Back when John Carney made his 2007 Irish film Once, he could scarcely have imagined it would spawn a Broadway musical that would win seemingly every award in sight. Maybe playwright Enda Walsh lays on a thick layer of Irish treacle while adapting the original story, about an unnamed Irish busker carrying on a platonic affair with a piano-playing Czech immigrant. Still, the show stays true to the movie’s DIY aesthetic, with the cast members doubling as the orchestra and playing their instruments on the set, which serves as a working bar before the show and during the intermission.
Better still are the songs by the film’s stars, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. Filled with anger, pain, and ambivalence, they provide relief to a show that might otherwise drown in Celtic lyricism. The Oscar-winning “Falling Slowly” soars with its unexpected harmonies, while “When Your Mind’s Made Up” is one of those songs that starts quietly and then builds to an impressive lather. The numbers composed for the theater show are worthy additions, too, with “The Moon” lending an air of mystery and the Czech-language “Ej Pada Pada Rosicka” injecting some dancey energy to the proceedings. The touring show stopped in Dallas in December, and it comes to Fort Worth this week.
Once runs Wed-Sun at Bass Performance Hall, 555 Commerce St, FW. Tickets are $44-121. Call 817-212-4280.
