'Once On This Island' to open GMC's new venue

Gil Pound, The Union-Recorder, Milledgeville, Ga.
·4 min read

Oct. 25—Nearly two years after its groundbreaking, the NewDay USA Center for Leadership at Georgia Military College is ready to welcome the public inside.

Coming in at almost 29,000 square feet, the school's new facility on East Greene Street is set to have a "soft opening" this week as GMC Prep holds its one-act play home shows Thursday through Saturday. The talented students, winners of back-to-back GHSA one-act state championships, are prepping their coming-of-age musical "Once On This Island" for region, and, hopefully, state competition. Showtimes are 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday with a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee.

GMC Prep Fine Arts Director Mark Weaver said the new building is still waiting on some exterior finishing touches like signage and landscaping, but the interior is good to go.

"Once you step inside, it's a finished building," said Weaver. "It's wonderful, and we're excited for people to see it."

At 754 seats, the NewDay USA Center for Leadership will come close to doubling the seating capacity of GMC's other theatre space, the Goldstein Center for the Performing Arts.

"We never really advertised for tickets in the past because there weren't any," Weaver added. "Now with 754 seats instead of 400, we've got more tickets to sell."

That's more opportunities for the theatre-loving public to see the six-time state champion one-act play program in action.

The larger venue is a collaboration between GMC and NewDay USA, a mortgage lender for United States military veterans. Based in Fulton, Maryland, NewDay has had a relationship with GMC going back to 2016. Through the company's foundation, NewDay has provided full scholarships to more than 30 GMC Prep students whose parents died or were injured in military service to America. NewDay also gives scholarships to students whose parents have served and been impacted by the Global War on Terror. In order to have its name attached to the facility, it was reported at the time of the building's groundbreaking that NewDay had pledged $10 million toward the effort.

At the November 2021 groundbreaking, New Day USA founder and CEO Rob Posner shared why his company has gotten so involved at GMC.

"It's amazing for us to be part of this school," Posner said. "I've got four kids, and if I could send them to any school in the entire United States it would be here in Milledgeville. It's because of the leadership of [Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell, GMC president] and the faculty."

GMC officials see the venue's potential beyond just hosting students' fine arts performances. Plans include to bring in renowned guest speakers to address students, and also welcome in touring performers, making Milledgeville a destination for those who enjoy a night at the theatre.

The new building is being christened this week by the show "Once On This Island," based on the 1985 novel "My Love, My Love" by Rosa Guy. It's set in the French Antilles islands in the Caribbean, and is a retelling of "The Little Mermaid."

"It's a little different for us," Weaver said. "Usually for one-act we focus on musical comedy. That's what we're really strong at, but this is a little bit of a shift. It's very hard, but we wanted a challenge. It's more dramatic and requires a little more soft acting, so we're excited about it."

Asked why he and co-director/choreographer Jenny Morris decided to go in a different direction with this year's show, Weaver said, "We have an amazing group of students this year, especially the senior class, and they are capable of these roles."

The island in the story has both a rich side and a poor side. When a young girl from the peasant side asks the island gods to reveal her life's true purpose, the deities laugh at first, but then make a wager centered around the girl, Ti Moune, and an upper class boy named Daniel. The gods arrange for Daniel to be injured in a car crash and for Ti Moune to care for him during recovery. Just when the god of death, Papa Ge, comes to take Daniel's life, Ti Moune offers her life in exchange. What follows is a tale that should have audiences on the edge of their seats as they await Ti Moune's fate.

Some 75 students are involved in the big production, cast and crew. The show lasts 55 minutes like all one-act plays. GMC Prep will use the upcoming home shows to dial everything in time for region on Nov. 1. A region championship would earn GMC a berth to state, which is set for Nov. 18 at Denmark High School in Alpharetta.

Tickets for "Once On This Island" can be purchased online at gmcperformingarts.com. Admission is $10.