ONCE The Musical is Now Playing at Seacoast Rep

Once, the stage musical, is returning to the Seacoast Repertory Theatre, three years after its uplifting story of unrequited love between an Irish street musician and an immigrant flower seller thrilled area audiences.

The original stars of the Rep's 2019 production will be returning for an encore performance of a show that was too good to retire forever, and will benefit from a new state-of-the art sound system at the Rep. The show opens Thursday, April 14.

"We absolutely have recaptured that same lightning in a bottle and I cannot wait," said Ben Hart, co-artistic director of the Seacoast Rep.

"It is a beautiful, beautiful show. It was one of the most popular shows that the Rep has ever put on," Hart said. "I can't wait for people who saw the show before to come back and see it again and relive everything they loved about it. And I also can't wait for new people to get a chance to see it."

Once, the musical, is based on the 2007 Oscar-winning film of the same name. It tells the story of Guy, a passionate but pained street musician in Dublin, and Girl, a Czech immigrant flower seller who plays piano.

The original movie starred Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, musicians who in real life performed together in the band The Swell Season. Their chemistry during filming later grew into a romance echoing the story's signature song, "Falling Slowly," which they wrote and which won an Academy Award.

The Seacoast Rep's production stars Sean Mullaney as Guy. Mullaney was recruited from Phoenix on the basis of his YouTube cover performances of Glen Hansard songs.

Jackie Evans, from New York, is back to play the role of Girl.

Jamie Bradley, a Seacoast Rep veteran who returned this spring for a dazzling performance in La Cage Aux Folles, will also reprise his role as Girl's friend Billy.

The returning cast is giving the production the feel of a family reunion, even though the production team has been told been told they have the freedom to evolve and grow, Hart said.

"I didn't realize how much I missed all of these characters. It's like, old friends. Everyone was still there. It's just such a beautiful opportunity."

The previous production's set design - meant to evoke the cozy, autumnal colors and feel of Dublin - will be revived. So will the staging, in which all the cast members play multiple instruments.

Audiences returning to Once may notice a distinct improvement in the sound. The Seacoast Rep in March installed a $100,000 sound system donated by an anonymous benefactor that has increased the clarity of both the music and dialog.

"A show like this, it's completely about the sound," Hart said. "It sounded beautiful the first time around. But it is going to be even more rich, even more subtle and nuanced and have more depth. It's going to be an epic audio odyssey for any audiophiles in the audience."

Hart said the returned production of Once offers an opportunity rarely available in live theater.

"One of the wonderful magical things about theater is that it is an ephemeral art form. When a show ends, that's it. And then it's like this vanished memory of this wonderful experience, but you can never quite revisit that same experience. And I really think that with this, we can."

Once runs April 15-June 5, in rotation at times with Our Town. Show times generally are Thursdays at 7:30, Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm and 7:30 pm. Tickets are available through the Seacoast Rep box office at 603-433-4472, or online at www.seacoastrep.org/tickets. For student discounts, call the box office. The Seacoast Repertory Theatre's 2022 season sponsors are Sue and Bob Thoresen, Brick & Barn Group | Compass Real Estate and The Rosa restaurant. Special show sponsors for Once are Sue and Bob Thoreson, and Celtic Crossing. Seacoast Repertory Theatre is supported in part by a grant from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts & the National Endowment for the Arts.

"The Seacoast Repertory Theatre is a 501(c)3 non-profit theatre committed to providing a variety of programming for the community. The Rep presents professional programming through its Mainstage and alternative programming through its Red Light Series and its Sol Series, which is committed to amplifying the voices of people of color and diversity. It also offers a variety of programs for youth and seniors. For more information, or to schedule an interview, please contact Artistic Directors Ben Hart and Brandon James at artisticdirector@seacoastrep.org."

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