BWW Interviews: Evan Harrington of ONCE: THE MUSICAL

A taste of Ireland comes to Nashville with the tour of the eight time Tony Award winning Once: The Musical. The story of a romance between a couple, surrounded by the music they both love, Once: The Musical is unique in many ways.

Evan Harrington heads to Nashville's Tennessee Performing Arts Center with the touring cast this week. He's graciously agreed to answer a few questions for our Nashville BroadwayWorld.com readers.

BWW Nashville: Thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule to share with us. I know your schedule must be insane on tour.

Do you feel like acting was always a part of your plan for your life, or did you have other plans that ended up turning into acting?

Evan Harrington: I was always exposed to theatre as a kid, since my dad does lots of performing in my hometown, but I don't think it became part of my 'life plan' until I realized I wasn't gonna play First Base for the New York Yankees. (kidding...didn't pan out...)

I was a kid who played a lot of sports growing up, but I also played instruments and sang in the school chorus, did the school play and all that. Until I was about 14-15, I wanted to do something sports related, but after the Yankees never called, I figured I'd try acting! My parents were thrilled... So far, so good...

BWW Nashville: You've been a part of such a wide range of shows in your career. Peter and the Starcatcher, Avenue Q and Phantom of the Opera all seem like such different shows from each other, and from Once. What makes Once different from other shows that you've been a part of?

Evan Harrington: I've been lucky to do so many different things in my career, and ONCE has been such an amazing ride...It's different from other shows in that we get to be a real band every night, and the audience seeing that happen while we're also telling this great story is such a visceral experience. You connect with these people as an audience, and I really think good theatre makes you feel. That's what I thought when I saw the show in NY, and it's the same every night up on stage.

BWW Nashville: You play the role of Billy in Once. Share with our readers who Billy is and how he fits into the show.

Evan Harrington: Billy is the owner of a struggling Dublin music shop...The shop is about to be taken away by those evil, money-grubbing bankers, so he has very few bright spots in his day... but one of the bright spots is the occasional visit from 'Girl', who comes in to the shop to play piano. He fosters a little overprotective crush on her, but when 'Guy' comes into the picture, Billy has to put his crush on hold. He's a passionate guy and not afraid to share that passion throughout the course of the play, haha! I have so much fun being this blustery Irishman every night...the big guy with the heart of gold.

BWW Nashville: How were you first introduced to Once and how did you wind up with the role of Billy?

Evan Harrington: I first saw the show when it opened on Broadway, and like many people, I fell in love with it. Watching everyone up there with all the instruments and the movement and great acting was eye-opening...I had seen the film and knew the music already. I knew I wanted to be a part of it, and thought to myself, 'I could do that Shop Owner part!' So I just started playing a lot more guitar, practicing my Irish dialect around the house and about 6 months later, the tour auditions were starting. I made sure I got in to be seen....after several really fun callbacks, I got the call that I was gonna be a part of it, and here we are! So grateful.

BWW Nashville: What was the most difficult part about taking on the role of Billy? What came most naturally for you?

Evan Harrington: The most difficult part of the show was learning to play, sing and move at the same time...I have great memories of rehearsing "Gold" on top of my roof in Park Slope at 2 am until I got it...my neighbors must've loved that.

I think the part that came most naturally was the comedy....I've always loved being a goofball, and I got to be in a master class of comedy every night in PETER AND THE STARCATCHER...I learned from that group about how much freedom there is in just 'playing'...I'm hopeful that I'm bringing some of that to Billy.

BWW Nashville: You've been on tour for nearly a year now. Can you describe some of your more memorable experiences during your time on the road (on or off stage)?

Evan Harrington: Gosh, it's flown by, but so many moments to remember! Well, as for on stage, we were recently in Los Angeles at the Pantages and Glen Hansard (if you're reading this I hope you know who that is) was in town playing at the Hollywood Bowl. He came to see the show and invited us to play a song with him at curtain call...it was amazing! We all had such fun rehearsing with him and then surprising the audience at the end of the night was unbelievable...And we got to catch Glen's set at the Hollywood Bowl later that week, so cool...

But for me, playing my hometown of Rochester, NY was a personal 'great moment'. Not only were we doing this show I'm so proud of in front of many old friends, family, and teachers I hadn't seen in years, but we also arrived on St. Patrick's day and were a group of Irish musicians looking for a gig...so we immediately headed to an Irish Pub with our instruments and tore the roof off of the place...I'll never forget that night , and i don't think the owners/patrons of O'Loughlin's in Irondequoit will, either.

BWW Nashville: My final two questions are questions that I like to ask every person I interview. I always love the varied responses I get.

First up: If you could sing a duet with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, what would you sing, and why?

Evan Harrington: I'm gonna give this one a little twist, I'm gonna tell you who I'd like to PLAY a duet with...since I've become more of a guitar guy these days...

I think I'd wanna play a duet with the late Duane Allman, because he is my guitar hero. I've wanted to be a guitar player forever, and it's because of some of those old recordings... He was the best...I don't know which tune we'd wanna play, probably just some old blues standards or maybe 'Little Martha'. I'd follow Duane's lead...haha. I know that's not very Broadway, but it's the truth! :)

BWW Nashville: And finally, tell our readers what they can expect when they come to see Once: The Musical.

Evan Harrington: Expect to have a great night at the theatre! The show is unique in many ways, but I don't wanna give it all away, so I'll just leave it there. COME SEE US AND FIND OUT! Thanks everybody!

Thanks again to Evan Harrington for taking time to chat with us. Once: The Musical plays at TPAC September 16 - 21. You can purchase tickets by calling 615-782-4040 or by visiting their website HERE.

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