Once is an unorthodox musical romance. The first meeting between “Guy” and “Girl” seems almost studiously uneventful. He’s in the park, singing a song about a relationship he can no longer endure. Then ditches the guitar. She appears, demanding he perform another song for her. She’s Czech (at least in this show) her voice is flat and without low. He keeps explaining she’s on the wrong track, but she won’t give in. He plays another song, and she’s right. He has something remarkable. She asks why he has a vacuum cleaner with him and he explains that he and his Da fix “Hoovers.” “Great!” she says. We have a broken vacuum. Not exactly brimming with moonlight.
The guy introduces the girl to his father, who’s charmed. The girl introduces the guy to her mother, and the rest of her family. They’re overjoyed. Whenever characters in a play have names like: BOY, GIRL, MAN, WOMAN, it means they could be any man and any woman. Guy and Girl are perfect for each other, but they have other, unresolved attachments, which is probably a trait they share with many couples. Apart from their undeniable chemistry, Girl is determined to help Guy with his music, which deserves far more attention. She focuses all her energy on getting his talent on track: assembling a band, bartering for studio time, trying to present his music to the right pair of ears. It may seem she’s sending mixed signals, but when she can’t say “yes”, she’s got good reason.
The intriguing, enticing aspect of Once is how pervasively unconventional it is. Plot, content, resolution. Almost nothing is predictable. The soulful and/or rambunctious Irish music doesn’t logically emerge from the dialogue. The girl isn’t emotional and the guy isn’t gallant or seized by passion. The girl’s family isn’t quirky or eccentric, they’re actually kinda nuts. The emotion is palpable but there’s no sturm und drang or tortured declarations. The customary tropes are pretty much out the window.I’m guessing creators Enda Walsh (Book) Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (Music and Lyrics) were aiming to show how all romances are different, and yet they’re all the same. That you don’t necessarily need amplification to convey intense feeling. We’re more likely to sort out motivations after we’ve left the theater.
Once is surprising in its spontaneous, raucousness, that seems like a crooked, impulsive, meandering walk, but gets us there. Wherever “there” is. It’s fresh, and exhilarating and poignant; it breaks new ground. Despite its strangeness, we come to care for this couple, and understand the lives of others in their orbit. Our hearts pound faster, we are tickled and troubled. Walsh, Hansard, Irglova, director Marianne Galloway and the cast el al, have delivered an original, memorable gift.
Theatre 3 presents: Once, playing September 13th- October 7th, 2018. 2800 Routh St, Suite 168, Dallas, Texas 75201 (214) 871-3300. www.theatre3dallas.com