T H E AT E R
BY RACHAEL CARNES
ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH
Irish folkies fall in love in acclaimed musical ONCE
O
NCE, winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical and
winner of the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album,
comes to the Hult Center Jan. 17-18.
EW recently caught up with its star, Mackenzie Lesser-Roy, 21,
who plays the show’s lead, known as “Girl.”
“I love Girl,” Lesser-Roy says. “She is, first and foremost, strong. And
she’s beautifully honest.”
The musical tells the story of an Irish musician (Guy) and a Czech
immigrant (Girl), drawn together by their shared love of music.
“Girl doesn’t have much money,” Lesser-Roy explains. “But she has an
optimistic outlook on life. She takes care of her friends, her mother and her
little girl.”
The show features the music and lyrics of Glen Hansard and Markéta
Irglová, and book by Irish playwright and screenwriter Enda Walsh.
“The music is timeless,” Lesser-Roy says. “It’s simple, the way it tells the
story. It touches your heart.”
The score, she says, is both personal and universal. “They’re singing
songs from the standpoint of their lives, but you can relate your life to them,”
Lesser-Roy adds.
And as a love story, Once offers a refreshing departure. “They’re very
real people,” Lesser-Roy says. “Their stories are individual to them, but they
seem real, awkward, genuine.”
Audience members are invited on stage before the performance and
during intermission to mingle with performers and musicians as if they are
not merely in a theater, but patrons at a charming Irish pub.
With tunes that Lesser-Roy describes as “folksy, new age, like a modern
day Joni Mitchell, but with a rock and roll element,” this is a musical for
people who don’t necessarily like musicals.
Lesser-Roy has been touring with the show for a year, and is now nearing
her 200th performance. “It’s tough, the travel wears you down,” she says.
“Some weeks, you’re traveling every day to get to a show.”
But, she says, “then you get there, and that magic happens. You get out
onstage, and you’re hearing the music and saying the lines, and it wakes you
up.”
“The material is so beautiful,” Lesser-Roy adds. “I find new things all the
time.”
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Oregon Music
Education Association
Oregon All-State Groups Performances
88 th SEASON!
The Very Little Theatre
presents
Silva Hall • Hult Center
Middle School Gala Concert
1/13/2017 Ticket price $10
5:00 pm Band- Jerry Luckhardt, Conductor
5:45 pm Orchestra- Rachel Dirks, Conductor
6:30 pm Tenor, Bass Choir- Dinah Helgeson Conductor
7:15 pm Treble Choir- Victor Johnson, Conductor
Hilarious Farce by Nell Benjamin
Directed by Chris McVay
High School Gala Concert
Jan. 13-15, 19-22, 26-28
1/15/2017 Ticket price $15
1:00 pm Symphonic Band- Chad Nicholson, Conductor
2:00 pm Wind Ensemble- Tom Leslie, Conductor
3:00 pm Orchestra- Adam Boyles, Conductor
4:00 pm Treble Choir- Janet Galvan, Conductor
5:00 pm Tenor, Bass Choir- Nicole Lamartine, Conductor
The Oregon Music Education Association provides an
opportunity for gifted music students to perform with other
exceptional music students. Middle school students are
selected based on the recommendation of their music
teachers. High school students are selected on an audition
basis. These students are some of the strongest growing
musicians in Oregon. Ticket price allows you to attend one or
all performances.
On sale now at the Hult Center.
7:30 pm curtain; 2 pm Sundays
Tix: $19; $15 Seniors & Students
$15 for everyone on Thursdays!
Box office open 2:00-6:00 pm
Wed.-Sat., 2350 Hilyard St.
Tix on-line at TheVLT.com
Production
Sponsor:
541-344-7751
Tickets for ONCE are available online at BroadwayInEugene.com, at the Hult Center ticket office or by
calling 541-682-5000.
THE CAST OF ONCE
eugeneweekly.com • January 21, 2017
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