"Once" at the State Theatre

There's no big opening number, no splashy dance with dozens of chorus girls and boys, no pit orchestra, no large moving set pieces, no colorful glamorous costumes. Once is not your typical musical. In fact, according to The Cherry and Spoon Music-Theater Spectrum¹ it's not a musical at all, but rather a play with music. Yet this atypical not-really-a-musical musical won eight Tony Awards in 2012. Why is that? Why was this quiet and quirky musical based on a little Irish movie awarded Broadway's biggest prize? Perhaps because it is different from other musicals. Perhaps the voters awarded the creative and organic way music is used to tell this beautifully simple and non-traditional love story. Once is a new kind of music-theater, and proves that musicals don't always have to be big and loud to have a profound effect on the audience. Once is quietly, beautifully stirring.

This is the second time that the First National Tour of Once has stopped in Minneapolis, with largely the same cast, although this time it's making its home in the slightly more intimate State Theater². The tagline for this tour is "once is not enough," but for me, thrice is not enough as I would gladly go see it again every night of its brief one-week Minneapolis stay! Perhaps I'm biased - Once is one of my favorite movies and my favorite movie soundtrack, and it introduced me to my favorite musician Glen Hansard. But even without that prior attachment, it's easy to see that Once is something truly special. The music is raw and passionate, performed by a cast of 13 quadruple threats - they act, sing, dance (or at least move in a choreographed way), AND play an instrument. This folk-rock score written by the stars of the movie, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, is not the kind of music you usually hear coming from the Broadway stage; it's quieter, less polished, and more real³. The story is simple and quiet - boy meets girl, boy fixes girl's Hoover, girl encourages boy to record his songs and follow his dreams, boy and girl go on with their separate lives, better for having met one another. John Carney's original story was adapted for the stage by the beautifully twisted mind of playwright Enda Walsh, retaining that unique Irish spirit⁴. The result as a whole is lovely, poignant, moving, and grand.

the loveable oddballs of Once

Since this is largely the same cast as last year, I'll repeat what I said then: As the guy, Stuart Ward has big shoes to fill - both those of Glen Hansard and Steve Kazee, who won a Tony for the role. And fill them he does, although in a different style than either of these predecessors. He possesses a gorgeous voice that's more musical theater than folk-rock, a moody intensity, and great stage charisma. The character of the girl changed so much from movie to stage that all thoughts of Marketa Irglova are gone, but Cristin Milioti (aka the surprisingly short-lived "Mother") left a great impression. Dani de Waal fills those shoes nicely in the quite tricky role of the girl, charming and sweet but not too perky. And when Stuart and Dani sing together, as on the Oscar-winning song "Falling Slowly," it's wondrous. The two are well supported and enhanced by ten wonderful actor/singer/musicians (and one adorable little girl). Standouts include Evan Harrington as the good-natured but tough music store owner, Scott Waara as the guy's sweet Da (with a really lovely pre-show song), and Matt DeAngelis, providing comic relief and powerful percussion as Svec (you know you're a true musical theater geek when you recognize touring cast members, as I did Matt; I clearly remember him as Woof in another musical obsession of mine, Hair, and in American Idiot).

The set is a pub that never changes, with tables and chairs brought out to represent different settings. Through it all, most of the cast remains on stage, watching from the sidelines. Dingy mirrors surround the stage and offer other angles of the action. The movement and choreography is so beautiful, subtle, and organic. There are no typical "dance numbers," just characters moving organically as the music moves them. Even the scene changes are beautifully and elegantly carried out, as not a moment is wasted.

The show begins before the show begins; the audience is allowed onstage to visit the pub and drink an overpriced beer through a straw. But it's worth it because the cast of musicians soon comes onstage for a traditional Irish session which you're able to witness up close and personal. After the audience is escorted off the stage, the session continues as the cast trades songs, until the musical baton is passed to the guy in the scarf, he belts out an impassioned "Leave," and the house lights go down. Just like that, reality fades and the world of the play takes over, and is so engrossing that it's like a dream. One that I hated to leave.

Stuart Ward and Dani de Waal

Unlike what Hollywood and Broadway usually tell us, not everyone gets a happily ever after kind of love, and maybe that's not even the ideal kind of love to strive for. If we're lucky, we get an hour, or a day, or a week-long encounter with someone who changes our life and pushes us forward when we've become "stopped." Maybe that's what life is, a series of moments, encounters, relationships, that might not last a lifetime although their effects do. That's what this story is about, and that's what these two people do for each other. It's a perfect love story, even though it may not end in the way that we're taught to expect. And it's also a love story about Ireland and its rich and unique culture, that the girl describes as "speaking and singing of what it is to be human." She tells the guy that he has "heart and soul," and this unique music-theater creation has heart and soul in spades, and speaks and sings of what it is to be human, with all the heartbreak, joy, disappointment, passion, connection, difficulties, and wonder it entails.

Once continues at the State Theatre in downtown Minneapolis through this weekend only. Whether it's once, twice, thrice, or more, it's a grand experience that's not to be missed.


1. The Cherry and Spoon Music-Theater Spectrum (TM pending): in a musical, characters sing in character, expressing their emotions and moving the plot forward. In a play with music, the music takes place in context, with characters singing in a way that would make sense in real life, and don't sing as the character. If you take the music out of a play with music, it still makes sense, although some of the impact is lost. If you take the music out of a musical, the story no longer makes sense.
2. Find out more about the State, Orpheum, and other local theaters in my "Review of Venues."
3. If you like the music of Once, check out Glen and Mar's follow-up album Strict Joy under their band name The Swell Season, or their solo albums Rhythm and Repose and Muna (among others), or the upcoming album commemorating the 25th anniversary of Glen's band The Frames.
4. For another taste of that unique Irish spirit, go see Guthrie departing Artistic Director Joe Dowling's loving ode to his homeland, the beautifully tragic Juno and the Paycock.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"Once" at the Orpheum Theatre

I've taken some pretty incredible trips, but one of the most memorable was my hiking adventure in Ireland almost ten years ago. It was my idea of a perfect vacation - days wandering through the rugged beauty of the Irish countryside, and evenings drinking Guinness and listening to music in small pubs. One of my favorite memories is of one evening in the tiny town of Annascaul on the Dingle Peninsula, sitting in a crowded pub that seemed to hold every resident of the village, with everyone from the busboy to my fellow hikers trading songs. Because in Ireland, everyone is a musician. The musical Once (based on the 2007 indie movie of the same name, featuring music composed by its stars, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova) brings a small taste of that spirit to the Broadway (touring) stage. The stage is set up as an Irish pub, with audience members allowed on stage before the show and during intermission, where you can listen to music and even drink a Guinness (through a straw - OK that part's not authentically Irish). The musical Once is a refreshingly different type of Broadway musical (I actually think it's more like a play with music*), in that the music is more folky that Broadway scores normally are, with music performed by the cast, all of whom play one or more instruments. This eight-time Tony winner is a sweet, simple, soulful love story fueled by the raw power of Glen Hansard's music.

I should also mention that Once is one of my favorite movies, and that Glen Hansard, whose music I first heard in that movie, has become my favorite musician (check out his brilliant first solo album Rhythm and Repose, released in 2012). Which on one hand makes me predisposed to love the musical Once, but on the other hand makes me critical of the adaptation and what has been changed from the beloved original, although I try to view the movie and the musical as two separate entities created for two very different artforms. When I saw it on Broadway two years ago,** I wrote: "The musical is different from the film; where the film is subtle and internal with much left unspoken, the music is more cutesy and external with things more obviously spelled out (sometimes literally). But the film is so sparse that I suppose they have to fill it out for a live audience. I think it's quite successful and well done; the magic of Once is retained on stage, if in a slightly different form." The first national tour, currently stopping at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, features a different cast but that same undeniable magic.

The general plot of Once, both film and musical, is this: a street musician who works at his dad's vacuum repair shop has recently gone through a bad breakup and is disenchanted with life. He meets a young Czech immigrant woman who's full of life and encourages him to make music and get his girl back. In the movie, this encouragement is more subtle, but in the stage musical the girl is relentless in convincing the guy to move on (the characters have no names). They record a demo together of the guy's songs, and forge a deep and intimate connection through the music they make. But what I love about the movie, that thankfully they've kept in the musical, is that these are two people who meet and have an intense connection that profoundly changes the direction of each of their lives, and then they continue on different paths. In a Hollywood movie, they would end up together, but this seems much more real and poignant somehow. It's a true love story, but one that you don't often see on screen or stage. This quote by Albert Schweitzer reminds me of this show: "In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." That's what these two people did - rekindle each other's inner spirit.

As the guy, Stuart Ward has big shoes to fill - both those of Glen Hansard and Steve Kazee, who won a Tony for the role. And fill them he does, although in a different style than either of these predecessors. He possesses a gorgeous voice, more musical theater than folk-rock, a moody intensity, and great stage charisma. The character of the girl changed so much from movie to stage that all thoughts of Marketa Irglova are gone, but Cristin Milioti (aka the surprisingly short-lived "Mother") left a great impression. Dani DeWaal fills those shoes nicely in the quite tricky role of the girl, charming and sweet but not too perky. And when Stuart and Dani sing together, as on the Oscar-winning song "Falling Slowly," it's wondrous. The two are well supported and enhanced by ten wonderful actor/singer/musicians (and one adorable little girl). Standouts include Evan Harrington as the good-natured but tough music store owner, Donna Garner as the girl's strong and supportive mother, Raymond Bokhour as the guy's sweet Da, and Matt DeAngelis, providing comic relief and powerful percussion as Svec (you know you're a true musical theater geek when you recognize touring cast members, as I did Matt; I clearly remember him as Woof in another musical obsession of mine, Hair, and in American Idiot).

As I mentioned, the set is a pub that never changes, with tables and chairs brought out to represent different settings. Through it all, most of the cast remains on stage, watching from the sidelines. Dingy mirrors surround the stage and offer other angles of the action. The movement and choreography is so beautiful, subtle and organic. There are no typical "dance numbers," just characters moving organically as the music moves them. Even the scene changes are beautifully and elegantly carried out, as not a moment is wasted.

The eight-time Tony winning musical Once is only in town for a week. Although the weather outside is atrocious, if you can make it through the snow to the Orpheum Theatre, I promise you will be rewarded with warmth, music, Guinness, and a lovely and unique evening of music-theater. (Click here for more info and to purchase tickets.)



* My two criteria for differentiating a "musical" from a "play with music" are this: 1) in a musical, characters sing in character, and 2) in a musical, songs move the plot along, so that if you removed the songs, the plot would no longer make sense. In a play with music, removing the songs does not change the plot, although it will diminish the effectiveness and impact of the piece. In Once, all of the songs are sung in context (street musician, open mic at a pub, a recording session), characters don't break into a song and sing their thoughts and feelings. Hence I believe it's a play with music. The Tony eligibility committee obviously disagreed with me.
** Yes, I plagiarized myself again. You may call it lazy, I call it being efficient.  ;)

"American Idiot" at the Orpheum Theatre

I'm a theater geek.  I don't listen to rock music, I listen to musical theater soundtracks and folk music.  I was unfamiliar with the music of Green Day, and as a general rule I'm not a fan of the jukebox musical.  But I've only heard good things about the 2010 musical American Idiot, based on Green Day's 2004 album of the same name.  And I do love the rock musical (starting with this, continuing through this, and more recently this and this and this).  So I went to see American Idiot on tour at the Orpheum Theatre, and I loved it.  What HAIR is to the late 1960s and RENT is to the mid 1990s, American Idiot is to the early 21st century - a musical that deals with the very real issues facing the young people of the day.  And even though I'm of the RENT generation, I think everyone can remember that time in their lives, dealing with love, friendship, parents, war, starting a career, sex, drugs, rock and roll, and just trying to figure out what life is and where you fit into it.

Unlike most jukebox musicals that take a random collection of songs and make up some silly contrived story to tie them all together, American Idiot is constructed of one entire album (with a few additional songs added), more or less sung through in order.  And since most albums (good ones anyway) have a cohesive theme and a narrative, not much additional made-up story needs to be added.  What book writers Billie Joe Armstrong (lead singer of Green Day, who also wrote the lyrics) and Michael Mayer (the Tony-winning director of Spring Awakening) have done is let the songs tell the story, adding just a few bits of spoken dialogue to fill in the gaps.  There isn't much of a plot, but we really get to know these characters and experience their lives through the music. While these songs were not written for the stage (although they always intended it to be staged or filmed), they lend themselves very well to the stage.  They're story-songs, with a nice mix of loud and fast rock songs and quieter, more poignant moments of just a guitar and a voice (my favorite musical sound).

This first national tour features a talented, young, energetic, compelling cast, several of whom come from the Broadway production which closed last year.  Van Hughes leads the cast as Johnny, a role he played on Broadway, taking over from John Gallagher Jr.   (who won a Tony for playing my favorite character Moritz in Spring Awakening).  Van is fantastic as the young man who leaves home for the big city to find his life.  He has a great voice both for the loud rock songs and the softer ones, and is passionate and sympathetic and real in his portrayal (and he's a soap actor, so I have to love him for that too). Johnny's friend Tunny (Scott J. Campbell) accompanies him on his journey, but then decides to join the army and go to war, where he's injured and meets a nurse (Nicci Claspell).  What follows is a really lovely aerial/dream sequence, in which both Scott and Nicci continue to sing beautifully as they fly and twirl through the air. Johnny's friend Will (Jake Epstein) decides to stay home with his pregnant girlfriend (Leslie McDonel, who at one point sports a Joe Mauer t-shirt!), and spends most of the show sitting on the couch and drinking (and occasionally splashing the audience). The   entire ensemble is strong, and I was happy to recognize Matt DeAngelis, who played Woof in last year's touring production of HAIR.

During the show, I was frequently reminded of two of my favorite musicals HAIR and RENT.  This is not to say that American Idiot is unoriginal or copycat, but that it's carrying on the tradition of the rock musical into the 21st century.  Like Roger in RENT can only find his song through Mimi, Johnny writes a song for the woman he loves (the fierce Gabrielle McClinton) and sings it to her while she's sleeping (unconscious).  And I'm sure I heard the word "Glory" (Roger's song) several times.  St. Jimmy (an effectively evil Joshua Kobak) is like the drug dealer in RENT ("got any C man, got any D man...").  Tunny contemplates going off to war like Claude does in HAIR (Afghanistan instead of Vietnam), and comes home a changed man.  Even the set reminds me a little of RENT with it's stairs and levels, and the fabulous on-stage band (with musical direction by a very enthusiastic and entertaining Jared Stein).  One thing that's totally new is the awesome choreography - it's fresh and cool and edgy and urgent.

I've already added the American Idiot soundtrack to my collection of soundtracks.  So I guess I do listen to rock music, or at least rock music through musical theater.  The show is playing only through this Sunday, and even though I rarely pay $100+ for a theater ticket, even on Broadway, I'm really glad I had the chance to experience American Idiot.  This was a much different crowd than I usually see at the theater, younger and more casually dressed, and several families with teenagers. Whatever gets young people to the theater is OK with me.  If you go, make sure to stay for the curtain call.  It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.  (This is a song that I recognized that I didn't even realize was a Green Day song!  Proving once again that everything I know I learned from theater.)