Thursday, December 1, 2016 7:30
General Admission: $65, $60, $25; Five College, GCC and 17 & Under: $30, $25, $20
Winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, ONCE is a truly original Broadway experience. Featuring an impressive ensemble of actor/musicians who play their own instruments onstage, ONCE tells the enchanting tale of a Dublin street musician about to give up on his dream when a beautiful young woman takes a sudden interest in his haunting love songs. Emotionally captivating and theatrically breathtaking, ONCE draws you in from the very first note and never lets go.
An amazing experience!
Thank you!!
It seemed very nice. I loved the music. I wish I could’ve understood what they were saying.
Luckily I had seen the movie and bought the soundtrack so I knew the story and lyrics because it would have been hard to understand otherwise. It wasn’t the quality of the sound system but the odd Irish accent, especially the lead.
Up in balcony 2, I got about 17% of the dialogue. But we appreciated the music and choreography.
Know the movie, saw Glen Hansard (lyrics and music) and Marketa (the original guy and girl movie actors) perform some of the songs in 2008, and this performance was amazing. Thank you for bringing the show to Amherst!
Extremely talented musicians, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Dancing was awkward in places and the attempt at comedy resulted in silliness. Second half dragged…difficult to discern dialogue through accents. Still, love the story and happy I went.
Yes, the sound quality was poor, we couldn’t understand a word. It needed to be a lot louder. I was really surprised at the extremely slow pacing, it was, sadly, a bit soporific.
I’ll get the movie.
I paid for 4 $55 tickets and took friends as an early Xmas gift. Two of them drove over an hour and a half each way last night to see the show with me. It ended up being a big disappointment for all of us because we were unable to understand the words to most of the songs. This was true for everyone else around us too. I did report the sound issue during the intermission but it made no difference. It seems the sound was not connected to the internal house system which was a big mistake. After the grand finale song (we didn’t understand ANY of the words) the front 20 rows of the audience all stood up and gave them a standing ovation so I guess they liked the show a lot…but it was like we were not part of the audience. We could hear the music but without words, it is impossible to follow the story line. It was so bad I feel people in the upper level (we were in the front row Mezzanine) should get a credit back for the cost. I would not go to another musical there unless I was very close to the stage.
I found the story wonderfully subtle and very stirring, especially the second half. That acapella song literally brought me to tears. And oh, the set…especially when they transformed it into looking down onto the lights of Dublin (with the two leads standing way up high).
I am very glad I splurged for the best seats (3rd row) because it helped with the accents, which were thickly applied. Also the sound of instruments was surprisingly muddy, even with the good seats.
Nevertheless, my husband and I were thrilled and couldn’t stop talking about it last night and again this morning. I explained it to my young son this morning and he wished he had been able to come too.
I was quite disappointed in “Once”. In addition to the technical problems and indecipherable dialog, the story line was paper thin and the male lead was a sad sack without much energy or appeal. I was at a total loss to understand how this play got all those awards.
I was quite disappointed in “Onceâ€. In addition to the technical problems and indecipherable dialog, the story line was paper thin and the male lead was a sad sack without much energy or appeal. I was at a total loss to understand how this play got all those awards.
I was in Balcony 1, and could understand almost nothing. Glad I had seen the film.
The music and staging was lovely.
Why is the Ladies Rm situation so abysmal??
We enjoyed the staging but overall were really disappointed- it felt more like a high school performance rather than a traveling broadway show. The music felt forced (like they were just going through the motions), there was a lack of energy, ridiculously poor accents, the sound system was ineffective, the violin was out of tune, dancing seemed forced and without grace or energy…we were in the balcony and glad we didn’t pay for the expensive seats. This was our first FAC event and I don’t think we’ll be back anytime soon.
I am so glad to read that others had the same disappointing experience we endured last night. I left feeling that perhaps I was just being an old “grouch”, but after loving the movie and music I truly expected a top-notch production. The show was dull and mediocre. We could barely understand a word, due both to the poor sound system and laughable accents. Granted, we were in the first row of the third mezzanine, but these were 60 dollar tickets and I expected much more given the price. I agree with another reviewer who said we should get a credit for our tickets.
Very poor sound quality. From our seats in the first balcony, we could not distinguish any of the lyrics and almost all of the spoken conversations. We left at intermission with other disappointed attendees.
I had very high expectations for this show, and unfortunately, it did not live up to them. We brought my 14 year old daughter and her best friend in the hopes of showing them the beauty and energy of a Broadway stage experience, and I must say, I have seen better in off OFF Broadway productions. Awkward dancing and indecipherable accents….at this level of performing should not even be a concern. The female lead had an amazing voice and really saved the evening for me. Perhaps a smaller venue would have served it better.
To everyone who has commented, thank you. We’re delighted, of course, that some of you had such a good time, but we’re also truly grateful that those of you who were disappointed took the time to let us know. We take your comments to heart, and we will make every effort to address those problems that are within our scope.
The sound quality was fair at best and difficult to hear and understand. We had $60 seats in the mexzanine and it was dissapointing. The story was good, set was nice but sound made it a bit of a let down.
My husband and I sat is section 3, and like so many other people we spoke with after the show, we could hear and understand almost none of the dialogue or lyrics. I think the chief problem was the very poor sound system, not the accents. I would not choose to attend another musical at the FAC, which seems much too large for that sort of performance.
Another problem with the Fine Arts Center is the totally inadequate bathroom situation. One can spend the entire intermission waiting in line for the women’s room — located on the far side of the building for half the audience, going up and down multiple flights of steps, — then barely make it back to one’s seat for the second half of the show. At a MINIMUM there should be both a men’s room and a women’s room on both sides of this very large building.
I thought this was a delightful performance touching on many emotions. Would love to have more performances of this genre at the FAC. One of the big percs for me and my family, is having the easy access to the variety of quality entertainment we’ve seen at the FAC and Bowker.
We were in the upper balcony. I understand the comments about missing the dialog but my daughter and I really enjoyed the music and admittedly simple story. Outstanding songs and talented musicians.
I think you should examine why there were so few college students there. Have you priced them out?
We have seen several musicals and concerts here and will be back
We were in Balcony 1 on the sides from where one must lean forward in order to see the stage. It was difficult to understand some of the male lead’s words; female lead was excellent. The music and staging was great.
There should be better Ladies Room setups??
What an incredible experience. I was sitting in section 5 all the way to the right and, unlike others, I had no trouble with the sound. I thought the accents were great and really put me in the world of the play. I thought the pace was great and the energy was spot on. I’m so glad the FAC brought this production to Amherst and I would encourage them to bring more like it.
Sad to say that I was very disappointed. This was a birthday gift for two friends and we were in the second balcony. The acoustics were terrible. I am used to the Irish accent, so understanding was not my problem. The voices sounded muffled, especially the male lead. Certainly talented musicians. Not a happy alum. If there was in fact an equipment failure a refund should be given as I would hesitate attending another performance.