Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor —

At the heart of the multiple-award-winning musical Once is a story of two people who meet, connect, make music together, and eventually follow their dreams, but this story is very different from the usual musical theater fare. And that’s where its power lies.

“It’s a modern-day love story,” said Michael Zygo, the director of the 2019 touring production that stops at the Tobin Center for a single show Nov. 20^th. “What is says is that things may not work out as we wish but they work out for the best anyway, for what we need.”

Zygo has loved both the story and the music ever since he saw the namesake 2007 movie by John Carney, which was inspired by the real-life experience of songwriters Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, the duo who wrote and performed all the songs in the film. Though the fictional plot differs from real life, the basic premise echoes a period in Hansard and Irglova’s lives.

Like the film, the musical tells the story of a disillusioned Dublin street musician, identified only as Guy, who meets a recent Czech émigré pianist – identified as Girl – who is taken by his music. She engages him in conversation and encourages him to keep playing and write songs. Over a number of days, the two develop an intense friendship with romantic overtones but their situation is complicated by existing commitments and differing goals.

Much of the subtext is communicated through songs, gorgeous songs like you have never heard on stage before. In fact, the New York Times reviewer wrote: “Once uses song and dance in a way I’ve never experienced in an American musical.”

What is unique about the show, is that the actors/singers also play a range of instruments and essentially serve as an on-stage mobile orchestra. And although they don’t quite dance, they do move in choreographed ways while playing and/or singing. The musical features the Oscar-winning song Falling Slowly as well as Gold, and other numbers from the movie but adds a couple of new ones, including the folksy Czech piece Ej, Pada, Pada Rosicka (Hey, Falls, Falls the Dew).

“You have heard of the triple threat, said Zygo referring to performers who can act, sing and dance. “Here we have the quadruple threat.”

In fact, the complexity of coordinating all those elements was a challenge admits Zygo who was in the cast and served as dance captain for the original Broadway production. For the tour, he enlisted the help of assistant director Shaun Peknic to accurately recreate all aspects of the original show.

Why the musical is titled Once has puzzled a lot of people. Maybe it’s a reference to “Once upon a time…,” some fans wrote in online comments, or maybe the title implies that true love happens only once in a lifetime, said others. But Zygo offered the most logical explanation.

 “I spoke with Carney who made the movie, and he said that it comes from what people say when they delay accomplishing something with excuses such as ‘Once I have the time, I’ll start on….” People sabotage their own dreams.” In the show, Guy is ready to abandon his musical career and be a vacuum cleaner repairman until Girl helps him regain confidence and ultimately pushes him toward his own goals.

“It’s a show for everyone,” said Zygo, “You’ll be moved by the honesty of the story, by the music. I am grateful that they (the producers) trusted me to direct this beautiful show. I am blessed to still be part of it.”

Once, Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m., Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 115 Auditorium Circle, 78205; For tickets call box office at 210-223-8624 or go to www.tobincenter.org/box-office