Which island is the story suppose to be set in?

[Carole]

I really enjoyed Once on This Island.



The music and actors were fantastic and it was nice to see an all black cast in such a universal story.



I was curious to learn which island is the story supposed to be set in?



My guess is Haiti...

[Admin]

Hi Carole,

Great question!

While the island is only referenced in the musical as "The Jewel of the Antilles", it is widely assumed that the island they are referring to is Haiti. In French, the country is called "La Perle des Antilles" (The Pearl of the Antilles). In addition, the revolution referenced in the song "The Sad Tale of the Beauxhommes" largely reflect Haiti's history of revolting against French colonizers. The god characters in the show also closely resemble Haitian Vodou gods.