Note 8: Once the Musical

“His music needs one thing. Her.”

Yes, this is the “Once” you have in mind, believe it or not, the 2006 independent film has adapted to the musical version and been in theatre in both New York and London in 2012.I can’t be more excited when I found the news that someone was putting effort in transforming one of my favorite movie into musical! But as an afterthought, changing a musical film into a musical makes sense, since it owns the musical numbers already; all left to do is to do some choreography.

You see, I love the movie “Once.” It's pretty much perfect: the story of a love that can never happen, between a failing Dublin songwriter and a Czech immigrant, it has that Brief Encounter bittersweet ache to it. I'm an iron lady most of the time, but that movie turned me into a bunny rabbit. The film's director and writer underplay everything masterfully. The actor Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, who star, wrote and sang all its beautiful songs, one of which went on to win an Oscar in 2008. It stole hearts all over the world.

“Once the Musical” was nominated for 11 Tony awards in 2012, winning eight - including best musical, and best actor for star Steve Kazee. The biggest tip you need to know if you are going to see this, is that you should get to the theater at least 20 minutes early. The pre-show music is one of the best elements of the show that many people miss simply because they don't know it exists! This musical just felt more personal, in my opinion. This was a no frills, bare bones production - all the actors/actresses played their own instruments, sang their own parts, and did minimal dancing. Everyone on stage was so incredibly talented. I do enjoy huge Broadway shows like Wicked, no doubt, but I had a really great time watching” Once.” About the script, I think it loosely mirrors the movie, but definitely can stand alone, for those new to the production.  I liked the way the casts deviated from the movie enough to make it different for old fans, but stayed true enough that the essence of the film wasn't changed. But what really made it for me was the music. Plain and simple - the instruments, the actors, and the things they produced vocally and instrumentally carried the show all the way.

After watching the musical, I began to think about the music in our lives, how much it is around us, how it affects our lives or our relationships with others. I can say that every cast in this show is musician, I can see music around them the entire time, and they make the story not only about romance but the real musicians in our everyday lives.