Holy Crap! ONCE! — Page 2

@blaxx the problem with your statement is.... where does it go if it transfers? every theater is full right now or will be......

Come January, it may be a different story. If it truly is a great show, I hope it transfers on time and not have Spider-Man win a Tony by default.

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I disagree wholeheartedly. I was incredibly engaged by the first act and fell in love with all the characters and was interested in where they were going.

We can agree to disagree on that, but I'm going to throw it at you again that you are assuming that the characters weren't developed fully or that 'we' didn't care about them until the 2nd act because of your experience with the way the film is structured and the differences in the story telling for the stage play.

Perhaps the stage play is taking a slightly different angle on the material as I saw this being about much more than a 2 person love story; I saw this as the story of how one fated encounter affected a multitude of lives. The fact that I cared about all of them as much as I did by the end of the evening is thanks entirely to how the script was structured.

I'm really happy that the play didn't follow what you are suggesting, because in my experience of it, the evening as a whole would have been so much less if it had simply eliminated the 'noise' to spend extra time developing a romance that didn't need any more developing in order to be profoundly moving.

To me this did exactly what you should do in a stage-film adaptation; it used the film as a catalyst for reinventing a story for a completely different medium.

And from hearing of the changes, I think its fair to call this a reinvention rather than an adaptation of the movie.

And as a stage piece this is beautifully conceived and realized for THIS medium; utilizing brilliantly a theatricality you can only get in live performance -- it was epic in its simplicity. Instead of just seeing this romance unfold over three days, we saw a world changed in three days - simply, subtly, powerfully and then it cleared away and we saw at the heart of this was a magical interaction - this guy and this girl who somehow made it all happen who *SPOILER* can't ever realistically be together but are forever changed themselves because of the experience.

And everything supported this - just as it should be in perfect musical theatre - the direction, choreography, concept --

I haven't seen the film so I don't know what the emotional impact of this story was in the cinema. I'm guessing though that it left its audiences on an equally dizzy feeling of joy when leaving it -- but I can't imagine a feeling more than what I had leaving the NYTW.

To that end - I'm more than willing to give the creative team full applause for finding ways to make this story sing on stage even if it leaves some of its film fans slightly annoyed because of its changes.

Wait -- that movie from a few years ago? The "we're really not writing a musical" musical?

Oooooo-kay.

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GOD, I'm excited about seeing this!!!

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So much for Cristin Milioti "never cracking a smile the entire two hours." :)

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It's all very touchy-feely, but unfortunately, it's really something of a drag.

The main problem with the show is that it seems stuck in neutral for the whole length of the evening, all to the accompaniment of an endless stream of doleful, and/or wailing ballads, all of which end up sounding the same. I guess I would call them passable but unmemorable, with monotony setting in early.

The scant attempts at humor are rudimentary, at best.

It's all very dispiriting.

Whatever happened to blue skies, raindrops on roses, the flowers in spring, the robins that sing... These things still exist today. People used to sing about them in musicals, and it was a pleasure to hear them sung about. So why can't they do so now?

Composers of today's musicals: Are you listening?

Oh, well. I guess the only antidote to the whole dreary business is to listen to "The Best Things in Life Are Free" or "Tea for Two."

Hmmm. I liked the film but found the OMG, this is glorious-life-chaging-wet my pants OMGOMGOMG reactions to it to be way over the top.

I'm not going to be an ass and accuse the posters in this thread of the same, but I am understandably a bit wary at the similar reaction.

I agree with the above reviewer that it all got monotonous after a while. To me a great musical has ups and downs. Great theatre doesn't flatline. But what do I know, I've only seen the film.

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Best thing I've seen in New York this season--including "Other Desert Cities". The cast left me in awe, every single one. I was so moved at the end I was a little embarrassed. Its a keeper.

That sucks


But, honestly, you're maybe better off. If you've read this thread, you may already be aware that there's no stale, flowery, cornball lyrics comparing love to flowers in spring. It's a shade closer to depicting a slighter more complex, nuanced, and problematic reality, which (I can only assume) you don't go to the theater for, anyway.

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That's terrible Dramamama! Hopefully something will work out and you'll get a chance to see it. If not, I think it's almost a given that it'll transfer to Broadway and hopefully you'll ge to catch it then. It's definitely worth it.

As for the accusations of the show flatlining- I disagree. I think that there is a very clear emotion arch to the show and they do a great job of developing it, especially throughout the second act. Anyway, I can understand not liking it because of the material. I've shown the film to a whole bunch of people who for the most part enjoy it, but there is always someone who isn't really touched by it the way that a lot of us are. And that's fine, to each his own. I just know that it really spoke to me.

And anyway, is the show really such a drag? Sure there are moments of sadness, as there are in real life, but I think it's a profoundly beautiful story. It's an entirely realistic love story about two people who can't be together. I'm a fan of realism, and this story feels very much like it's a true story being told by a friend.

Copperfield, like Katurian says you are thinking of Gold. It was written by the band Interference, and sung by them in the film with Glen doing backup. Two songs appear in the musical that aren't actually used in the film, save for the credits. Those songs are Once and The Moon, which doesn't appear even in the credits but is in the show.

As per Miloti, I liked her more than Irglova, but it's just a matter of personal preference as they give two really different performances but both are equally great.

Updated On: 12/5/11 at 01:23 PM

From the movie soundtrack:

Say It To Me Now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqsaETH5_J0&feature=related
Gold: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wk_gu-2CaQ&feature=related
When Your Mind's Made Up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtVSfINZA4I&feature=related
Leave: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12QnNEYNGr4&feature=related