Get caught up with what’s on stage with our review round-up. And that vaguely hollow, clinking sound you hear at the end of each segment? That’s me tossing in my two cents…

Steve Kazee & Company in "Once". Photo by Joan Marcus.

ONCE

The Oscar-winning indie romance, about a Dublin busker and a Czech immigrant making sweet music together, strums its way onto Broadway in a musical adaptation from edgy theater artists Enda Walsh (Penelope), John Tiffany (Black Watch) and Steven Hoggett (Peter and the Starcatcher).

“…feels as vital and surprising as the early spring that has crept up on Manhattan.” New York Times

“The show wins its standing ovations the old-fashioned way: with a love story, great songs, compelling characters and inventive stagecraft.” New York Post

“Once is a small-scale but warmly affecting show, crafted with profound respect for the power of music.” Hollywood Reporter

“The only major problem with the show…is that it overstretches its material.” Los Angeles Times

“In many ways, in fact, this Once is better than the original Once.” Associated Press

Read more…

Steve Kazee & Cristin Milioti in "Once". Photo by Joan Marcus.

The theatrical adaptation of the Irish indie film Once doesn’t open on Broadway until this Sunday, March 18 (St. Patty’s Day weekend, don’t ya know) but the cast album is available tomorrow. If you’re not sure about laying out the cash, the fine folks at NPR’s First Listen are already streaming the entire recording. Although I wanted to see the show with fresh eyes and ears, I couldn’t resist a listen.

I’m not only a huge fan of the original movie but also of its Oscar-winning stars and songwriting duo, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová (recording under the band name, The Swell Season), so hearing those familiar songs sung by new voices is an uncanny experience–like running into an old flame. Something isn’t quite the same; it never can be.  Luckily, in this case, the love is still there. In the Broadway versions, the singers nicely evoke the originals without sounding like a slavish cover band and the songs retain their warmth, craft and evocative sense of place. Plus, a few new songs suggest a wider world and a pub-friendly, foot-stomping gaelic touch my Grandpa Barrett would surely have appreciated. It’s hard to shake images from the film but, judging by the recording, this show just might work.

Can’t get enough? Check out this video preview for the musical. Read more…