The 2007 romantic indie film sensation, Once, is now on the big road to becoming a Broadway musical. Originally a low budget film shot at the cost of $150,000 in Ireland, Once is a musical love story that draws two musicians together at the prospect of creating and recording genuine and heartfelt songs. After premiering at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, the film went on to become a worldwide favorite grossing $20 million and made stars out of the two leads, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. It also spawned a song written by Hansard and Irglová called “Falling Slowly” which won the 2007 Oscar Award for Best Original Song.
The creative team being assembled for the new stage musical are bookwriter Edna Walsh (Penelope, The New Electric Ballroom), director John Tiffany (Black Watch), choreographer Steven Hoggett (Black Watch, American Idiot) and designer Bob Crowley (The Coast of Utopia, Love Never Dies). A workshop presentation will apparently be developed at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, MA, this April. If all goes well at the workshop, then it should be ready for a fall Broadway opening. Casting for the two leads has yet to be announced.
*British songer-songwriter David Gray will return stateside for his “Lost and Found Tour” in support of his latest release, Foundling. Using a more organic approach for this foray, Gray will enhance the acoustical sounds of the instruments and create a subtle listening experience for the songs, as if the audience is witnessing a live recording session.
David Gray’s North American tour dates are as follows:
February 21 – Boston, MA @ CitiWang Theatre
February 22 – North Bethesda, MD @ Music Center at Strathmore
February 23 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
February 25 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
February 26 – Detroit, MI @ Detroit Opera House
February 27 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
February 28 – Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre
March 3 – Seattle, WA @ Marion Oliver McCaw Hall at Seattle Center
March 4 – Vancouver, BC @ Vancouver Performing Arts Centre
March 7 – San Francisco, CA @ Davies Symphony Hall
March 8 – Los Angeles, CA @ Royce Hall
March 9 – San Diego, CA @ Spreckels Theatre
SITE UPDATE: The Curtain Times page has been updated with an expanded list of what I will most likely be seeing in the next month or two. Here is the link: www.culturetourist.com/curtain-times.
CulturElixir 