New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) presents the Broadway-bound world premiere of the new musical Once, which is based on the Academy Award-winning film. Once began previews Tuesday, November 15 and opens tonight, December 6 at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4 Street, between Bowery and Second Avenue. Also revealed tonight are plans for ONCE to open on Broadway, beginning previews at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater on February 28, 2012, with an opening night set for March 18, 2012.
The cast of Once features Steve Kazee as the Guy and Cristin Milioti as the Girl. Also in the company are David Abeles, Claire Candela, Will Connolly, Elizabeth A. Davis, David PatRick Kelly, Anne L. Nathan, Lucas Papaelias, Andy Taylor, Erikka Walsh, Paul Whitty, and J. Michael Zygo.
Once features music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová (who won the Academy Award in 2008 for Best Original Song for "Falling Slowly" from the film Once); book by Enda Walsh (Disco Pigs, The New Electric Ballroom, Penelope, Hunger, The Walworth Farce); movement by Steven Hoggett (Peter and the Starcatcher, Black Watch); musical supervision by Martin Lowe (Mamma Mia!) and direction by John Tiffany (Black Watch). The set and costume design are by Tony winner Bob Crowley (The Coast of Utopia); lighting design is by Tony winner Natasha Katz (Aida, The Coast of Utopia), and sound design by Clive Goodwin. The independent Irish film Once was written and directed by John Carney, and starred Mr. Hansard and Ms. Irglová, who wrote the original music and lyrics for the film. It was made for $150,000; shot in 17 days; and grossed $20M worldwide, becoming a critically acclaimed international smash. In addition to the Oscar, Mr. Hansard and Ms. Irglová won the Los Angeles Film Critics Award for Best Music, and the film's soundtrack was nominated for two Grammy Awards. Does the musical adaptation match up to its film counterpart's critical acclaim? Find out here!
Ben Brantley, The New York Times: What’s enchanting in one context, subjected to stress, exaggeration or self-consciousness, can seem soppy or strident in another. That’s the big problem faced by the talented creators of “Once,” the gently appealing new musical...But a merciful reversal occurs when “Once” breaks into music, which is often. Characters become less adorably overwrought and more genuinely conflicted, with distinctive personalities instead of standard-issue ones. The songs soar with rough-edged, sweet-and-sad ambivalence that is seldom visited in contemporary American musicals.
