{"id":681631,"date":"2026-01-08T06:37:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T06:37:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/681631\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T06:37:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T06:37:20","slug":"marisha-wallace-joins-once-on-this-island-west-end-concert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/681631\/","title":{"rendered":"Marisha Wallace joins Once on This Island West End concert"},"content":{"rendered":"

West End and Broadway star Marisha Wallace<\/a><\/strong> is joining the cast of Olivier Award-winning musical Once on This Island<\/a><\/strong>, which is returning to the West End for a one-night-only concert.<\/p>\n

Once on This Island in Concert will run at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane<\/a> on Sunday 8 February.<\/p>\n

Marisha Wallace, who recently played Sally Bowles in Cabaret<\/a> in the West End and on Broadway, will play Erzulie in the show. Her other London credits include Dreamgirls, Oklahoma!, Guys & Dolls, Waitress and Hairspray.<\/p>\n

Already announced in the cast<\/a> are Tony Award winner Alex Newell<\/a><\/strong> (Shucked, Once on This Island) as Asaka, and West End stars Dujonna Gift<\/a><\/strong> (Two Strangers\u2026) as Ti Moune, Melanie La Barrie<\/a><\/strong> (Hadestown<\/a>) as Papa Ge and Olivier Award nominee Cedric Neal<\/a><\/strong> (Guys & Dolls) as Agwe.<\/p>\n

\"OnceAlex Newell, Marisha Wallace, Dujonna Gift, Cedric Neal, Melanie La Barrie. Photos via PR<\/p>\n

The cast also includes Jamael Westman<\/strong> as Daniel Beauxhomme, Casey Al-Shaqsy<\/strong> as Andrea Deveraux, Waylon Jacobs<\/strong> as Armand Beauxhomme, Ako Mitchell<\/strong> as Tonton Julian, and Wendy Mae Brown<\/strong> as Mama Euralie; and the ensemble features Elliot Broadfoot<\/strong>, Jerome Lincoln<\/strong>, Lindo Shinda<\/strong>, and Tamara Tare<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The London concert will be directed by Annabel Mutale-Reed<\/strong>, and the wider creative team includes musical director Jordan Li-Smith, who will conduct the London Musical Theatre Orchestra, choreography by Sarah Golding, sound design by Harry Greatorex, and casting director Ben Armstrong.<\/p>\n

Once on This Island has a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens<\/strong> and music by Stephen Flaherty<\/strong> (Ragtime, Seussical), and reimagines The Little Mermaid through the lens of Caribbean folklore. The story follows Ti Moune, a young peasant girl chosen by the Gods for a destiny that will test the boundaries of love, sacrifice and faith.<\/p>\n

After rescuing a young man during a violent storm, Ti Moune makes a pact with the divine in the hope of saving his life, setting in motion a journey that explores class, colour, spirituality and the transformational power of storytelling.<\/p>\n

The much-loved Caribbean-inspired musical first premiered in the UK at the Birmingham Rep in 1994 before transferring to the West End\u2019s Peacock Theatre. The production went on to win the Olivier Award for Best New Musical, cementing its status as a modern classic.<\/p>\n

Once on This Island last appeared in London in 2023 in a Regent\u2019s Park Open Air Theatre revival starring Gabrielle Brooks<\/a> (Coven<\/a>, Get Up Stand Up) as Ti Moune and Stephenson Ardern-Sodje<\/a> (The Lion King<\/a>, Starter for Ten<\/a>) as Daniel, directed by Ola Ince.<\/p>\n

The musical\u2019s Broadway revival earned eight Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical and Best Score.<\/p>\n

Book tickets<\/p>\n

Once on This Island is playing at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 8 February 2026.<\/p>\n

Book tickets to Once on This Island at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Once on This Island in Concert<\/p>\n

Theatre Royal Drury Lane,\u00a0London<\/p>\n

Book tickets<\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcf7\u00a0Main photo: Once on This Island in Concert to star Marisha Wallace (Photo via PR)<\/p>\n

Related News<\/p>\n

More ><\/p>\n

<\/a> Latest News<\/p>\n

More ><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"West End and Broadway star Marisha Wallace is joining the cast of Olivier Award-winning musical Once on This…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":681632,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[206650,206651,748,154258,206652,393,4884,257,139867,206653,206654,35851,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-681631","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-alex-newell","9":"tag-annabel-mutale-reed","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-cedric-neal","12":"tag-dujonna-gift","13":"tag-england","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-london","16":"tag-marisha-wallace","17":"tag-melanie-la-barrie","18":"tag-once-on-this-island","19":"tag-theatre-royal-drury-lane","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115858102364805542","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/681632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}