Disney adapting 'Once On This Island' film for streaming service
Hailey Kilgore, far left, as Ti Moune in the musical “Once on This Island” at the Circle in the Square Theater.Credit...Sara Krulwich/The New York Times
According to the Hollywood Reporter, playwright Jocelyn Bioh is set to write and Wanuri Kahiu on board to direct the adaptation of the award-winning musical that feature gods betting on love and death and an island girl trying to rise above her station.
“With Hamilton on Disney+ being a runaway sensation, The Hollywood Reporter has learned that the streaming service is working to bring another Broadway musical to the screen.
Marc Platt, the producer behind Broadway’s Wicked as well as movies ranging from Legally Blonde to La La Land, is producing.
As opposed to Hamilton, which was a recording of a stage performance, Island will be a more traditional adaptation. Disney's live-action division is running point on the project.”
From the Tony Award-winning songwriting team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Seussical, Ragtime), this highly original and theatrical Caribbean adaptation of the popular fairy tale, ‘The Little Mermaid’, garnered eight Tony nominations for its initial Broadway run, including Best Musical, Book and Score.
It was originally staged at Off-Broadway's Playwrights Horizons, running from May 6, 1990 through May 27, 1990. The Broadway production opened on October 18, 1990 at the Booth Theatre and closed on December 1, 1991, after 469 performances and 19 previews.
The West End production won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical and its 2017 Broadway revival netted several Tony Award nominations and a win for best musical revival.
The story centers on Ti Moune, a peasant girl, who rescues a wealthy boy from the other side of the island, Daniel, with whom she falls in love.
Unbeknownst to Ti Moune, the pompous gods who preside over the island make a bet with one another over which is stronger, love or death, the stakes being Ti Moune's life.
There is no current casting news nor premiere dates set.