Once Rocks Playhouse Square and Becomes My New Favorite

One of the shows I most anticipated on this year's schedule was the Irish musical Once. I enjoyed the movie from which the stage show was conceived and looked forward to walking onstage to get a pint. Unfortunately, my cohort, Missie, had a death in her family the day before our performance and was unable to attend. I couldn't come up with someone else to use her ticket on short notice, so I decided to attend alone.

As much as I missed Missie, I am so glad I attended the show! The music was fantastic! The performances were stellar! The opportunity to belly up to the pub set's bar before the show and during intermission were unforgettable.

There is considerably more music in the stage show than there was in the movie version, starting before the actual performance. All the movie's signature songs, including the hauntingly beautiful Falling Slowly, were performed with a freshness I didn't think possible. (The creators of the show used that song's refrain several times in the score and reprised it at the end. Genius.)

All the performances were top notch. Stuart Ward as Guy and Dani de Waal as Girl brilliantly provided the heart of the musical. However, I was especially impressed with one performance: Matt DeAngelis as Svec.

Not only was Matt easy on the eyes, but his frentic delivery of Svec was punctuated by performing multiple instruments (five are listed in the program, but when I spoke to him afterward he mentioned playing seven in the show and, I believe, stated that he actually plays nine.)

The cast did the Broadway Cares thing after their performance and for the low, low donation of $20, I got the autographed program shown above and a couple of minutes of face time with Matt. I expressed my appreciation for his performance and my awe at the number of instruments he mastered. The following day, I tweeted a compliment on his performance and within minutes he favorited it. Heady stuff for a musical theater nerd like me!

One thing that surprised me about the stage musical is how much more humor was written into it than existed in its filmed predecessor. It has wonderfully comedic moments, all of which were executed perfectly by the cast. Dani de Waal was especially adept at delivering funny lines with expert timing. I expected that the musical version would build on the romance between the lead characters and it definitely did so without ever lapsing into cloying sentimentality. The performance struck just the right balance that left me teary-eyed at several points.

Lest there be any doubt after all this rave reviewing, Once has become my new favorite stage musical.

After the performance, my beloved 1996 green Explorer broke down and left me stranded on the side of I-77 in Cleveland. I can't really complain: I bought it outright for $1,500 and drove it with only a few repairs for over five years. It was a good soldier. AAA rescued me and my friend Duane provided me with a vehicle to use until I find another mechanically-sound junker to drive until it dies.