‘Falling Slowly’ for ‘Once’ at the RiverCenter

The absence of the typical Broadway glitz is replaced with lively Irish music and a romance critics agree is accessible and heartfelt in “Once.”

The winner of eight Tony Awards, “Once” will feature a cast of many talents when it comes to the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts this week. The production demands that most cast members play their own instruments on stage. This leads to a surprising element of variation within each show.

Ben Brantley of The New York Times reviewed the national tour’s production of “Once” and didn’t hold back.

“When the violins begin to play in ‘Once’ — and the accordion and the mandolin and the guitars and the cello — the instruments swell into a collection of distinctive voices melded into a single, universal feeling ... ‘Once’ massages that feeling until it hurts quite exquisitely.”

The show’s plot is equal parts romance and self-discovery. A young singer in Dublin experiences love for the first time as his music hits the top of the charts. His love interest is revealed to have a deeper connection to him than he first thought, making for an interesting discovery as the show progresses.

With memorable musical numbers like the show’s famous song “Falling Slowly,” it’s easy to see why “Once” won Best Musical at the Tony Awards. However, critics are often just as wooed by the cast as they are the music. In a review of the production, The New Yorker raved about the show and its cast saying, “(Once) is unusually fun and heartfelt musical theatre. The cast is on fire!”

Norm Easterwood, executive director of the RiverCenter, said he is looking forward to patrons experiencing the show’s unique cast and staging.

“Once is pure magic,” he said. “A poignant love story that resonates deeply for the entire audience. Especially remarkable is how the story is rendered with actors who are not only fine singers, but instrumentalists. The musical numbers in the production come directly to the audience form the actors who accompany themselves with the instrumentation. Also unique is that the staging allows for the audience to come up on the stage and purchase a beverage from the pub setting before the show and during intermission all the while interacting with the cast. It’s a very special evening in the theater.”

This story was originally published February 25, 2017 at 8:00 PM with the headline "‘Falling Slowly’ for ‘Once’ at the RiverCenter."