Zrinka Cvitesic Stars in ONCE in Dublin; Show Opens Tonight

Croatian actress Zrinka Cvitesic will play the female lead in Once at the Gaiety in Dublin tonight, February 22 before transferring to the Phoenix in London on March 16, 2013. Cvitesic will join Declan Bennett under the direction of John Tiffany.

Tiffany's production of Once, winner of eight 2012 Tony awards including Best New Musical, opens in the West End in Spring 2013. With book by award-winning Irish playwright and screenwriter Enda Walsh, the London production of Once will open at The Phoenix Theatre on 9 April, with previews from 16 March 2013.

With Academy Award winning music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová based on the motion picture written and directed by John Carney, scenic and costume designs are by Bob Crowley, lighting is by Natasha Katz, sound is by Clive Goodwin, musical supervision and orchestrations are by Martin Lowe and movement is by Steven Hoggett. Casting will be announced shortly.

Based on the much-loved Oscar-winning film, Once is an celebration of love, friendship and music. When an Irish busker and a young Czech mother meet through a shared love of music, their songwriting sparks a deep connection and a tender, longing romance that neither of them could have expected.

Earlier this year Once won eight Tony Awards including Best Musical. The production was also named Best Musical by the New York Drama Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critic Circle and Lucille Lortel Awards. The Broadway production of Once continues at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre having opened in March this year. Once will begin a US national tour launched by The Road Company in the summer of 2013.

The 2007 Academy Award winning film Once was written and directed by John Carney and starred Glen Hansardand Markéta Irglová who also composed the original music and lyrics. The Oscar winning independent Irish film was shot in 17 days and was made for $150,000. It went on to gross $20m worldwide becoming a critically acclaimed international smash. The soundtrack was nominated for two Grammy Awards.

Once was originally developed at the American Repertory Theater (Cambridge, Massachusetts) in April 2011. A developmental run of Once at New York Theatre Workshop began performances in November last year. The production went on to break box office records and concluded a sold out engagement including a two week extension.

Enda Walsh is an Irish playwright living in London. He is the winner of numerous international awards and his work has been translated and produced worldwide. His recent plays include Misterman, Penelope, The New Electrical Ballroom and The Walworth Farce. His other plays include Chatroom, The Small Things, Bedbound and Disco Pigs. On film his work includes Hunger which was the winner of the Camera d'Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival as well as being BAFTA nominated. Walsh was awarded with the Tony Award and the Outer Critic Circle Award for his work on Once.

John Tiffany won the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critic Circle Awards for his work on Once. For his production of Black Watch he won the Laurence Olivier and Critics' Circle Best Director Awards. Internationally he has directedThe Missing, Peter Pan, The House of Bernarda Alba, Hunter, Be Near Me, Nobody Will Ever Forgive Us, The Bacchae, Elizabeth Gordon Quinn, Home: Glasgow , Jerusalem, Las Chicas del Tres y Media Floppies, If Destroyed True, Mercury Fur, The Straits, Gagarin Way, Abandonment, Among Unbroken Hearts, Perfect Days and Passing Places. Tiffany is Associate director of The National Theatre of Scotland.

Glen Hansard's (music and lyrics) film credits are The Commitments and Once. His albums include Strict Joy,the Academy Award winning soundtrack of Once, The Swell Season, The Cost, Burn the Maps, Set List: Live inDublin, For the Birds, Dance the Devil, Fitzcarraldo and Another Love Song.

Markéta Irglová's (music and lyrics) film credit is Once. Her albums include The Swell Season, the Academy Award winning soundtrack of Once, Strict Joy and Anar.