remaining actors not yet mentioned should be recognized as well–Kristy Aquino, Angie Alvarez, and Nique Eagen.

Singing makes the big difference in this show. The bad news is that it was not up to snuff on opening night in vocal quality as well as volume, as already mentioned. However, there is good news. Pretty much, every performer has stage musical experience and had at least patches of good singing in this performance, suggesting voices are there and that opening night jitters could have played a big role. Also, I was told that one of the leads was in the ER the night before, which could explain the lack of vocal command. Correction of these matters would result in a fully enjoyable entertainment.

Once on This Island runs through October 13, 2024, at The Pear Theatre, 1110 La Avenida, Mountain View CA. For tickets and information, please visit www.thepear.org.