Once
I'm so sorry this review took so long; Paris was a whirlwind with very little down time (and spotty internet), and then as soon as I got home, I had to catch up on sleep.
For starters, there was no orchestra. Or rather, the cast was the orchestra. Each member of the cast, along with acting their respective parts, played one or more musical instruments. I didn't like it at first; I've always been a fan of actors playing one role, and one role only. Anything other than that has always been too confusing. But this time, it worked. I still don't love it, but I didn't get as confused as I thought I might.
Once is, in a word, different. It was so utterly different from any musical I'd seen in my entire life. I may not have the widest experience of musicals in the world, but I have seen a decent amount in my 18 years, and never have I seen anything quite so unique as Once.
For starters, there was no orchestra. Or rather, the cast was the orchestra. Each member of the cast, along with acting their respective parts, played one or more musical instruments. I didn't like it at first; I've always been a fan of actors playing one role, and one role only. Anything other than that has always been too confusing. But this time, it worked. I still don't love it, but I didn't get as confused as I thought I might.
Another thing I found interesting about Once is that the cast rarely left the stage. It was distracting at moments, but they did a good job of making themselves mostly invisible when it was required. The set was also very different; one can easily see the lighting rig from the audience, and the set doesn't go all the way to the top. I thought that this would bug me to no end, but I liked it. It made the set seem more natural and less contrived.
The two lead actors, Zrinka Cvitesic playing Girl and Declan Bennett playing Guy, were outstanding. Both played their respective roles such that they were utterly believable. When watching shows, I usually zone out of the actual 'characters' and focus on the actors (if that makes sense). During this show, it wasn't until the very end that I remembered that they actually were actors, not their characters. Part of this was helped by the low-key atmosphere; it was a natural setting as opposed to the more artificial or magical settings from Wicked or The Phantom of the Opera. But mostly, it was because Zrinka and Declan just were Girl and Guy. Zrinka was humorous and energetic, and even when her jokes weren't funny, her reactions made it funny. Declan's character is subtler and much less 'out-there' compared to Girl, but he did a wonderful job of making Guy realistic and believable. Both looked absolutely exhausted by the end of the show, and understandably so.
The only complaint I have about Once is the character of Ivanka. The little girl really wasn't needed; she wasn't on stage very much, and there was only once scene that I thought could benefit from having a physical presence there, as opposed to just the mention of her. While the character herself isn't irrelevant, having an actual little girl on stage at very random moments felt like a waste of time.
Once is a musical you definitely can't see just once (excuse the pun, I kidnapped it from a billboard outside the theatre). It doesn't make my top ten list of musicals, but I think if I saw it a few more times I would like it, and understand it, more. Regardless, it was an excellent show, and I would highly recommend it!
