Review: ONCE Settles in Nicely at the Denver Center

Once is definitely not your typical Broadway musical. It does not implement nor does it require the razzle dazzle that is usually typical of musical theatre. Instead there is a subtle intimacy and ease to the storytelling. From the moment you enter the theatre, you are transported to another place, a Dublin bar to be exact. The show uses creative staging as the audience is able to traverse the stage to buy a drink at the bar and are then surrounded by the actors/musicians as they jam out to some Irish folk music.

Based off John Carney's hit 2007 low budget Irish film, with music by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, Enda Walsh's stage adaptation will touch you both personally and force you to ponder some universal questions. What is Destiny? What does it mean to live your life in fear? These questions also face our "star-crossed lovers" who are called only Guy and Girl. Guy, a defeated Irish folk singer-songwriter by night and a Hoover repairman by day, is about to give up on his music entirely when Girl, an energetic and passionate pianist who has relocated from her home in the Czech Republic, comes barreling into his life. Together as friends, or what you might even call soul mates, they help each other to navigate the winding paths of life. As the audience can relate, these characters are at a crossroads in life and while they may not be physically together forever, they will remain in each other's hearts forever.

The current touring production features a cast of uber-talented musicians playing a range of instruments from guitar to accordion. Leading this diversely talented cast is Sam Cieri as Guy, whose powerful, gritty vocals on songs like "Leave" and "Gold" will leave you racked with chills. Not to be forgotten is Mackenzie Lesser-Roy as Girl, whose strength lies not only in her crystal clear vocals on "If You Want Me", but the effervescence and naturalness she brings to this voice of reason. And together on the 2007 Academy Award winning song, "Falling Slowly" their vocals are so powerfully enmeshed, it is hard to pinpoint where one starts and the other begins.

Tony award winning director John Tiffany, along with the movement man Steven Hoggett, is able to tap into an unabashed romantic feeling with such aching emotions, without wallowing in cliché. Bob Crowley's scenic and costume design and Natasha Katz lighting design are the cherry on top of a perfectly proportioned ice cream sundae.

ONCE plays The Ellie at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts through May 29th. For tickets, call 303.893.4100 or visit DenverCenter.org.

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