“Once”, a bittersweet romantic musical, is an ideal way to close out Maggie Mancinelli- Cahill’s 30-year tenure as the company’s Producing-Artistic Director.
In her final effort in this role you realize that she must make annual returns as guest director. She is as good as it gets in finding the heart of an onstage performance.
“Once” is an extremely popular musical with strong bones. It’s needed when you are portraying a romance between a brooding Dublin-born Irishman and a resolute female Czech immigrant. That’s not a couple likely to have a joyful relationship. Indeed, it takes skill and experience to make this coupling into a feel-good production. Mancinelli-Cahill does just that. She masterfully brings to the fore the joy and enthusiasm that exists in work. The woman knows how to put the energy of the Irish onstage.
“Once” is a show about an Irish composer-singer, Guy, who is about to give up his dream of earning his living as a musician. While busking on the streets of Dublin, he is about to quit music, fold his guitar case and spend the rest of his life working in his father’s vacuum repair shop.
Hearing him play, a young Czech woman, Girl, believes in his talent and insists he stay true to his calling. Her determination is bolstered by the fact her Hoover vacuum needs repair. Divorced from her husband, she lives in Ireland with her young daughter, she offers a barter. If he fixes her machine, she’ll compose music with him. They become friends and she convinces him to follow his dream. They work as collaborators and bring to each other a sense of passion about music and life. They even cut a cd together. All within a week.
This type of play is right in Mancinelli-Cahill’s wheelhouse. She and choreographer Freddy Ramirez find all the raucous joy and enthusiasm in the ensemble dance scenes. They are dazzling, energetic and a needed relief from the two depressed potential lovers. The act one finale “Gold” has you anxious to return from intermission. Upon your return, “Opening” which starts the second act is a reward for your faith. Both numbers are highlights as you get to experience a dozen actor-musicians dancing, weaving and singing together in a celebration of the art of creating music.
To give an idea how important the ensemble is, almost half of the 20 musical scenes use this multi-talented group, either as the main event or to add support to the other songs. Not to mislead, not every larger number exists to add energy. What is, arguably, the best song in the show, “Falling Slowly,” is given added sensitivity by the use of the melodic ensemble. Musical director Emily Mikesell deserves a lot of credit for varying the mood and sound of the show.
It is not only the performances that make the larger numbers impressive. Mancinelli-Cahill’s staging is as unobtrusive as it is expert. Often an empty stage becomes filled with musicians without you noticing. She is expert in the use of silence. With the help of moody lighting by Travis McHale, the stage images heighten the mood of the moment. The set design by Nora Marlow Smith adds to the flow of the show. Seemingly an open space, Smith proves several levels which the director uses brilliantly The designer also adds several hiding spaces for prop pieces to appear magically and be efficiently moved in place by the cast.
What is often missed in the show is the subtext of the secondary characters. Mancinelli-Cahill not only finds the challenges of a community of foreigners living face living in an adopted land, she also highlights the problems of hard working locals who seem not to be able to shake the threat of poverty. Indeed, this hard working ensemble also offers some insightful portraits of those on the lower rungs of society. This is best expressed by Adam Huel Potter as the nearly bankrupt store owner and Jenn Chandler as the banker who has a passion for folk music.
This production does not neglect the romance between Guy and Girl. Lily Talevski as Girl is able to bring out the vulnerability of this determined woman. Sam Sherwood as Guy keeps the man from seeming dreary without denying his hurt emotional state. It’s a tentative relationship in that both clearly love each other, but they have to figure out if it’s best to stay friends and collaborators or go deeper. As in all honest quandaries, the answer will not please everyone.
But, in fact, it’s difficult to think of anyone being displeased by anything about “Once.”
The production runs at Capital Repertory Theatre until August 10. For tickets and information go to attherep.org
Bob Goepfert is theater reviewer for the Troy Record.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.
