‘Once’ Opens at Pittsburgh Musical Theater (Thurs., 3/9/23)

ONCE (musical) based on the film written and directed by John Carney, with stage book by Enda Walsh, and music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. Pittsburgh Musical Theater. March 9 – April 2.

PMT’s ‘Once’ features a complex love story between an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant. The show
has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Olivier Award, and a Tony Award for its music.

When an Irish busker lays down his guitar on a street in Dublin, he walks away never again wanting to play the songs he once wrote for a girlfriend who has since moved on. Little does he know his last lament has been heard, stirring up empathy in the woman who runs after him. She begs the stranger to reconsider his loss, the pain of which she knows too well and, in song, they innocently bond over their passion for music. But the new relationship cannot endure; he must leave for New York in seven days. 

Unusual in its evolution as a drama-with-music, John Carney’s sweet story, written and directed by him in the 2007 film of the same name, was adapted for the stage in a 2011 theater workshop and, after a popular run off Broadway, premiered on Broadway in 2012, earning eleven Tony Award nominations and winning eight––among them Best Book, Best Actor, and Best Musical. In 2013, it won a Grammy for best musical theater album. 

Now Pittsburgh Musical Theater presents Once. Directed by Tim Seib, with musical direction by Dr. Francesca Tortorello and choreography by Larry Lozier, Once features David Toole and Kate Queen in its lead roles. 7:30 p.m. In PMT’s Gargaro Theater, 327 S. Main Street, West End. (C.P.O.)

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