May. 8th, 2016 08:50 pm
it looks like rain
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chicafrom3Today I went to see the second national tour of Once.
So what you have to know going into this is that I am madly in love with Once and have been since I saw the movie, shortly after it first got a US release. When the NYTW announced they were adapting it into a stage musical with the involvement of Glen & Markéta I was thrilled. I have stalked every incarnation of this musical via press releases, social media, cast recordings, promotional performances, and, yes, bootlegs.
But I'm persistently broke and I live in the middle of nowhere so I've never had the chance to actually SEE the show live.
UNTIL NOW.
It's the second national tour, so it's a slightly scaled-back production and minor things have been changed -- most notably, two roles (the Bank Manager and the Emcee) usually cast as men have been cast as women.
It doesn't impact the quality. The production is lovely and the cast is fantastic. Sam Cieri and Mackenzie Lesser-Roy have spectacular chemistry, exactly as the Guy and the Girl should have; the scene above Dublin (aka my favorite scene i'm a sucker for heartbreak) was note-perfect. Standouts among the ensemble were Jenn Chandler as the Bank Manager (I feel like Abandoned In Bandon is so easy to overdo and wreck the joke but she nailed it), Nyssa Duchow as the Ex-Girlfriend (super-charismatic regardless of what she was doing), and Dan Tracy as Eamon (tiny role, but he was magnetic). Plus John Hays as Billy and Marlene Ginader as Réza made their somewhat questionable romantic subplot TOTALLY WORK. Well done EVERYBODY.
On not-restricted-to-this-production notes, man, the lighting is so beautiful in person. Just gorgeously done in every scene. There were so many moments I just wanted to fix the visual in my head forever. The choreography/movement is also lovely, particularly in the bank scene (and slightly backtracking here but I have to give props to Nyssa Duchow for all of her reactions and facial expressions during the bank scene) and If You Want Me. And, man, Sleeping is my favorite song in the show anyway, but it's so beautifully staged and lit it had me in tears.
And there aren't words enough to express how perfect the ending is on every level.
It's almost 9PM, I attended the matinee, I'm still very emotional about this show right now, okay.
So what you have to know going into this is that I am madly in love with Once and have been since I saw the movie, shortly after it first got a US release. When the NYTW announced they were adapting it into a stage musical with the involvement of Glen & Markéta I was thrilled. I have stalked every incarnation of this musical via press releases, social media, cast recordings, promotional performances, and, yes, bootlegs.
But I'm persistently broke and I live in the middle of nowhere so I've never had the chance to actually SEE the show live.
UNTIL NOW.
It's the second national tour, so it's a slightly scaled-back production and minor things have been changed -- most notably, two roles (the Bank Manager and the Emcee) usually cast as men have been cast as women.
It doesn't impact the quality. The production is lovely and the cast is fantastic. Sam Cieri and Mackenzie Lesser-Roy have spectacular chemistry, exactly as the Guy and the Girl should have; the scene above Dublin (aka my favorite scene i'm a sucker for heartbreak) was note-perfect. Standouts among the ensemble were Jenn Chandler as the Bank Manager (I feel like Abandoned In Bandon is so easy to overdo and wreck the joke but she nailed it), Nyssa Duchow as the Ex-Girlfriend (super-charismatic regardless of what she was doing), and Dan Tracy as Eamon (tiny role, but he was magnetic). Plus John Hays as Billy and Marlene Ginader as Réza made their somewhat questionable romantic subplot TOTALLY WORK. Well done EVERYBODY.
On not-restricted-to-this-production notes, man, the lighting is so beautiful in person. Just gorgeously done in every scene. There were so many moments I just wanted to fix the visual in my head forever. The choreography/movement is also lovely, particularly in the bank scene (and slightly backtracking here but I have to give props to Nyssa Duchow for all of her reactions and facial expressions during the bank scene) and If You Want Me. And, man, Sleeping is my favorite song in the show anyway, but it's so beautifully staged and lit it had me in tears.
And there aren't words enough to express how perfect the ending is on every level.
It's almost 9PM, I attended the matinee, I'm still very emotional about this show right now, okay.
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