Birmingham Village Players opens its 104th season Friday, Sept. 18, with the Tony Award-winning musical "Once On This Island" at 34660 Woodward Ave.

The Caribbean-set show, loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid," follows a peasant girl who falls in love with a wealthy boy and strikes a deal with the gods to save his life. The story takes place in the 1950s and weaves themes of love, death and cultural folklore through its cast of mythic characters.

Those characters include Asaka, mother of the Earth; Agwe, god of water; Papa Ge, the demon of death; and Erzulie, goddess of love.

Melanie Jones of West Bloomfield plays Asaka. She described her character as nurturing and motherly but also majestic and playful. In a Sept. 8 interview with C&G Newspapers, Jones said the show goes deeper than romance: "It is not only a love story. It actually has some truth to it."

Stacey Barrett of Detroit plays Erzulie. Barrett told C&G Newspapers in the same Sept. 8 interview that representation drives her work in community theater, calling the production a rare opportunity in community theater in the metro Detroit area to tell Black stories on stage. Barrett said she wants younger performers to see that playing a role on stage is a possibility for them, too.

The nonprofit theater company was founded in 1923. Its 104th season also includes "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare," "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," "Amadeus" and "Oklahoma!"

Performances of "Once On This Island" run through Sunday, Oct. 4. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $30.

Flex Package tickets are available for all shows. The box office can be reached at (248) 644-2075 or at birminghamvillageplayers.com.