Once Again! (LAArtsOnline.com)

Once is playing at the Pantages Theatre and then
at Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa

ONCE AGAIN!

By KEN WERTHER
Photo By Joan Marcus

Once, the Broadway musical based on the 2006 film received 11 Tony Award nominations in 2012 and won eight, including Best Musical. In the show, the cast also serves as the orchestra, and the set includes a bar at center stage that is used before performances and at intermission as a working bar for audience members. Sound unique? It is!
Once premiered at the American Repertory Theatre in Boston before transferring to New York Theatre Workshop Off-Broadway in 2011, and then moved to Broadway in March 2012. Met with critical and popular acclaim alike, the show is still running after 784 performances. It is playing in London and is on a U.S. national tour.

Set in Dublin, Once is the story of a Guy who gave up on his music—and his love—and the Girl who inspired him to dream again. Beautiful and uplifting, this show is not to be missed. Several actor friends of mine (the toughest critics I know!) have told me that Once is absolutely one of the best things they’ve ever seen. Fun fact: Cristin Miloti, co-star of the original Broadway production, was discovered while doing the show and tapped to play the Mother in the final season of How I Met Your Mother. How’s that for a success story?

Once is playing at the Pantages in Hollywood through August 10, and begins at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County on August 19.