Theatre Raleigh Stages Once on This Island, Show Features Local Talent
Theatre Raleigh continues its 2025 season with Once on This Island, a Tony Award winning Caribbean flavored musical that brings Broadway talent and local performers to the Triangle. The production, with Amaya White in the lead role of Ti Moune, offers residents a chance to see a high caliber musical locally while supporting a nonprofit arts organization that contributes to the local economy.
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RALEIGH — Theatre Raleigh has added Once on This Island to its 2025 season, presenting the Tony Award winning Caribbean flavored musical to audiences in Wake County and the surrounding Triangle. The production pairs Broadway trained performers with Triangle based artists, and features Amaya White in the central role of Ti Moune. The show is part of Theatre Raleigh’s broader commitment to mounting professional musicals as a nonprofit company that aims to raise the artistic profile of the region.
Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, the creators behind the musical’s book and score, are the production’s creative foundation. Their work anchors a story and sound that blend Caribbean rhythms with theatrical storytelling, an aesthetic that has earned national recognition and draws diverse audiences. Theatre Raleigh’s staging brings that repertoire to a local stage, making a show that often requires travel to a larger city available to Wake County residents.
For local audiences the immediate benefit is cultural access. Residents can experience a Broadway calibrated production without leaving the county, saving travel time and expense while increasing local participation in the arts. For the company and its workforce the production sustains jobs for actors, designers, technicians and front of house staff. As a nonprofit professional theatre, Theatre Raleigh also channels ticket revenues and donations back into future programming, education and community outreach.
There are broader economic implications for nearby businesses. Performances typically concentrate evening activity around the theatre, creating customer flow for restaurants, bars and parking operators. While specific box office figures for this production are not published, the pattern of arts driven spending in mid sized cities suggests a measurable uplift to local hospitality sectors during runs. The company’s season level programming helps create predictable audience demand that can support part time and gig employment across the arts and service industries.
Community significance extends beyond immediate economic effects. Theatre Raleigh’s choices shape the cultural calendar for Wake County, offering residents opportunities for arts education and local engagement with diverse stories and musical forms. The casting of local performers alongside Broadway talent also provides a platform for regional artists to build experience and visibility.
Performances run as part of Theatre Raleigh’s 2025 season. Residents interested in attending can consult the theatre’s website for show dates, ticket information and any community programs linked to the production. The staging of Once on This Island underscores Theatre Raleigh’s role in bringing nationally recognized musical theatre to Wake County, and it reinforces the arts as a living contributor to both civic life and the local economy.
