Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor –

No one seems to know for sure how the musical “Once” got its title but theories abound. One of those states that the title refers to the brief love encounter depicted in the show as once-in-a-lifetime event. Another one ties it to the traditional fairytale opening line, “Once upon a time.” But the Public Theater of San Antonio’s artistic director George Green has a different take on the issue. As the director of “Once,” which opened Friday in the Russell Hill Rogers Auditorium, Green speculated that the puzzling title actually questions the romantic idea that you can love only once and only one person in your life. “You don’t get only one chance in life,” he said.

Title aside, Green was focusing on putting the finishing touches on the production which is the San Antonio premiere of the highly-praised show originally inspired by the eponymous 2007 movie. Produced in Ireland, the film was basically developed around the songs written by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, one of which, “Falling Slowly,” won an Oscar in 2008 for Best Original Song.

Adapted for the stage by Enda Walsh, the musical tells the story of two musicians – the Irish guitarist/songwriter identified only as Guy, and a Czech classical pianist, Girl, who meet on the street in Dublin and quickly develop a strong personal connection. It’s not the usual boy-meets-girl tale, however, as both have previous emotional bonds and commitments. They have only a few days of togetherness but they touch each other’s lives in a profound way.

“I saw neither the movie nor the Broadway show,” said Green, “but when I read the script and listened to the score, I fell in love with it. It’s an extremely beautiful story; every human being can connect to it.”

The script calls for a fairly large cast of men and women, all of whom have to perform multiple duties as actors, singers and instrumentalists, while speaking with Irish or Czech accents. Not many performers “can tell a story, sing, move and play all at the same time, said Green. “We are asking them to do extremely challenging physical tasks,” he said.

In addition to the two protagonists, the story also features Girl’s mother and young daughter, Guy’s father, a music shop owner, a banker and several other Czech characters.

What’s unique about this show is that cast members serve as their own band, playing a range of instruments, including violin, drums, ukulele, cello, guitar, mandolin, accordion and piano.

As for the music itself, music director Zachariah Baker (who also appears on stage) described it as singer/songwriter/guitarist style, with a few folksy numbers, such as a dynamic Irish pre-opening folk tune and an engaging Czech song “Ej, Pada, Pada Rosička” (“Hey, falls, falls the Dew”). Despite the popularity of “Falling Slowly,” it is not Baker’s favorite number. He picked “Gold” which is performed twice, once in each act, the second time in a moving a capella version.    

The Hansard – Irglova score clearly impressed a lot of judges. In addition to the Academy Award, the show won a Grammy in 2013 for Best Musical Theater Album and garnered a bunch of Tony’s the previous year, including for Best Musical.

There are similarities between the fictional story on stage and the songwriters’ own lives. To begin with, Hansard is Irish while Irglova is Czech, and although they did not meet on a Dublin street, they did have a substantial impact on each other’s lives. Recognizing her talent, Hansard, who is considerably older than Irglova, became her mentor and the two performed and recorded together for a number of years even after their relatively brief romantic period ended. Appropriately, they portrayed the two protagonists in the movie.

Green, too, recognizes the power of that music. “Music is a language understood by everyone,” said the director. “You can understand the heart of this show just by hearing the music.”

He praised the “gorgeous voices” of the cast, “that blend perfectly.” “Everything aligned perfectly,” he said. “It’s a very collaborative group of people who work together to serve the show.”

Most of them are Actors Equity members, including Olivia Nice (Girl) who starred in that role twice before, and Robby French (Guy), who appeared in “Rent” at the Public earlier in the season. Local musician and frequent music director, Jane Haas plays Girl’s mother Baruska; John Lambie is Guy’s father and Paul Henry appears as the temperamental and entertaining music shop manager.

“This show is my greatest directorial experience,” said Green who has directed some 200 stage productions.

“Once,” 7:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through June 9; the Public Theater of San Antonio at San Pedro Playhouse, in San Pedro Park; 210-733-7258 or www.thepublicsa.org