Since Aaron Reese Boseman first worked with The Drama Group in 2013, it went from “bringing Broadway to the South Suburbs since 1931? to a show with an all-Black cast.
“Once on This Island,” which runs from Aug. 4 to 13 at The Drama Group in Chicago Heights, is based on Rosa Guy’s novel “My Love, My Love.”
“It’s already a unique story but having this group of individuals makes the music sound really rich and really authentic to the sounds of the Caribbean,” said Boseman of Chicago’s West Pullman community.
“I think me and my music director, Elliott Bell, have done a really good job of transforming the music for a more authentic sound.”
“Once on This Island” features book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty, who together won the Tony Award for original musical score for “Ragtime.”
The Drama Group’s “Once on This Island” marks the first mainstream musical that Boseman, who has starred in the show three times for other companies, is directing.
Boseman, an adjunct professor at alma mater Columbia College Chicago, played Papa Ge in 2006 while a sophomore at the former Seton Academy in South Holland, Agwe in 2009 at Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre in Evanston and Pape Ge in 2013 for Broadway in Naperville at North Central College.
“I’ve had a white female director, I’ve had a male director and I’ve had a Black woman as a director so they’ve all had different versions of it. During that time it became one of my favorite musicals,” said Boseman, who is also co-founder and artistic director of Pulse Theatre Company in Chicago.
“It’s a Haitian retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ and it deals with the story of Ti Moune, who is our protagonist who goes on a journey to find the love of her life.”
“Once on This Island,” which closes The Drama Group’s 2022-23 season, features actors from Calumet City, Chicago, Chicago Heights, Country Club Hills, Crest Hill, Frankfort, Flossmoor, Lynwood, Midlothian, Olympia Fields, South Holland, Tinley Park and the Indiana towns of Griffin, Hammond and Highland.
The production marks a return to The Drama Group for Boseman, whose first production for the community theater involved portraying Lion in “The Wiz” in 2013 under the name Aaron Mitchell Reese.
“Even back then they were trying to make sure they had programming for people of color. That show had a mixture of people of color and white people but ‘The Wiz’ is traditionally written for Black people. That was a step in the right direction,” said Boseman, who is also a cinematographer and photographer.
“There are options to do (‘Once on This Island’) with different cultures but at its heart, at its truth, it is done with Black actors.”
Officials at The Drama Group have been focusing on a more diverse environment.
“The Drama Group believes in creating a culture of inclusion and opportunity,” officials said in their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement.
“Since the summer of 2020, we have been working diligently to improve that culture.”
‘Once on This Island’
When: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 4-5 and Aug. 10-12; 2 p.m. Aug. 6 and Aug. 12-13
Where: The Drama Group, 330 W. 202nd St., Chicago Heights
More Top Picks Best Beer Brewing Books
Tickets: $23 adults; $21 ages 65 and older; $17 students
Information: 708-755-3444; dramagroup.org
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.