Grace Szcepkowski of Marlton directs the show, which runs from July 12 through July 14.
Families looking for an entertaining show can treat themselves to ‘Once on This Island, Jr.’, a musical twist on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Little Mermaid,” presented by Mainstage Center for the Arts (MCA) at the Dennis Flyer Theatre, Camden County College from July 12 through July 14.
Featuring almost non-stop song and dance, those with MCA say the show will delight audiences of all ages.
The production is sponsored by Precision Power Wash and First Bank and the show will kick off the Summer Stage Children’s Theatre season. The show will include festive activities on opening night, including cold samples from Starbucks, Gloucester Premium Outlets, children’s science games by Challenge Island, and one lucky audience member will be randomly selected to win a basket of “island-themed” prizes.
Once on This Island, Jr., written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, tells the story of Ti Moune, a peasant girl who rescues and falls in love with Daniel, a young man from a wealthy family. Central to the story are four gods that the peasants believe rule their lives: Asaka, mother of the earth, Agwé, god of water, Erzulie, goddess of love and Papa Ge, demon of death. These gods guide Ti Moune on a quest to test the strength of her love against the powerful forces of prejudice, hatred, and death.
Grace Szcepkowski of Marlton directs MCA’s “Once on This Island, Jr.”.
“This story is so special to me, I love how it is about passing on a story of overcoming adversity and following your dreams to the younger generation. The music is beautiful; almost every line from the show is meaningful enough to stand on its own,” Szczepkowski said. “Also, while we are doing this show we are also trying to educate our cast about global issues that connect to this story. We have a plastic and paper repurposing station set up in our trailer where we can dump leftover paper and plastics to use when we need to make props. We have a fact board about environmental issues and about Haiti which is where our story takes place.”
Once on this Island runs July 12 and July 13 at 7:30 p.m. and on July 14 at 10:30 a.m. in the fully accessible Dennis Flyer Theatre, Camden County College, 200 College Drive, Blackwood.
The Children’s Theatre season also includes “The Lion King, Jr,” July 19 through July 21, “Elf, Jr,” July 26 through July 28, and Broadway for Kids, Aug. 2 through Aug. 4.
Ticket prices are $12 for ages 12 and above and $10 for students under 12. To purchase tickets visit www.mainstage.org or call (856) 227–3091.
In addition to the Children’s Theatre Season, MCA will present its annual summer Mainstage production, “Grease,” on July 22, July 28 and July 29 at 7:30 p.m. and July 23 at 2 p.m.
The Summer Stage Apprentice program for fourth and fifth graders will present The Jungle Book Kids and The Aristocats Kids on Aug. 6.
Also the Video Film Production students will present their own original short films in a film premier, Friday, Aug. 4, at 7:30 p.m.
