‘Once’ musical makes audience part of cast with invite to come onstage

TORONTO – When theatre-goers arrive for the musical “Once” (based on the Oscar-winning 2007 film), they’re invited to mingle and drink at the Irish pub set up onstage. A band plays a tune or two and eventually, organically, everyone finds their seats and the show begins.

It’s a neat trick that charmed audiences when “Once” played on Broadway (where it won eight Tony Awards) and Stuart Ward — who stars in the travelling version of the show — says it helps draw patrons into the story from the get-go.

“I think that kind of sets us up,” said the 29-year-old Liverpool native, who plays “Guy” in the show (as in the movie, the lead characters are named simply “Guy” and “Girl”).

“Rather than an audience sitting down and the curtain coming up and it’s us and them (saying) like, ‘Impress me I’ve just paid $100 for my ticket or whatever,’ we go there together.

“We’re already a unit, we’re already a team. And so that helps enormously in kind of pulling the audience in and telling the story because they’re already with you. I think that’s a great kind of tool that’s been used by (director John Tiffany).”

Dani De Waal, the 29-year-old Londoner who plays “Girl,” muses that the pared down love story is the antithesis of a lot of popular shows.

“The simplicity of it is really what’s beautiful I think,” she said. “It’s not lots of costumes and sets and all that. You just are drawn in. And the beginning, with the audience being up there … from the beginning you’re with the characters.”

With its rough, low-tech look, the movie “Once” — starring Irish musician Glen Hansard and then-unknown actress Marketa Irglova — struck a chord with audiences, particularly when it was revealed that the pair had become romantically involved in real life, even though he was more than 20 years her senior.

The pair took the stage together at the Oscars to accept the best song trophy for the film’s haunting ballad “Falling Slowly.”

Hansard and Irglova have since broken up and had no hand in the transformation of “Once” into a Broadway musical.

Ward was the understudy for “Guy” when the musical hit London’s West End, a gig he found difficult.

“Honestly I don’t want to say it’s a hard job, because obviously you sit in a room and you get paid relatively well, but artistically it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” said the actor, who has been in various bands (he played rhythm guitar for Cliff Richard on a recent tour of Australia) and has plans to record an album while in Toronto.

“Mentally, the way you have to learn the show is much different. You basically learn it on your own terms and then you’re on. … It is a tough job.”

Clearly, he much prefers to be the one going on every night, and says his time as an understudy has helped him realize how lucky he is to be on the current North American tour.

“I’m glad I’ve done it because it helps you put things in perspective when jobs like this come up,” he said.

“I’ve done some terrible theatre jobs (when I was starting out) … to think about that now when I’m touring the U.S. (and Canada) in this huge job, it kinds of makes you appreciate it more.”

“Once” plays at the Royal Alexandra Theatre until Jan. 5.