As a film, the tiny indie musical Once (shot over 17 days for a mere $150,000) was such an unlikely hit that it’s easy to be cynical over whether a big-budget Broadway adaptation could capture the same magic. But Olney’s intimate, stirring production of the show that would go on to win eight Tonys and gross more than $100 million should convert any skeptics.
Once is a story of a brief, incredible creative partnership between two musicians, and the musical owes much of its success to its evocative score, written by the original film stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (the film’s most iconic tune, “Falling Slowly,” would go on to win an Academy Award). Songs like the plaintive “Leave” and wistful “Sleeping” (both sung with soulful intensity by Gregory Maheu) aren’t there so much to move the plot along as provide a kind of emotional shorthand for Once, in broad strokes.
When the unnamed Girl (Malinda Kathleen Reese) stumbles on Maheu’s similarly unnamed Guy, he’s broken from the deterioration of a past relationship, ready to forsake music forever. Over a chance encounter involving, of all things, a broken vacuum cleaner, the Girl convinces him the songs he’s written should be shared with the world at large, and the pair spends five intense days bringing them back to life together, with the help of a rag-tag band of musicians ranging from roommates to shop-owners to even a creatively-repressed banker.
There’s the undercurrent of a love story working its way through Once as well, but it ultimately takes backseat to the creative collaboration, which is part of what also kept the move from veering too far into cliché territory.
Once’s stage adaptation doesn’t try to capture the same feel of the film, which would likely be impossible. Instead, the musical creates its own atmosphere, courtesy of the band of street musicians who frame the production from the beginning — even as audience members enter the theater at Olney, they’re treated to a festive, spirited jam session from the cast at large. Each performer is a multi-threat, taking on character roles while juggling at least one, sometimes multiple instruments that provide accompaniment to the score. Once’s songs become even more heartbreaking when either amped up with additional orchestrations or stripped down to sparse, a cappella versions.
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The musical also takes a few moments to delve deeper into each minor character’s back story, whether it be Nick DePinto’s creatively stymied bank manager or Dave Stishan’s scene-stealing shop owner. The character to whom this Once does a slight disservice is the unnamed Girl, whose unabashed directness feels like it’s being played for punchlines in the musical’s earliest scenes. Reese rises above those challenges, though, and she and Maheu connect with their own language of longing looks and unexpressed affection. She’s also given her own time to emote during the haunting “If You Want Me,” which hints at the complex emotions going on below the surface of her character.
She surrenders to the music, something that is easy for the audience to do in Once, a show where the feelings stirred up by its score always ring true.
Once. Book by Enda Walsh. Music and Lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. Based on the film from John Carney. Directed and Choreographed by Marcia Migrom Dodge. With Carlos Castillo, Katie Chambers, Nick DePinto, Kyleigh Fuller, Somaya Litmon, Craig MacDonald, Gregory Maheu, Daven Ralson, Malinda Kathleen Reese, Brian Reisman, Dave Stishan, Emily Mikesell, John Sygar, and Christopher Youstra. Music direction: Christopher Youstra. Scenic Designer Michael Schweikardt. Costume design: Frank Labovitz. Lighting Design: Colin K. Bills. Sound Design: Matt Rowe. Produced by Olney Theatre Centre. Reviewed by Missy Frederick.
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