Review of "Once"

Maybe it was the 20-minutes pre-show of ten talented cast members jamming in the onstage Irish pub, or maybe it was the anticipation of a new show, but as soon as “Once” began, I was already smiling. And that smile remained on my face for almost the entire two hours of this small, charming musical.

The show is based on a 2007 independent film and “Falling Slowly,” which won an Academy Award for Best song that year. “Once” is an intimate story, yet it manages to fill the relatively large Bernard Jacobs Theatre stage. In part, it is because it's a universal story. Czech Girl (Cristin Milioti) meets Irish Guy (Steve Kazee) who is despondent. His girlfriend has moved to America and his music is going nowhere. Girl convinces guy to continue with his music and then they fall in love. Since both are musicians, they collaborate and ‘make beautiful music.’ Much of the music is performed in real-world fashion as the musicians play, practice and cut a demo CD.

Milioti is adorable with her deadpan delivery. She’s forceful, fresh and unabashed especially when delivering her lines in a clipped cadence. Some of the humor comes from her bluntness ("We're Czech-we never joke”). Kazee is attractive and talented and the two have chemistry. You find yourself rooting for them, as they realize they are attracted to one another.

There is humor provided by the girl’s Czech friends and family. We hear English, but see Czech subtitles. The cast serves as the orchestra and the two leads are capable musicians with Kazee on guitar and Milioti on piano.

“Once” is a small musical with enormous appeal, but probably not suited for those who favor big lavish Broadway-style musicals. You leave the theater humming tunes, but quite frankly, the songs written by our hero are generally mournful, folksy ballads. A

Although the movie is definitive about how the couple separates at the end, the show is a bit more ambiguous giving those romantics among us hope. Despite the ambiguity, I continued to smile as I left the theater.