World premiere of Jab Molassie at Little Carib Theatre

Jab Molassie is a local adaptation of Igor Stravinsky’s internationally renowned, “The Soldier’s Tale”. It is set in the hills of Laventille and the story is told by two security guards who tell the tale of Starboy, a gifted musician with a bright future who unwittingly sells his soul, represented by his music, to Jab Molassie.

Imagining that in exchange for his instrument he will gain all the riches promised to him by Jab and his magic book, Starboy cannot predict the heavy price he will pay for this exchange. Nor does he imagine that he will be lost forever. The audience is left to arrive at their own conclusion.

3 Canal’s Wendell Manwarren and Roger Roberts join Gyazette’s Nickolai Salcedo to sing alongside star sopranos, Natalia Dopwell and Germaine Wilson. Wilson is currently in the Lion King in Germany and has returned to Trinidad specially to perform in Jab Molassie. She and Manwarren will be performing the roles of the security guards, Salcedo will be Starboy while Roberts and Dopwell have been cast in the role of Jab Molassie. Rounding off the cast is Dominique Doyle of the Noble Douglas Dance Company who performs the silent dance role of Carnival Queen.

The play contains original music by London based Trinidadian composer, Dominique Le Gendre, and script by Caitlyn Kamminga who is Assistant Professor of Double Bass at the University of Trinidad and Tobago’s (UTT) Academy for the Performing Arts. Calabash Foundation for the Arts are the producers of the musical.

Jab Molassie’s original music is expected to take the audience on a journey that celebrates the richness of local music heritage. Nine live musicians are expected to play the score using the clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, double seconds steel pan, two percussion, violin and double bass. Seven of the nine musicians are current UTT faculty members and one is a member of the National Philharmonic Orchestra.

The production is directed by Jamaican born Patricia Cumper, formerly the head of Talawa Theatre in London and she is assisted by Caroline Taylor. The musical director is Ian Shaw who is English and has worked for many years in London with Dominique Le Gendre. The other member of the creative team are Dave Williams (movement director), Kathryn Chan (set and costume design), Benny Gomes (lighting design) and Robin Foster (sound design).