In the wake of Hurricane Maria, the devastation of a massive storm is a familiar story in the news. Now, thanks to the first-ever, multiple Tony Award-nominated Broadway revival of Ahrens and Flaherty’s musical “Once on This Island,” Broadway audiences can glimpse another powerful side of such disasters: rebuilding, sacrifice, and renewal. “Once on This Island” is revived at Circle in the Square thanks to the dedication and hard work of its cast and creative team, which includes New York Film Academy (NYFA) Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre graduate Yael Silver.
Yael Silver is a producer and activist who graduated from NYFA’s 1-Year Musical Theatre program in 2015, and in that short time has built quite an impressive C.V. as a producer and co-producer. In addition to helping to bring the Broadway revival of “Once on This Island” to life, she is an associate producer at Grammy and Tony-winning Broadway Records, head of artist development at Yellow Sound Label, and is on the board of directors at Sokoloff Arts. It is through a production company she co-founded, SilverWalport Productions, that she became a co-producer on the “Once on This Island” team.
Along with the entire cast and crew, Silver is now celebrating a staggering eight Tony Award nominations. In the Musical category, “Once on This Island” is nominated for: Lead Actress, Revival, Direction, Costume Design, Scenic Design, Orchestrations, Sound Design, and Lighting Design. The 72nd Tony Awards will be held live on CBS Sunday, June 10, 2018, at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall.
This vivid one-act musical first opened in 1990, introducing the world to the poignant story of Ti Moune, a young woman whose destiny hinges on a bet between the gods of love and death. Recalling “Romeo and Juliet,” the 2017 revival reimagines the original Calypso score with new orchestration, choreography and staging that places it on a Caribbean island immediately following a devastating hurricane.
Discussing this production of “Once on This Island,” Tony-nominated director Michael Arden was quoted in Playbill as saying, “We are taking a look at disaster, like we’ve seen in Haiti, and how that can be a metaphor for how we all rebuild.”
Along with the themes of renewal, love, fate, and rebuilding, “Once on This Island” explores race and class divides, offering a nuanced look at the resilience of a young woman’s spirit in the face of many obstacles — whether they are natural, divine, or human.
The New York Film Academy congratulates Yael Silver and SilverWalport Productions for their achievement.