ONCE National Tour Plays Benedum Center, Now thru 3/16

ONCE, winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical and winner of the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, will play the Benedum Center for a limited engagement from today, March 11 through Sunday, March 16, 2014. Once is part of the PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh series, presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Broadway Across America and Pittsburgh Symphony.

ONCE, which was also named Best Musical by the New York Drama Critics' Circle, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel Awards, is currently running on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre where it started performances on February 28, 2012 and opened March 18, 2012.

ONCE features the Academy Award-winning music and lyrics of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, a 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.

The Once tour cast will feature Stuart Ward* (Guy), Dani De Waal (Girl), Ray Bokhour (Da), Matt Deangelis (Švec), John Gardner (Eamon), Donna Garner (Baruška), Evan Harrington (Billy), Ryan Link (Emcee), Benjamin Magnuson (Bank Manager), Alex Nee (Andrej), Erica Swindell (Ex-Girlfriend), Kolette Tetlow (Ivanka), Claire Wellin (Réza), Estelle Bajou, Stephen McIntyre, Zander Meisner, Tina Stafford, Tiffany Topol and Matt Wolpe.

*Stuart Ward is appearing with the support of Actors' Equity Association. The producers gratefully acknowledge Actors' Equity Association for its assistance of this production.

ONCE is the celebrated new musical based on the Academy Award-winning 2007 film. It tells the story of an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant drawn together by their shared love of music. 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. Brought to the stage by an award-winning team of visionary artists and featuring an ensemble cast of gifted actor/musicians, Once is a musical celebration of life and love: thrilling in its originality, daring in its honesty... and unforgettable in every way.

The 2007 Academy Award-winning film, Once, was written and directed by John Carney, and starred Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, with original music and lyrics by Mr. Hansard and Ms. Irglová. The Oscar winning independent Irish film, Once was made for $150,000. Shot in 17 days, it went on to gross $20M worldwide becoming a critically acclaimed international smash. It stars Glen Hansard, from the popular Irish Rock band The Frames, and Markéta Irglová. Glen and Markéta won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Original song for "Falling Slowly," the Los Angeles Film Critics Award for Best Music, and the soundtrack was nominated for two Grammy Awards.

ONCE was originally developed at the American Repertory Theater (Cambridge, Massachusetts) in April 2011; Diane Paulus, Artistic Director; Diane Borger, Producer.

A developmental run of Once at New York Theatre Workshop (James C. Nicola and William Russo) began performances on November 15, 2011 and opened December 6. The production broke box office records and concluded a sold out engagement including a two week extension through January 15, 2012.

ONCE is produced by Barbara Broccoli, John N. Hart Jr., Patrick Milling Smith, Frederick Zollo, Brian Carmody, Michael G. Wilson, Orin Wolf and Executive Producer Robert Cole, in association with New York Theatre Workshop. For more information visit, www.oncemusical.com.

The performance schedule is Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 and 8:00 p.m.; Sunday at 1:00 and 6:30 p.m. Tickets begin at $29 and are available at the Box Office at Theater Square, 655 Penn Avenue, by visiting www.TrustArts.org, or by calling (412) 456-4800. For group discounts, call 412-471-6930 or Groupsales@TrustArts.org. To purchase a subscription to the PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh series, call (412) 456-1390 or Subscriptions@TrustArts.org.

Know The Show Before You Go will take place on Tuesday, March 11, 2014, at 6:30pm, Trust Arts Education Center, 805-807 Liberty Avenue (just around the corner from the Benedum Center) and is free and open to PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh ticket holders. To register: visit: http://www.trustarts.org/events/series/pnc-broadway-across-america/know-the-show-before-you-go

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus