ONCE ON THIS ISLAND Returning to Broadway- Page 3

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 8/30/16 at 6:13pm

OH MY GOD. I got so excited. And then... well. Hopefully I get to see full professional productions of Ragtime and Once On This Island some day.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 8/30/16 at 7:56pm

Esther said: "EricMontreal22 said: "This is a great show but it closed at a loss originally when it moved from off to on Broadway where critics felt it got lost in the larger theatre and it never caught on with audiences. Similarly it failed in the West End despite them building a mini village for the theatre. I suppose with a big name attached it could build an audience (but Davenport doesn't really use big names does he?). 

I could see it playing really well in a round, and intimate staging at Circle in the Square if that were available, but out of Broadway houses that's about it (the Booth)?

 

"

The Booth is where it played in 1991. I didn't see it at Playwrights' Horizons, but I did see from the mid-to-rear mezzanine at it at the Booth & thought it was utterly charming. 

 

"

Yeah, I shoulda checked--someone PMed me that correction too (much more rudely than you did).  Still, I have often heard that as a reason it flopped--that it shoulda stayed on as an open-ended off-Broadway production.

[AKarp2013]

Posted: 8/30/16 at 8:15pm

If one were to bring a revival of this show to Broadway, I wish they would have gotten Tommy Kail to direct it. He did a stunning production at the Paper Mill a few years ago (2012 I think) starring Syesha Mercado. I saw one of the final performances of it there and was enchanted by it.

Updated On: 8/30/16 at 08:15 PM

[JoeyEvans1206]

Posted: 8/30/16 at 9:14pm

Ken Davenport is a modern day Barnum. There's a sucker born every minute.

As a potential investor, I've had several conversations with him over the years. Each one full of ego and outright lies. I try to educate myself as much as possible regarding industry returns and conservative predictions for shows - unfortunately (though fortunately for Davenport) his investors are not as savvy.p

i think Once On This Island is a delightful way to introduce children to the theater - but recoupment potential is as bleak as can be.

[LaneBryant]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 12:00am

Here's a lyrical lesson from the show:


But Armand took his pleasure
With the women who served him
Black peasant girls from
The village beyond

And the loveliest one
Bore the Frenchman a son
Such a fine peasant son
For Armand!

A beautiful child.
The pale color
of coffee mixed with cream.
 

Daniel is the product of a frenchman and a black, dark skinned peasant woman. #ReadingRainbow #TheMoreYouKnow 

[vfd88]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 1:17am

Ugh. I would give anything for a decent revival of this, one of my favorite shows. Maybe it'll happen and be Davenport's first genuine hit? Maybe? No? Probably not?

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 1:28am

Can't imagine this would run longer than 4 months. 

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 2:53am

It should be noted that the version licensed to amateurs provides alternate lyrics to open up the casting pool to all races if necessary. So people unaware that Daniel is half black might just be unfamiliar with the original version.

[newintown]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 8:15am

"It should be noted that the version licensed to amateurs provides alternate lyrics to open up the casting pool to all races if necessary. So people unaware that Daniel is half black might just be unfamiliar with the original version."

Hmmm. I'm surprised they don't do that with Show Boat, Porgy and Bess, Dreamgirls, and The Motherf**ker With The Hat (among others). You know, to open up more opportunities for those oppressed white folk.

[Oak2]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 8:43am

@newintown - Upon looking it up, it seems the reason they do this with ONCE ON THIS ISLAND and not other race-oriented stories you mentioned is because the writers consider ISLAND'S main conflict to be more about class than race. By not having the racial divide in ISLAND it just makes it so that the ONLY divide is between the peasants and the upper-class, without also having the racial element of the original story/actual history in that the upper-class are those with French colonizer ancestry/mixed-race while the peasants are the dark-skinned natives. 

Though again, they could keep it as a racial divide by just making all the upper-class characters full white/French. Though this then turns the story into a more pressing "black vs. white" story instead of "upper vs. lower class", as opposed to the original where everyone is non-white, but the upper class are just lighter-skinned.

[newintown]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 9:00am

"Upon looking it up, it seems the reason they do this with ONCE ON THIS ISLAND and not other race-oriented stories you mentioned is because the writers consider ISLAND'S main conflict to be more about class than race."

Yes, that argument could be used just about anywhere; but like this case, not everyone is gonna buy it. Personally, I would say they created the revisions in order to make as much money off the piece as possible.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 9:20am

Obviously ideally Daniel is half black, but this is a Ken Davenport/Michael Arden hypothetical production so my expectations are the lowest of low here. And I was just going by the fact that Daniel is not listed on the breakdown.

[darquegk]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 9:27am

The only canonically white character, Armand, is traditionally played by a black man in a white mask, correct?

[ACL2006]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 9:59am

This should be aiming for the 2017-18 season. In a small theater & a limited run. And considering it's a Davenport/Arden production, I don't want Cynthia Erivo near this. Odds are she'll likely head back to the UK once she's done with THE COLOR PURPLE.

[Kad]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 10:05am

I've heard that Erivo wants to pursue work opportunities in America, but I can't imagine her being interested in this.

[gypsy101]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 10:55am

Kad said: "I've heard that Erivo wants to pursue work opportunities in America, but I can't imagine her being interested in this."

I agree but it's a shame because she would slay the score. I'd love for her to be written original roles but we know how that turned out for her other wonderfully talented singer-actresses the last few decades like Kristin Chenoweth, Laura Benanti, Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone.

[MinnieFay]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 11:13am

Updated On: 8/31/16 at 11:13 AM

[GreenSharpie]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 11:55am

Cynthia Erivo tweeted that she would be down to do the reading for this.. I wonder how serious she's being?

 

https://twitter.com/cynthiaerivo/status/770657865111572486

[carnzee]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 12:45pm

neonlightsxo said: "Does that make you feel good carnzee? You're so good at bolding.

Thanks! 

Just highlighting what a hypocrite you are :) 

 

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 3:09pm

Personally, I would say they created the revisions in order to make as much money off the piece as possible.

I agree completely. It's certainly not an alternative I prefer. I was just pointing out that it's out there.

 

[kdogg36]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 6:23pm

Scarywarhol said: "I loved Spring Awakening.

But I am never paying to see another Ken Davenport-led production."

I also loved Spring Awakening, and since I also loved the original Once On This Island, I'll probably see this production if it comes to fruition.

I understand why many of you have qualms about Davenport's business practices, and I'd take those concerns to heart if I were a potential investor (which I'm not, by a long shot!). However, I'm not sure why I should worry about such matters from the standpoint of a consumer. 

 

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 8/31/16 at 7:14pm

Because as an educated consumer you are willfully supporting such practices, which are highly questionable and potentially unethical. 

[kdogg36]

Posted: 9/1/16 at 8:02am

Liza's Headband said: "Because as an educated consumer you are willfully supporting such practices, which are highly questionable and potentially unethical."

I understand your point, but I'm not currently convinced that Davenport's behavior rises to that level. His funding methods are controversial, but no one is forced to participate, and the relevant facts (and educated speculation) are readily available for anyone to make an informed decision - for instance, on this message board. :)

 

[newintown]

Posted: 9/1/16 at 8:36am

It might be apt to do a bit of a recap on Davenport's career thus far.

He has been lead producer on only three Broadway shows (that is, controlling the project), all flops; more often, he has been nothing more than a junior fundraiser. The flops for which he was responsible are:

Godspell (ridiculous, American Idol-esque 2011 revival, closed after 264 performances)
Macbeth (ridiculous Alan "Look How Much I Can Do" Cumming, three-actor 2013 revival, closed after 73 performances)
Spring Awakening (respected but unattended Deaf West revival, brought in as a fully developed transfer [i.e., not fully "produced" by Davenport], closed after 135 performances)

Note that each of these shows had already had full productions elsewhere before Davenport picked them up - the Godspell was leveraged off of the director's 2006 Paper Mill production; and of course, Cumming's Macbeth played both Scotland and Off Broadway before Davenport transferred it. So, you see, he has no experience yet leading the full development of a new Broadway production.

And then there's his little Off-Broadway house, not named after himself (he says), but after his mother's father. If he were to name it after himself, it might have been called The Hasija (his real name).

Updated On: 9/1/16 at 08:36 AM

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 9/1/16 at 9:15am

His company also did the marketing for The Performers. So.