CCM Musicals Series presents Caribbean fairy tale 'Once On This Island'

UC College-Conservatory of Music presents Once On This Island, a Caribbean-set retelling of The Little Mermaid, on March 28-30, 2024, at Patricia Corbett Theater. From the Tony Award-winning songwriting team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (BM Composition, ’82), the musical shares the story of one small girl who finds love in a world of prejudice. 

Based on the 1985 novel My Love, My Love or The Peasant Girl by Rosa Guy, this theatrical adaptation garnered eight Tony nominations for its Broadway run, including Best Musical, Book and Score. Alumni Guest Artist Torie Wiggins (BFA Acting, ’02) directs the production at CCM. 

"I have loved this show ever since I had the pleasure of doing it in high school in Atlanta, Georgia," Wiggins says. "It’s important to me to teach our students that BIPOC stories are crucial to the fabric of musical theatre, and this is one of the first ones I was introduced to many years ago."

This isn't the first time CCM has presented works by alumnus Stephen Flaherty. During the college's 150th anniversary season, CCM performed Seussical, which won a CityBeat Best of Cincinnati Award. Most recently, CCM celebrated Stephen Flaherty in a fundraiser featuring performances by Broadway alums and students at New York's Carnegie Hall. 

After the students and Broadway guests had their final bows on the iconic Carnegie Hall stage, CCM announced a new scholarship in Flaherty's name — the Stephen Flaherty Scholarship for Musical Theatre. 

Once On This Island is the first Broadway musical from Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, premiering in 1990. According to Playbill, Ahrens discovered the story upon which the musical is based and Flaherty wrote the opening notes during a subway ride. She and Flaherty approached My Love, My Love author Rosa Guy for the rights, but "had to prove themselves to earn her approval." They presented four songs and won her approval! Read more about how Ahrens and Flaherty became an award-winning songwriting duo.

CCM's production of Once On This Island features Musical Theatre students on stage, Theatre Design and Production students and faculty behind-the-scenes, and CCM student instrumentalists in the music ensemble.

"I love working with students because their style of storytelling is so fresh and current," Wiggins says. "I really wanted that to be evident in our version of this show. Since students were heavily involved in all aspects of this show, creatively and technically, I wanted this story to be close to them."

"This show answers the question “Who gets to tell whose stories?” This cast owns this show, so even if audiences have seen this production a dozen times, they have never seen anything like this. It’s pretty special."

Book and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Based Upon The Novel "My Love, My Love" By Rosa Guy 

Originally Directed and Choreographed on Broadway by Graciela Daniel 
Playwrights Horizons, Inc. Produced ONCE ON THIS ISLAND Off-Braodway In 1990 
Originally Production On Broadway By The Shubert Organization, Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. 
Suntory International Corporation and James Walsh, In Association With Playwrights Horizons

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com

Once On This Island will last approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes, with no intermission

• 8 p.m. Thursday, March 28
• 8 p.m. Friday, March 29* 
• 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 30 

*ASL interpreting is available during the Friday, March 29 performance

Patricia Corbett Theater, CCM Village 
University of Cincinnati

Tickets: $36 adult, $20 student, $15 UC faculty/staff, $10 UC student, $5 CCM student; group discounts available

 Experiencing the magic of CCM OnStage has never been easier! Purchase your tickets:

• Online at ccmonstage.universitytickets.com
• Over the phone at 513-556-4183
• In person at the CCM Box Office in the Atrium of UC's Corbett Center for the Performing Arts 

CCM’s Box Office hours are 1-5 p.m., Tuesday-Friday, and one hour prior to curtain for ticketed performances. Hours subject to change based on the University of Cincinnati calendar. Our Box Office staff is always ready to answer your questions by phone at 513-556-4183 or email at boxoff@uc.edu. 

CCM is located on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. For detailed driving directions, visit ccm.uc.edu/directions.

Parking is available in UC's CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Effective July 1, 2023, all University of Cincinnati Parking Services locations will become cashless. Pay for parking securely with your credit/debit card. All major credit cards accepted.

CCM OnStage patrons can add pre-paid parking to their checkout carts when purchasing tickets. Pre-paid parking is date/performance specific. CCM Garage parking rates for a performance or special event is usually available for $10-15. Learn more about parking at UC's CCM Garage.

For additional information on parking at UC, please visit uc.edu/about/parking.

There's more to explore — view CCM's full schedule of major events at ccm.uc.edu/onstage. 

Stay up to date on CCM news and events by subscribing to our Next OnStage email newsletter, which is published every other Wednesday. Visit ccm.uc.edu/subscribe to sign up for email updates.

Interested in early access to CCM's ticket sales? Join CCMpower and gain advanced access 2024-25 ticket sales. CCMpower members also receive 10% off general ticket prices for the full year. Learn more about CCMpower membership benefits.

All event dates and programs are subject to change. For a complete calendar of events, please visit ccm.uc.edu/onstage. 

Featured image at the top: A promotional graphic for CCM's production of Once On This Island. Design by Mikki Graff.