STAGE REVIEW : Old Tale, New Twist : Musical: ‘Little Mermaid’ gets a glorious updating at the hands of the San Diego Players’ Graciela Daniele.

Fairy tales endure when they give insights to new generations.

One that has stood the test of time is Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid”--a story about a little mermaid who loved a prince, gave up her life in the sea to be with him, and died when he married one of his own kind.

While the story has endured, the ending has been softened and sweetened over the years, transforming it into a tale of how love can overcome all obstacles. Take Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” cartoon--a hit in which the prince and one-time mermaid live happily ever after.

“Once on This Island,” San Diego Playgoers’ presentation of the 1990 Broadway hit musical at the San Diego Civic Theatre, goes back to the tragic roots of the Andersen tale--but with a difference. Yes, death can separate the lovers, Lynn Ahrens acknowledges in her wise book and lyrics. But ultimately her joyous message, supported by the exuberance of Stephen Flaherty’s luscious score, is that love overcomes even death. And the next generation may do better.

It is this idea, supported by a magical production, that makes “Once on This Island” an unforgettable show--the kind in which tears and gladness are powerfully and inextricably mixed.

Adapted from the novel “My Love, My Love” by Rosa Guy, there is no actual mermaid or prince in “Once on This Island.” Instead of the differences of land and sea, we have the differences between two classes in an island in the French Antilles. Ti Moune, a dark-skinned peasant girl, falls in love with a mixed-race aristocrat, Daniel Beauxhomme, whose car crashes near her village.

She nurses him. She falls in love with him. When his people, who disdain the peasant class, come to take him back, she follows him. She believes that they can have a life together. He loves her, but he knows differently.

Such a slender story could be crushed by too much production. But Graciela Daniele, who directed and choreographed the show’s nonstop movement, keeps it all gloriously simple.

Loy Arcenas’ sets are lush with tropic colors, but devoid of elaborate technical tricks. To suggest Daniel driving a car, the actor races around with two flashlights under his arms. To suggest a rainstorm, the cast walks around with umbrellas dripping silver tinsel.

Similarly, Judy Dearing’s costumes are colorful and ordinary--tights here, a sarong there, a blouse and a skirt, a white suit--enlivened, when appropriate, by just the right accessories.

The action in this 90-minute, intermissionless story moves swiftly. No words wasted. An 11-person cast dances and sings through 20 numbers, most of them taking on several roles, sometimes with the simplest of changes--glittery sandals for the upper class as opposed to the barefoot look of the peasants.

The cast is wonderful. Vanita Harbour is heartbreaking as Ti Moune, the child woman whose heart directs her every move. Gerry McIntyre casts a great shadow as the sardonic and menacing Papa Ge, Demon of Death, with whom Ti Moune bargains for Daniel’s life. Darius de Haas manages to evoke sympathy for Daniel, despite his ultimate betrayal.

And Alvaleta Guess projects the voice and majesty of Asaka, other of the Earth, one of the four gods who manipulate the proceedings, not unlike the way the gods played their games while mortals fought and died in “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey.”

One of the many remarkable aspects of “Once on This Island” is the deft way it attacks the racism and class hatred that keep the lovers apart--without losing its light and irresistible touch.

And though the play is set in this far-away, unnamed island in the French Antilles, “Once on This Island,” like all good fairy tales, holds in its hands a message all would do well to hear--right here, right now.

“ONCE ON THIS ISLAND”

Adapted from Rosa Guy’s novel “My Love, My Love” with book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Music by Stephen Flaherty. Director and choreographer is Graciela Daniele. Sets by Loy Arcenas. Costumes by Judy Dearing. Lighting by Allen Lee Hughes. Sound by Scott Lehrer. Musical direction by Mark Lipman. Stage manager is Bryan Young. With Natalie Venetia Belcon, Steven Cates, Monique Cintron, Darius de Haas, Tonya L. Dixon, Nilyne Fields, Sheila Gibbs, Alvaleta Guess, Vanita Harbour, LaShonda Hunt, Gerry McIntyre, James Stovall, Keith Tyrone, Fuschia Walker and Miles Watson. Performances are 8 p.m. through Saturday and 7:30 p.m. Sunday with Saturday/Sunday matinees at 2, through Sunday. At the San Diego Civic Theatre, 202 C St., San Diego, 236-6510 or 278-TIXS.