Audience members saw the set of the touring Broadway show Once up close Friday night.
Patrons were permitted to go on the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium’s stage to view the props and instruments used in the musical. Before the show started, some of the supporting cast members performed traditional Irish songs, such as “Raglan Road.”
Emily Burns, a freshman studying geology and biology, said it was cool idea to allow people on the stage.
“Honestly, I was a little terrified to come (on stage), but I was happy when I did,” Burns said.
Once tells the story of Guy, played by Barry DeBois, who meets Girl, performed by MacKenzie Lesser-Roy. When Guy is about to give up on his dreams of becoming a musician, Girl helps him find a record deal. In about a week, the characters form a connection and fall in love.
The set was minimalistic — it consisted of a wall built in a half circle with mirrors covering its surface. Against the walls sat chairs where the supporting cast members played their instruments for most of the show.
By intermission, Amanda Ousley, who is from Wellston, said she had gotten used to the format of the set.
“In the beginning, it was a little distracting,” Ousley said. “(But) it brings more attention to the musical aspect of (the show).”
Instead of utilizing a pit orchestra, the actors and actresses played their own instruments live. Bethany Gratz, a senior studying sound design and theater, said she appreciated the musician-centered aspect of the play.
“It meant a lot to me as a sound design major and musician to see them playing their instruments live,” she said. “(Usually the musicians) are either sitting in the orchestra or not usually playing (on stage).”
The music featured in the show was folk-like in style. Some of the instruments used included several acoustic guitars, cajon drums, a cello, banjo fiddle, ukelele and an accordion.
In musicals, the storyline is typically presented through song. In the case of Once, the show was dialogue heavy and musical numbers were used to transition from scene to scene. The transition would normally be shown by a change of setting, but the Once set did not physically change — props were moved around and the characters in the scene signalled a shift in location.
“My favorite part was the movement of the story and how it was used to say more than what the words were saying,” Gratz said.
There was a constant rumbling of laughter in MemAud as audience members reacted to the many punchlines thrown into the dialogue.
“I thought the comedic value … was done very well,” Gatz said. “The jokes landed where they should and they landed very well.”
Gratz said she likes to see musicals done professionally and Once was a good production.
“It was the most beautiful pieces of theater I’ve ever seen,” she said. “It had me in tears by the end.”
