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Rodrigo Escalante, the stage designer for “Once,” scattered instruments around the set as a reminder of the story’s musical theme. The cast’s 13 actors switch between several instruments throughout the show.

“There’s something very beautiful about this show that we don’t get to see often,” Escalante said. “There are actors, who are also musicians, that are playing the instruments — usually those roles are divided in musical theater.”

From May 1 to May 19, Syracuse Stage is performing “Once,” a musical that tells the unconventional love story of “Guy,” played by Joe Boover, and “Girl,” played by Ana Marcu. When his ex-girlfriend moves away and meets someone else, Guy decides to abandon music and love, but Girl, a spunky Czech woman, encourages him to keep singing. Artistic Director Bob Hupp said the group had been talking about performing the musical for four years, and this year, they finally made it happen.

Hupp calls the musical a “true love story.” He said it was important for him to show unusual but real love stories on stage so that audiences could find hope along with the characters. Guy and Girl tumultuously find real love in each other, but in the end, Girl tells Guy to go back to his ex-girlfriend.

“It’s a different kind of love. What really makes it impactful is it’s a step above the traditional kind of love story,” Hupp said about Guy and Girl’s relationship in the musical. “You hope that you can have that kind of relationship with someone in your life.”

The musical is based on the motion picture written and directed by John Carney. The original story is set in an Irish pub, but Syracuse Stage’s story takes place in a music shop.

Escalante said his ultimate goal as a scenic designer is to maximize space. For this show, he focused on incorporating places for the actors to “inhabit” around the stage. In some scenes, the actors sat around the perimeter of the stage, on barstools and sofas, and played instruments while Guy and Girl sang duets around a piano in the center of the music shop.

All of the actors remain on stage throughout the entire musical. The Stage used a “unit set” for the musical, where everything for the show stays on the stage, and the furniture moves around the set to convey different settings. Escalante said he wanted to make sure every audience member had a good viewing experience.

“Depending on where you’re sitting, you see a different picture. Every seat is different,” Escalante said. “It’s not like when you go to the movie theater and everything has been framed with a camera and everyone sees the same thing.”

Melissa Crespo, the show’s director, said some of the actors in the show play up to six instruments throughout the performance. Hupp said Syracuse Stage tries to hire actors who are local or from New York, and it added an extra challenge to find actors who were also proficient instrumentalists.

“I’m just excited about the music. The music is beautiful,” Crespo said. “The music is so iconic — it’s been around for 15 years. The live music is unlike anything, and these actors are pretty phenomenal.”

Hupp said the biggest source of his pride was teamwork. Although he called Crespo the leader of the group, he also commended the complexity of the performers’ and designers’ work. He said the behind-the-scenes production has been “wonderful” and “collaborative.”

Syracuse Stage’s production of “Once” showcases the cast and crew’s multifaceted skill sets, Crespo said. Although some of the actors had performed the show before, Escalante said this version of the show is unique.

“The show highlights the fact that we can all come from different places and especially if we’re all feeling down… the music brings everyone together and it heals them,” Crespo said. “That’s a great reminder to audiences that there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, there’s hope. And it’s just gonna leave you feeling really good.”

Published on May 1, 2024 at 9:05 pm