On an ever-growing list of movies and TV shows being adapted into stage musicals, Once is a rarity in that it excels far better on the stage than it did on the screen. Based on the beloved 2007 movie that claimed the Oscar for Best Song, Once made it to
Theatre review: Once's soulful songs exceeds the simple story
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Lisa Crawley, who plays Girl, a Czech immigrant, in Jesse Peach's production of Once. Photo / Supplied
Any time an instrument is picked up, Once burns brighter than its bigger-budgeted rivals, thanks to an incredibly talented supporting cast under the eye of musical director Josh Clark. The music, by the film's original stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, fills every corner of the ASB Waterfront Theatre yet it feels like you are the only one in the room, the intimacy of a quiet piano bar replicated on one of our biggest stages.
The songs are plentiful enough that you can forgive an otherwise weak book, more focused on overly broad jokes than it is on telling Guy and Girl's story. It's the music that tells the story, and you can see why director Jesse Peach fought for the rights for six years. The story is simple, but its messages and music exceed those boundaries, a tale of loss and longing that works far more than it should.
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Where & when: ASB Waterfront Theatre, until July 14
Reviewed by: Ethan Sills