When Once is Not Enough: Broadway's Addictive Treat

CEBU, Philippines - The critics have it right: 'Once: the Musical' is the best musical on Broadway.  With a simple love story captured by wonderfully rendered songs and deftly interspersed with witty dialogue, 'Once' had no other effect but immediate captivation. 

Oh, never mind that throughout the production, the big man in front of me blocked a portion of the stage from view, or that the man beside me constantly drank from a thermos full of clinking ice.   Or that at least two phones rang from the handbags of inconsiderate viewers.  (I nearly counted three, although it turned out that it was really the trans-atlantic call coming from the dreaded girlfriend of the lead character).  Or that senior citizens continually floated up and down the aisles, their bladders probably posing more of an imperative than the injunction against standing up during a performance. 

Despite all these distractions, the pleasure of finely wrought performances from Guy and Girl, the lead characters of the musicale, overpowered all else.

It was unfortunate that Girl was not played by the regular lead, Cristin Milioti.  But her substitute that night, Laura Dreyfuss, was flawless in her performance, totally believable as the intense migrant hell-bent on fighting for Guy, all the while resisting the dangers he posed. 

As I said, it's a simple love story.  Irish Guy meets Czech Girl. Guy falls in love.  The thing is, Girl is married and so Guy has to go back to his girlfriend. And in this performance, Laura Dreyfuss successfully reveals the vulnerability hidden beneath her gruff Easter European demeanour.

Partnered with Girl is Steve Kazee, who won Best Actor at the Tony Awards for this performance.  The New York Times characterized Kazee's performance by saying "Mr. Kazee finds a soulful, quietly erotic energy in his passive character, and his singing voice shifts by stealthy degrees from tuneful plaintiveness to howling pain." But that was such a bland way of describing Kazee, who wasn't so much a force of quiet energy as a rock solid presence on stage, all eyes riveted by his rugged good looks while wildly fluttering hearts were reeled in by his throbbing voice.

Guy and Girl are supported throughout by a stellar cast, who not only can act, but all of whom play a musical instrument of some sort, whether  violins, drums, cellos, or pipes.  (They also function as stage hands during scene changes).  Set in a pub-like stage that looked like any generic Italiannis restaurant, the characters showcased their musical ability while delivering movement choreographed by Steven Hoggett. 

I was not enamoured by the choreography. Attempts to mirror the scene and the dialogue happening upstage with interpretative movements by other performers downstage felt awkward.  Those, I felt, were unnecessary, and merely cluttered the scene with dance ideas that were not entirely novel. 

There were, however, effective stage blockings and a couple of dances that captured the exquisite moods of the songs, and perhaps that's what led the same New York Times reviewer to gush that the performers "move(d) with calculated tentativeness, with reaching gestures that summon infinite, thwarted longing."

There is a balance in this production, a balance that is delicately maintained throughout the show.  The poignancy and wistfulness of the story is tempered by the funny dialogue.  The depression that is faced by some of the characters is matched with the hope so expressively felt by the others.  The folksiness of some of the refrains is coupled with the rock feel to the music.  This balance makes the entire production easier to digest and absorb, and indeed, after the two hours and fifteen minutes are up and the show has run its full length, you are bewildered at the conclusion and you sit up, wondering, "Is it really over so soon?"

Part of it, perhaps, is the uncertainty of the ending.  What happened next, we are left to wonder.  Guy remembers Girl.  But when?  Did he succeed in the Big Apple?  Girl is gifted with something precious. But what does it do?  Does it change the course of her life and lead her to a happier ending?  This ambiguity opens up the ache and the emotional vacuum that wants, needs fulfillment.

That is why 'Once' is not something to be experienced a single time.  Yes, it has not a complex story, or a complicated plot,   There are no crashing chandeliers or life-sized helicopters.  Neither is there a man in a spider suit floating around on stage.  This is not a big budget, visual effects marvel.  But the magic it spins is universal, and has allowed this jewel to sparkle in the Great White Way.  To appreciate the subtle genius that permeates this production and gave it creative Iife, is a perfectly good reason to keep coming back. 

Or, if New York isn't that accessible, you can do as I did, and purchase the cd.

("Once" is playing at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre at 125 West 45th Street, New York, NY.  Direction: John Tiffany.  Based on the book by Enda Walsh. Music and Lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova). (FREEMAN)