Movie vs. Stage Production
Please compare and critique :)
shareI didnt know there was one! I need to see this.
Interested to hear the comparisons.
It's amazing. Go see it while it's on tour and on Broadway!
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MovieChat Forums > Once (2007) Discussion > Movie vs. Stage Production
Just saw the stage production and I was greatly disappointed! It fell into that "crowd-pleasing Broadway musical" trap where it felt that it needed over-the-top juvenile humor to keep the audience interested.
Hey look, the guy that owns the record store thinks he knows karate and hurts his back!!
Czech people are so weird and different! Like sassy robots or something!
You know what the beautiful, acoustic version of "Falling Slowly" in the music store needed? An electric bass!
I did enjoy some of the arrangements (and to be fair, the show I saw didn't have the original cast). But I can't imagine it being that good. Without the music, the play was just a bunch of cheesy humor and poor characterization. Movie is far superior in my opinion. I probably wouldn't have HATED the play as much if I had never seen the movie, but I still wouldn't have liked it all that much.
"Weirdness was all he cared about. Weirdness and sex and plenty to drink."
Saw the show exactly a year ago, with the original cast. I loved it. I loved the staging, I loved the performances, I loved the singing musicians, I loved the beer I bought on the stage. I don't cry often but actually shed a tear at the very end with the check for the piano, which was brilliantly played. (It has also been several years since I had seen the movie and somehow forgot that little major detail, so it hit me like an "Oh yeah! Suprise!"). Mr. Kazee and Ms. Milioti were fantastic and very gracious at the stage door. I saw Book of Mormon the next night, so it was a complete 180 as far as theater experiences go.
shareSaw the play last week in New York and it was fantastic. Amazing experience, the show technically "starts" half an hour before the actual production, and you can go up on stage and buy drinks while the cast dances and sings around you. Once the play actually starts, you had to be off stage, but it captivated me from the first step inside the theatre. We saw the production with Paul Alexander Nolan and Joanna Christie, and they were both phenomenal. And yes, I too shed a tear at the end. It was more Hollywood than the film (obviously), more humor (a LOT more humor), a few changes to the story. It's like comparing apples and oranges since the play and film are two completely separate entities. First chance you get to see the play, be there. The film is one of my favorite films, I've seen it dozens of times, and preordered the blu ray from amazon months before it was released, and I still thought the play was a marvelous companion to the film, absolutely worthy of sharing the title.
shareMovie: A neatly crafted unrequited love story laced with music while not being a 'bursting into song' musical.
From the start each musical piece cleverly carries the plot forward. Additionally there was a real life back story between Glen and Marketa which shines throughout.
Stage Production: The story and unrequited theme is loosely maintained but has been spectacularly adapted for a theatre audience with brilliant young musicians.
I have the DVD and seen the show at the Phoenix, London.
Both are excellent in their own right and I cannot praise them enough. share
I saw the stage production in London just a month or so ago, just on a whim (we went to the discounted tickets kiosk and had heard good things about it) and I LOVED it. I saw it the day after seeing Book of Mormon and the difference is just incredible. We had front-row seats and I was so glad we did--Once is such an intimate show. The cast has a party and plays music that you can come on stage to dance and sing to with them, and at intermission they turn the pub set into an actual pub and serve drinks. There is no pit orchestra; the actors are the musicians. The banker happens to play cello, the girl's mom plays the accordion, etc. The show is funny and sad and heart-wrenching and emotional. I absolutely loved it.
Because I saw the show first, the film was a bit of a disappointment for me. It just wasn't quite what I had expected; the supporting cast was practically non-existent and I really enjoyed the role those characters played in the show. They brought more of the humor to it. Guy and Girl had excellent comedic timing as well. I guess it sort of depends what you're looking for, but I guess you could say the show appealed to a wider audience?
Either way, the music and story are amazing. It probably all depends on what you see first. Maybe if I'd seen the film first, I'd hate the show.