Stage Directions: Every evening, a half hour before the curtain went up on Once during its January to March run at the John W. Engeman Theatre, the audience was welcome to step on stage for drinks at the “bar” that’s at the center of this Tony Award-winning musical. That was only the beginning of the immersive experience that awaited them. With an enchanting, impressionistic set and actors who not only sang, but also played musical instruments on stage, the show invited theatre goers to set aside their normal expectations of a musical and embark on a uniquely engaging journey.
1 comment:
I have never seen this musical, but from the brief description at the beginning of the article, it sounds like a fun musical that lacks an important message, but not all theater needs to do that, sometimes you just need a show to take your mind off of real life. Anyways, back to the lighting, since the original was just a realistic bar, I can imagine how frustrated the lighting designer must have been since there wouldn’t have been a whole lot of artistry to it except realism. This interpretation of the musical offers a lot more variety for artistic interpretation and that is very clear through the creation of “hills” in the background and the more various versions of colorful light. The lighting designer created a very pretty design, and I hope it works well for the story and the director’s new interpretation. That being said, I don’t really have a lot more to add especially since I’m not in the right mindset because of rube.
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