By Tina Arth
My one and only trip to Dublin (many years ago) was a
disaster – I was very pregnant, money was very tight, and it was the dead of
winter. This was not a propitious introduction, and I never succumbed to the
urge to revisit the Emerald Isle. Courtesy of Broadway Rose’s production of Once, I was finally granted a glimpse
into the warm, sometimes raucous, always charming Irish culture of legend, and
it was a mind-altering experience. In the hands of Director Isaac Lamb and his
team, the Tony winning play (Best Musical) that also won an Academy Award for
Best Original Song comes to life with an immediacy that completely envelops the
entire audience – the spirit of a traditional ceilidh, but in a contemporary
context.
Once is based on a movie by John Carney,
with book by Enda Walsh, Music and Lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová.
The play tells the story of and Irish musician/songwriter (“Guy”) and a Czech
woman (“Girl”) who meet in Dublin as Guy is preparing to give up his quest of a
musical career (symbolized graphically when he leaves his guitar abandoned on
the street) – he will focus on his trade as a vacuum cleaner repairman. Girl,
who is an accomplished pianist, refuses to allow this, insisting that he can
win back his lost love (who has moved to New York) and succeed in music. She
uses a conveniently broken vacuum cleaner as her entrée into his shop, where she convinces
him to continue playing the guitar. Of course they fall in love, but there are
barriers to their relationship – and thus goes the story.
Once is somewhat unique
among musicals in that the cast is the orchestra; of the 13 cast
members, 12 play at least one instrument (the exception is Eva Hudson Leoniak,
who plays Girl’s young daughter Ivonka). However, this orchestra seems to be
having an amazing amount of fun – and sharing it with the audience, as they are
scattered all over the stage singing, dancing, and acting their way through 2+
hours of extraordinary original music interspersed with traditional Irish
tunes. Isaac Lamb’s choreography and Eric Nordin’s music direction meld
beautifully, and the cast could not be better.
Morgan
Hollingswirth (“Guy”) captures the essence of a wounded, guarded, slightly
surly character hiding behind a bitter wall to protect himself from further
loss – just the kind of damaged goods to attract a determined woman like Girl
(Marissa Neitling). Neitling is astonishingly good – her character’s quirky
persistence and inability to respect boundaries, combined with a gentle Czech
accent and some truly amazing timing, grab the audience from her first
appearance and make her both the comic and romantic center of the show.
There
are truly no weak links, but a few cast highlights include Jahnava Alyssa
(“Reza”), who manages to play the violin while undulating around the stage with
stunningly casual sensuality. Guitar players Andrew Maldarelli (“Billy”) and
Jay Tatco-Nowak (“Emcee”) inspire much of the audience interaction, drawing us
into some rousing Irish sing-alongs.
Kymberli Colbourne’s “Baruska” (Girl’s mother) creates the solidly
supportive mother/grandmother who holds the immigrant family together, and
watching her on the accordion is way too much fun.
All
of this happens on a set that faithfully recreates the atmosphere of a
beautifully lit back street Dublin pub, which the audience is free to explore
before the show, and to inhabit (via tables and chairs arrayed upstage) during
the performance. Jamie Hammon’s costume design (from Reza’s torn tights to
Ivonka’s striped pajamas) captures the essence of each character, and the sound
design seamlessly copes with the challenge of a horde of musicians/vocalists
wandering all over the stage (and occasionally the aisles).
A
few years ago, a friend at Broadway Rose expressed to me his concern that the
company needed to find a way to attract new audiences, including younger
patrons, in order to flourish for another 25 years. The entire run of Once sold out before opening night – and
this is not the first time this has happened this year. Clearly, Broadway Rose
has found the formula to attract and retain its audience now and in the future
– the secret seems to be selecting the right shows, the right directors, and
the right casts. If you don’t already have tickets to Once, I can only suggest that you make plans early to welcome the
holiday season with It Happened One
Christmas.
Once
is playing at
Broadway Rose’s New Stage, 12850 SW Grant Avenue, Tigard through Sunday,
October 27th.
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