‘Once’ brings Guy and Girl together through music

By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR

Guy meets Girl, and they make beautiful music together in “Once.”

The musical, in which a dozen or so actors/musicians will portray characters and play instruments, is being performed by Out of the Box Theatre Company. On stage with them at Center Stage Theater will be some of the audience members (who won’t be called on to act but will get to watch the play from there).

“We have never done a show quite like this before,” said Samantha Eve, the theater company’s founder and artistic director.

“We have 13 actors who play different musicians singing and doing dialects. We have a really great group.”

Based on the 2007 movie of the same name and featuring the film’s folk-indie-rock songs, “Once” follows Guy, an Irish musician played by Ojai singer-guitarist Sam Kulchin, as he meets another musician, Girl, a Czech immigrant portrayed by Mica Basilici.

FYI

Out of the Box Theatre Company will perform “Once” today through April 23 at Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo in downtown Santa Barbara. Curtain rises at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays.

“I like the choice to call them Guy and Girl because they represent archetypes,” Ms. Eve said. “They both represent people who are lost, stuck in their own lives and uncertain how to move forward. Within a course of a week, they meet each other and push each other to create something new.”

There is limited on-stage seating, for ages 12 and older, and that costs $40. Other tickets cost $35 for general admission and $20 for college students and seniors. To purchase, go to centerstagetheater.org. Those 17 and younger get free admission but must show their ID at will call. (A preshow concert starts at 7:30 p.m., and the bar will be open during the preshow.)

Out of the Box Theatre Company will perform “Once” today through April 23 at Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo in downtown Santa Barbara. Curtain rises at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays.

“Once” is set in Dublin. Guy — that’s the character’s name — is a street musician “who’s at the end of his ropes,” Ms. Eve told the NewsPress. “Nobody wants to hear what he has to share. He’s feeling rejected and lost because of that.”

She said Guy and Girl are each other’s muses in the creative process. “They accomplish more together than they can alone,” Ms. Eve said.

“Once” features the Oscar-winning song “Falling Slowly” from the 2007 film. It’s a duet between Guy and Girl.

“It’s really lovely and a really simple song,” Ms. Eve said. “The harmony has a really nice feel to it. It’s piano and guitar, then the other instruments come in.

“The chemistry (between Guy and Girl) can be witnessed in that song,” she said. Ms. Eve praised the actors

8 p.m. Out of the Box Theatre Company will perform “Once” a musical about Guy and Girl, who meet on the streets of Dublin at Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo in Santa Barbara.

Curtain rises at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through April 23. There is limited on-stage seating, for ages 12 and older, and that costs $40. Other tickets cost $35 for general admission and $20 for college students and seniors. To purchase, go to centerstagetheater.org. Those 17 and younger get free admission but must show their ID at will call. (A pre-show concert starts at 7:30 p.m., and the bar will be open during the pre-show.) For more details, see the story that will appear in Friday’s News-Press or visit www. outoftheboxtheatre.org.

APRIL 15

7:30 p.m. The Santa Barbara Symphony will perform “Beethoven Dreams” at The Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. The allBeethoven program will include a collaboration with the Ensemble Theatre Company’s artistic director, Jonathan Fox. Mr. Fox will direct the West Coast premiere of Ella MilchSheriff’s staged monodrama, “The Eternal Stranger,” based on one of Beethoven’s dreams. The concert will also feature the symphony playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 and Symphony No. 4. The concert’s piano soloist is Inna Faliks. Tickets cost $35 to $175. To purchase, go to granadasb.org.

8 p.m. Out of the Box Theatre Company will perform “Once” a musical about Guy and Girl, who meet on the streets of Dublin at Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo in Santa Barbara.

Curtain rises at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through April 23. There is limited on-stage seating, for ages 12 and older, and that costs $40. Other tickets cost $35 for general admission and $20 for college students and seniors. To purchase, go to centerstagetheater.org. Those 17 and younger get free admission but must show their ID at will call. (A pre-show concert starts at 7:30 p.m. April 15, and the bar will be open during the pre-show.) For more details, see the story that will appear in Friday’s News-Press or visit www.outoftheboxtheatre.org.