ONCE Opens Today in Toronto Starring An All-Canadian Cast

The Toronto production of the Tony Award-winning 'Best Musical' Once plays performances through May 31, 2015. Performances for Once began on February 10 at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto. Press night for Once is today, February 22 at 2PM.

The All-Canadian cast features IAN LAKE as Guy and TRISH LINDSTRÖM as Girl. STEPHANIE CADMAN as Ex-Girlfriend, NATHAN CARROLL as Andrej, DONNA GARNER as Baruska, EMILY LUKASIK as Reza, JON-ALEX MACFARLANE as Bank Manager, BRANDON MCGIBBON as Svec, STEPHEN GUY-MCGRATH as Billy, LAURIE MURDOCH as Da, BRENDAN WALL as Eamon, JEREMY WALMSLEY as Emcee, BENJAMIN CAMENZULI, GABI EPSTEIN, JEFF HAMACHER, JUSTIN RAISEBECK, ALICIA TONER and SEANA-LEE WOOD. SCARLETT ROSE BILDFELL and EVA GREIG alternate in the role of Ivanka.

Toronto fell in love with Once in December 2013, when the first touring company of the Tony Award-winning musical played here for a limited run; a critical and popular hit, it sold out every single seat during its six-week run. The Toronto Star called Once "a perfect illustration of the magic that musical theatre at its best is capable of." The Globe and Mail awarded it four stars, its highest rating.

Set in modern day Dublin, Once tells the story of Guy, an Irish musician who has given up on his music-and his love-and Girl, a Czech immigrant who inspires him to dream again. Over the course of one fateful week, their unexpected friendship and collaboration evolves into a powerful but complicated romance, heightened by the raw emotion of the songs they create together.

ONCE is based on the 2007 Academy Award-winning film of the same name, written and directed by John Carney, and starring Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, who also wrote the original music and lyrics.

The stage adaptation is brought to life by an award-winning team of visionary artists: book by award-winning Irish playwright & screenwriter, Enda Walsh (Penelope, Hunger, The New Electric Ballroom); direction by the acclaimed Scottish director of Black Watch, John Tiffany; movement by Steven Hoggett (Black Watch, American Idiot); and music supervision and orchestrations by Martin Lowe (Mamma Mia!). The set and costume design are by five-time Tony Award winner Bob Crowley (The Coast of Utopia, Mary Poppins), lighting design is by Tony winner Natasha Katz (Aida, The Coast of Utopia), and sound design is by Clive Goodwin.

ONCE was originally developed at the American Repertory Theater (Cambridge, Massachusetts) in April 2011.

A developmental run of Once played in November 2011 to January 2012 at New York Theatre Workshop.

ONCE opened on Broadway on March 18. 2012, produced by Barbara Broccoli, John N. Hart Jr., Patrick Milling Smith, Frederick Zollo, Brian Carmody, Michael G. Wilson, Orin Wolf, The Shubert Organization and Executive Producer Robert Cole, in association with New York Theatre Workshop.

The production won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It also won Best Musical from the New York Drama Critics' Circle, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critic Circle and Lucille Lortel Awards. The original cast recording won the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

Photo Credit: Cylla von Tiedemann