So many musicals are adaptations of movies, largely because their producers want theatergoers to be drawn in by familiar material.
But surely few saw the small, low-budget 2006 Irish film Once. Nevertheless, it made its way to Broadway 12 years ago, winning eight Tony Awards including best musical and now, just as improbably, it has been mounted at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre as its holiday attraction.
I say improbably, for Once has none of the glitz and bombast of the company’s usual selections. That is bound to disappoint some audience members, but those open to a low-key, unconventional love story without a Hollywood ending are likely to find it a satisfying evening’s entertainment.
Once is about the unlikely, obstacle-laden romance between an Irish street musician named simply Guy, and a Czech immigrant, Girl. They meet cute in downtown Dublin when she is drawn to his melancholy songs, performed for the coins from passersby. They suspect their relationship has a future because he works in his father’s vacuum cleaner repair shop and she happens to have a malfunctioning Hoover. OK, Finian’s Rainbow it’s not.
Further complicating matters, Girl has a young daughter and a husband from whom she is separated, while Guy has a girlfriend, albeit far off in New York City. No wonder he sings such mournful ballads as “Falling Slowly,” the Oscar-winning song by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, who wrote the score and starred in the movie of Once, a fictional version of their own lives.
They also wrote the added numbers for the stage, but if you were expecting musical theater songs that advance the narrative in any traditional way, you would be at the wrong show. Most of the score purports to be written by Guy, in the style of presentational Irish folk tunes, which pushy but appealing Girl persuades him to record in a demo that might lead to fame, fortune and a trip to New York. If you think that means the show is padded with a few too many extraneous songs, you would be right.
As a result, the stage show is not nearly as charming as the film (and is about an hour longer). Nevertheless, the Maltz’s uber-reliable director Mark Martino (Crazy for You, Les Misérables and many others) has gathered a multi-talented, instrument-playing ensemble and keeps them in such constant motion that the musical’s shortcomings are minimized.
Particularly appealing are Jack Wesley Gerhard (Guy) and Erica Swindell (Girl), both making their Maltz Jupiter debuts, like most of the cast. They are also veterans of previous Once productions, like many in this company. Gerhard brings a soulful yearning to his vocals, notably on the first act closer, “Gold.” And diminutive Swindell grows tall in her role, leading to a standout aching piano solo (“The Hill”) late in the show. Together they have a palpable chemistry that has us rooting for their future together.
Rather than the pub setting of the show’s Broadway production, scenic designer Jean Kim gives us a clubby stone backdrop, generic enough to serve as various locales as needed. And late in the show, the back wall slides away to reveal an evocative view of the nearby ocean. K. April Soroko’s costumes and Kirk Bookman’s lighting are typically top-notch. And while the supporting Czech characters’ dialogue is delivered in English, it is also translated into Czech in supertitles for what that’s worth.
Despite its wistful tone, Once is a celebration of Irish culture, a remarkable collection of writers, poets and musicians like Yeats, Beckett and O’Casey for such a tiny island nation. The creators of Once may not be in their class, but they do chart a new, intimate path for the musical theater.
ONCE, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, 1001 E. Indiantown Road, Jupiter. Through Sun., Dec. 15. $74-$120. 561-575-2223 or visit jupitertheatre.org..