History and Background
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History and Background By Enda Walsh, Glen Hansard, and Markéta Irglová Compiled by Rachel Liff, Administration/Education Intern SYNOPSIS Set in Dublin, this soaring tale chronicles the chance meeting of an Irish street musician and a young Czech woman. Based on the Oscar winning film, this musical features an ensemble of actor/singer/musicians, who together discover tenderness in unexpected places and reaffirm the power of music to connect us all. This production marks the Vermont premiere of Once. We welcome back Weston veterans and newcomers to bring a little bit of Dublin to our tiny town. ABOUT THE WRITERS Dublin Grafton Street Enda Walsh (book) is an Irish born playwright who won both the George Devine Award and the Stewart Parker Award in 1997 for his play Disco Pigs. Largely considered one of Irelands leading contemporary playwrights, his theatrical works include The Walworth Farce, The New Electric Ballroom, Misterman, Ballyturk, The Last Hotel, and the musical Lazarus, written with David Bowie. After finding success as a playwright, Walsh also began to write screenplays. His most notable film is Hunger, about the end of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands’ life. Soon after Walsh won two Fringe First Awards at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, he began collaborating on the musical version of Once. Enda Walsh at the Tony Awards (winner—best book of a musical) https://images.bwwstatic.com/upload9/38305 6/tn-500_img_8383.jpg Glen Hansard (music and lyrics) left school at 13 to become a street performer, even though he was required by law to stay until he was 15-years-old. By 20, he had secured his first record deal, but soon after rebranded and started a rock band called The Frames. In 2007, his friend and former band mate, John Carney, asked Hansard to step in as the leading man in a small-budget film Hansard was set to write the music for. While he did not consider himself an actor, Hansard agreed. Three weeks later, the soon-to-be hit Once finished filming. Since then, Hansard has gone on to write music for various films, win an Oscar, and ignite folk-pop collaboration The Swell Season, which he started with Once’s Markéta Irglová. Markéta Irglová (music and lyrics) was born in the Czech Republic and made her debut at 19-years-old in the film version of Once. She had met co-star Glen Hansard while he was touring with The Frames in the Czech Republic when she was only 13. During their first introduction, they sang one of Hansards’ song together. He was impressed by her talents, invited her to sing with his band at a local festival, and became her musical mentor. Years later, Hansard called on Irglová to audition for the lead in Once. She flew to Dublin, met with film director John Carney, and was offered the part almost Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová immediately. She has won an Oscar with Hansard for “Falling Slowly,” making her the https://static01.nyt.com/images/2011/01/10/theate r/10once/10once-blog480.jpg youngest ever recipient of the award in that category. She now lives in New York City and has toured the world twice with The Swell Season. Sources: https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/enda-walsh, http://www.independent.ie/life/everything-ive-written-has-been-about-some-sort-of-love-and-need- for-calm-and-peace-31571616.html http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2017/05/05/526980777/oscar-winner-glen-hansard-returns-to- movie-music http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/glen-hansard-interview-the- singer-songwriter-on-finding-fame-in-the-commitments-and-once-a6677831.html http://marketairglova.com/about FROM SCREEN TO STAGE In 2006, John Carney set out to film a simple love story told through music. The entire budget was about $150,000 and the shoot spanned a mere three weeks. The creative team and cast did not expect the film to be shown outside of Ireland or Irglová’s home country, the Czech Republic. But not only did it become one of the top indie films of the year, grossing $10 million in the United States alone, it also attracted critical acclaim, including an Oscar nomination (and eventual win) for best song. In an interview with the Washington Post, the team said “There was no real marketing plan, no notion of international distribution -- just art made for art's sake, coming from a place of purity.” Glen Hansard, who stepped in as a replacement for Irish actor Cillian Murphy at the last minute, recalls being terrified of the reaction. He worried that the film’s low-budget quality would lead people to think there was something wrong Once promotional poster with the filming or artists behind it. Fans were https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Fpv0Bt0AGd0/maxresdefault. drawn to the charm of the film, however, and jpg had nothing but love for the artists and their process. Hansard and co-star Markéta Irglová famously followed the journey of Guy and Girl while making Once. The two fell in love on set, leading them to start their musical collaboration, The Swell Season. Their relationship spanned the hectic, surprising, whirl-wind year after Once premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. While the two eventually split, they remain friends and continue to collaborate. Soon after the premiere of the movie, producers expressed interested in adapting Once into a stage musical. Hansard and Irglová signed on to adapt the music of the film to the stage, and Enda Steve Kazee (GUY; Tony Award, Walsh was added as the book writer. While the best performance by a leading creative team was excited by the idea of a stage actor in a musical) and the cast of Once perform at the Tonys in 2012. version, they insisted that the director had to https://static01.nyt.com/images/2012/06/11/arts/T understand the complex storytelling and honor ONY-DRESS/TONY-DRESS-jumbo.jpg Carney’s original vision. John Tiffany was introduced to the team and quickly joined them as the director. Once began its journey in 2011 at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA. The development engagement ran through April when the show was immediately picked up for an Off-Broadway run. It opened at New York Theater Workshop that December. Once transferred to Broadway in early 2012, starting previews February 28 and opening March 18. The show had a 13 member ensemble cast/orchestra, who opened each show by playing music and serving beer onstage. At the 66th Annual Tony Awards later that year, Once took home 8 trophies for acting, design, direction, and the ever-coveted Best New Musical award. Sources: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/15/AR2008021500811.html http://marketairglova.com/about http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2011/11/08/142134817/a-couple-breaks-up-but-the-band- plays-on http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90093038 https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/2013/11/22/once_the_musical_love_found_lost_and_f ound_again.html http://www.playbill.com/article/once-the-irish-kissed-musical-about-falling-slowly-opens-on- broadway-com-188539 http://www.broadway.com/buzz/162324/once-takes-home-eight-tony-awards-complete-list-of-2012- tony-winners/ .