Once, music by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, book by Enda Walsh, directed by Terrence J. Nolen. Arden Theatre, Philadelphia, September 2018.
For the second time this year, Terrence Nolen and his Arden Theatre Company have taken a successful Broadway show and improved upon it. First was Fun Home in May. Now he is directing Once, the bittersweet romance about a Dublin songwriter trying to launch his career.
Its slight book and its generic Irish-tinged folk-rock ballads pleased me when I first saw Once, but they did not hold up well when I attended again. There was not enough plot development to hold our interest throughout a two-act show and the music, we must admit, is repetitious. What’s unique to Once is atmosphere. And that’s what this production provides superbly.
Nolen stages Once in the round and David P. Gordon has created an enveloping scenic design that includes platforms and a balcony in the far reaches of the space. This is enhanced with lighting by Thom Weaver that is most spectacular when small incandescent bulbs magically rise and descend during the song “If You Want Me.”
The cast also serves as the orchestra in this show, and director Nolen gives the players much more prominence than did the Broadway production. Musicians appear all around us, behind us and in the aisles as they move to and from the stage. Emblematic of this integration, the Arden’s music director, Alex Bechtel, has an acting and singing role as Girl’s brother. (In John Tiffany’s 2012 Broadway production a minimalist set had a bar center stage with chairs where cast members sat.)
To fill out the slight storyline, this production spotlights several of Philadelphia’s most accomplished leading actors in character roles. Scott Greer, black bearded, is an explosive music-store owner who dances a frenetic tango. Charlie DelMarcelle grabs attention as he plays guitar and harmonica. The veteran leading man Greg Wood is poignant as Guy’s father who also plays guitar.
These colorful characters provide a strong background for two relative newcomers from the MidWest who, appropriately, are cast as the showbiz neophytes. Ken Allen Neely is appealing as Guy who repairs vacuum cleaners while he sings for pennies on the street. He’s tall and lanky, endearingly awkward with a slender voice. Katherine Fried is enchanting as Girl who plays piano and adds words to Guy’s music. She looks mature enough to be the mother of an eight-year-old, while radiating a quiet sensuality. At the emotional peak of the show her character tells the Guy in Czech, “I love you”, but he doesn’t know what she’d said. And, soon after, she decides to reunite with her husband.
The show’s script, in contrast to the movie on which the show is based, softens the character of Girl. In the original, her sexual affair with Guy is more overt and then she abruptly dumps him to return to her husband. This makes her seem unappealingly manipulative. In the show, she continually hedges her affection for Guy so that we’re not so shocked when she terminates their romance. Her love for his music comes through as the strongest element.
(The film recounted the real-life relationship of the songwriters Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, who played themselves.)
Other standouts are Emily Mikesell as Girl’s accordionist mother and adorable young Lucia Brady as Girl’s daughter and an impressive violinist. Steve Pasek, whom theatergoers know as singer and actor, is credited for choreography. He and Nolen have all the performers moving in graceful patterns that greatly add to the bittersweet mood.
Below: Neely and Fried, photo by Ashley Smith, Wide Eyed Studios.
