Australia has fallen in love with the multi-award winning stage musical ONCE, playing at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre. Due to popular demand, one final week has been added to the current performance schedule. The musical that has captured Melbourne’s heart must close 1 February 2015.
This is the last chance audiences will have to see ONCE in Australia. Sadly due to theatre availability, ONCE will not hit the road after the Melbourne season finishes. Sydney’s loss is Melbourne’s love affair.
Winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book and Best Direction following its world premiere on Broadway in January 2012, the musical has also enchanted audiences in London, New York and Dublin. It won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in 2013 and opened in London’s West End last year where it won two Olivier Awards including Outstanding Achievement in Music.
Based on the Irish film of the same name which became a surprise international hit in 2006 and won an Oscar for Best Song (Falling Slowly), ONCE follows the tender romance of a struggling Irish busker and a beautiful Czech immigrant.
The collection of songs about love, longing and heartbreak with a folk rock feel from the original film, written by its stars Glen Hansard (The Frames) and Markéta Irglová, also feature in the delicate stage production.
Entering the theatre the audience is invited on stage for a Guinness as the cast strikes up a song, setting the scene for an intimate evening at an Irish pub. An achingly beautiful, joyously uplifting story about love, life and friendship then unfolds, speaking to the power of music to connect us all.
Heading up the ensemble in the key roles of Guy and Girl are Tom Parsons and Madeleine Jones. The cast also includes Anton Berezin, Andrew Broadbent, Ben Brown, Gerard Carroll, Colin Dean, Margi de Ferranti, Matthew Hamilton, Lisa Hanley, Brent Hill, Shanae Icovski, Stefanie Jones, Keegan Joyce, Amy Lehpamer, Tara Lyon, Summer Moore, Lachlan Neate, Jane Patterson, Greg Stone, Susan-ann Walker and Paul Watson.
Tickets for the final week of ONCE go on sale Friday 12 December 2014. For more information, visit: www.oncemusical.com.au for details.
Image: Madeleine Jones and Tom Parsons in ONCE – photo by Jeff Busby