Once The impacts of the Affordable Care Act on Preparedness Resources and Programs

is a musical, developed from the film version that has the same name- Once. The musical is produced by Broadway that manifests development of some critical themes. The team behind the musical is creative and innovative and these features are evident in the musical. The story lines follow two young people who struggle to pursue their dreams and music careers with irresistible feelings for each other. The title of the musical is neutral and speculative as it relates to the audience in various ways. Having been developed from a film, the musical exhibits a lot of similarity and also has some producing difference. Once, the musical is unique in the industry as it has outstanding stage feature like the interaction between the cast and the audience. All the characters in the musical play an instrumental role. The storyline ends with an unhappy love story between the two main characters. Once, the musical breaks traditional boundaries of Broadway musicals that typically have a happy ending for love stories and incorporates unique elements on the stage while using a realistic approach.

Creative Team of the Stage Musical

Once

is a musical that is based on the film Once of 2007 that was written by John Carney. Similar to the film, the lyrics, and music were written and composed by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. Enda Walsh is known to write the book for the musical. In 2011, the musical was launched in New York Theatre Workshop and was later moved in 2012 to the Broadway.  John Tiffany is the director of the musical in most parts of the music tour.  The creative team includes designs developed by Bob Crowley known for The Coast of Utopia, Mary Poppins, musical staging was done by Steven Hoggett and among the music directors is martin, Lowe.

Storyline

The musical Once

is a modern day setting of a street musician and a Czech immigrant that takes place in the Dublin streets. In an eventful week, the two discover they can write songs, sing together and record the songs to be sent to London with the hope of signing them a musical contract. In their music, the two work through past memories of love that unfold each other’s new feelings.

As presented in (“SYNOPSIS of ONCE the Musical”), Guy (Glen Hansard) is an Irish singer and a song writer who fixes vacuums in a Dublin shop that is owned by his father. He sings on the streets of Dublin for donations and plays music in local bars and pubs during the night. The songs attract an audience Girl (Marketa Irglova) a Czech immigrant who loves the music and is a pianist. She saves his music when she encourages him to continue with his singing and refuses to let him abandon his guitar. The Girl takes him to a record store and plays on the piano some Mendelssohn (Endelstone). Girl is determined to convince Guy in believing in the power of his music and on the love of the woman who inspired the writing of his songs.  The event opens up their common imagination for the love of music. The Guy falls in love with her music and this sets the stage for love to blossom between them.  The story develops from friendship and collaboration growing into a powerful love story that is complicated.

Relevance

The relevance of the music sets out the theme of love. The storyline of the music is a clear indication of redemption. The music sets the expression of self-discovery. The dance, theatre that includes other art of performance enlighten people how they can effectively express themselves to the public. The performance of art provides the society with self-knowledge and the understanding of complex theme such as love. The musical Once provides an open stage of pure tradition and entertaining music.

The Title ‘Once’ and It’s Significant

The title Once is not a direct representation of the content in the musical. However, the title appears to draw directly from the theme song. The word Once has been used frequently and it is the repeat of the chorus. The main themes in the musical are a love story and music. The theme of being taking chances is also advanced. In various aspects, these themes are central to the musical and relevant to the title as the opportunities seem to appear once. The title Once

represents a life of opportunities that require thorough decisions as missing a chance on time appears to be a fateful action because there is no likelihood of having the chance again.

 The significance of the title is evident in the life events that happen to the two main character, Guy, and Girl. In a lifetime chance, they get what they desired to achieve in their lives. Guy finds a lifetime transformation which makes him the most handsome man and Girl becomes a full-fledged woman who is described as irresistible. The title is relevant to both the positive and negative aspect of the love story developed that does not work out and there appears to be another opportunity to make the relationship work.

Comparing the Film and Musical Version Of Once

Once

the musical was developed from the film also known as Once. As such, it is based on the film and develops similar themes while using concepts from the film for instance Irish music. However, the musical version of Once is significantly different as the producer had to customize the film to fit in theaters.

The outstanding difference between the two versions is that the musical version has life performances of the songs and the cast does some dances occasionally. According to (Ryan) the songs are more detailed and real when attending the musical as compared to watching the film version. An obvious expectation is that the musical version is bound to have several interruptions from the audiences clapping or commenting and the cast as well feature not present in the film version since characters appear more distant. The music in the musical is coupled with spirited dancing and this is a great experience. The musical appears to be of a concert and not a narrative version of the film. Once

is an intimate story and the themes are developed in a more realistic way in the musical compared to the film. The director has edited the film to have only the best aspects resent in the film to have been eliminated in the musical while others are magnified. For instance, the banker who lends money to Guy is a major contributor in the musical. He is given a signing role and joins the band for recording session (Ryan). Also, Girl’s family plays a major role as opposed to their position in the film. The musical version is longer than the film as the signing sessions are not edited as in the film. The audience is invited to participate in the story when they walk on the stage to buy drinks and chat with the cast. The experience is unique to the musical and cannot be found in the film version.

Unique Aspects of Stage Musical

Once, the musical has a unique stage setting that stands out and gives the audience a unique experience. The stage is set to have an interactive set blended with beautiful music and a talented group who work as actors and singers. The setting creates an intimate experience as it features the theme of personal development including chasing one’s dreams and the theme of love (Light). The music on stage by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova creates an outstanding mixture of genres and incorporates the music ‘Falling Slowly’ an academy award winning song.

An outstanding aspect of the Once musical is the expressed closeness between the audience and the performers. Before the show begins, the audience is permitted to the stage and is free to drink and mingle with cast members (Light). Only a few musicals have ever condoned this practice. The aspect of mingling creates a friendly and personalized experience for the audience. The audience can relate on a human level with the cast and establish a personal attachment to the cast n the musical as a whole.

Further, all actors of Once are musicians or at least play an instrument. Having all actors who are musicians is a rare occasion and a unique aspect of the musical. The cast presents another aspect of themselves to the audience and the integration of the talents is quite appealing. In the overall the musical stands out as a very unique and enjoyable experience at an individual level. According to (Endelstone), the producer describes the experience as unique, complex and deeper than the ‘normal love story’ that most individuals are used to in films and musicals.

Conclusively, the costumes of Once are effectively blended with the stage which creates a harmonious and intimate feeling. The unique aspects of the stage for Once

creates a feeling of freshmen and creativity overtime one experiences the musical. Irish music is resented in the musical, an aspect that is present in the film. The cast is also the orchestra. Irish music in the musical shows the power of music to unite people.

Non-Happy Ending of the Love Story and Its Significance

The theme of love is featured from the beginning of the musical. However, the love relationship does not thrive towards the end. In the musical, Guy meets a young lady who takes interest in his talent. The relationship points to romantic interests for both parties. However, it later turns out that they have complicated personal lives that make it too challenging to explore their feelings.  Broadway show has always had a theme of love which ends in a happy love relationship.

The case is contrary to Once and it is significant in various ways. As highlighted in the thesis, the musical breaks the old tradition held by Broadway and introduces a more realistic account. The two characters become successful in their careers but like the case with most people, they do not have it all. The emotional connection does not end as they are both sad at the end of the play. Though in different locations trying to figure out internalize their new reality, they sing an emotional song ‘Falling Slowly’ and Girl sheds tears. In successful love stories, the audience feel that they are unlucky and wish to live a wishful land where they have everything they desire. However, for Once- the musical- the audience feels that they are in a realistic world, empathizes with Guy and Girl and perhaps gets a chance to perceive their situations from a third person perspective and make better judgments.

Summary and Conclusion

As established in the document, Once the musical brought a revolutionary change to Broadway musicals as it has a different perspective to love story which has an unhappy ending. The play also incorporates new aspects on the stage including allowing the audience to interact with the cast and access the stage. The musical has a realistic approach to life and in this aspect, it is quite appealing to the audience. Some ideas addressed in the paper include the creativity of the team that worked to produce the musical. The paper has a brief outline of the musical and a comparison of the musical version of Once to the film that was used to develop it. The musical has a unique stage setting.

Works Cited

Endelstone, Steven. ”Ten Years of Once: An Oral History of John Carney’s Hit Musical.” Consequence of Sound, 18 Aug. 2017, consequenceofsound.net/2017/08/ten-years-of-once-an-oral-history-of-john-carneys-hit-musical/.

Light, Stage. ”Once: The Musical.” StageLight Magazine, 1 Dec. 2013, www.stagelightmagazine.com/once-the-musical/.

”Once.” Lewis Center for the Arts, arts.princeton.edu/events/once/2016-11-11/.

Ryan, Mike. ”’Once’ The Broadway Musical Versus ’Once’ The Film.” HuffPost, 6 Dec. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ryan/once-the-broadway-musical_b_1409091.html.

”SYNOPSIS of ONCE the Musical.” Musical Lyrics, Songs From Musicals, Lyrics Broadway Musicals, www.themusicallyrics.com/o/255-once-the-musical-lyrics/4438-synopsis-of-once-the-musical.html.