So on a Friday afternoon just when I was enjoying my lunch break at work. As per usual, I would check my emails, notifications, messages etc and I came across an email from the peepz at Nuffnang (let me take this opportunity to say I love you and thank youuuuu again for this) with eye bulging email subject "Ticket Offer". When I read the whole subject and content, I had to rub my eyes for a bit and re-read the email 10 times before I could believe it. I was offered an opportunity to see one of the best musicals in the entire world! Best of all, it felt like it was meant to be because I watched the movie just last year so I definitely knew by heart of the storyline. A friend of mine lend me the DVD last year when she was moving to another share house. She had to borrow some space in my room to store her belonging while she went back to her hometown. I was rummaging through her stuff with permission because she told me I could borrow some DVDs to watch in my spare time and she especially told me about this particular DVD called "Once". From the look of it, it doesn't look like anything special but she kept reminding me to watch it. The cover of the DVD showcases how many awards this movie won internationally including best original song that won Oscar in 2007. It says that the soundtrack in the movie became really famous and the movie was only funded with approximately €112,000. So out of curiosity, I watched the movie and indeed, I love the movie so much and I was so absorb into the storyline and even put myself in their shoes. I cried towards the end of the movie, that was how much emotionally involved I was with the story delivered by each of the main character.
As an introduction (well I know I know.. My introduction is way too long before I get to the bottom of it. I don't care. I'm so passionate about this particular post and if you can't be bothered reading line by line just skim through it). So where am I up to?? Ah introduction... So there are lots of things people in general don't know about me, including my close friends. One of them is I enjoy arts in a form of performance. I love orchestra, musical, ballet, anything that has to do with dancing and singing. Those were my childhood dreams. To be a dancer, singer, painter, pianist anything that has to do with arts. I didn't dwelve enough into it but I did learn a little bit of oil painting, black and white sketching, I can sing a little bit and I did perform on stage, danced in weddings etc. My parents never really wanted me to pursue arts but they did allow me to keep them as hobbies. I learned how to play piano a couple of months too then I stopped. They were my dreams and I appreciated those professionals who pursue these as their career and their performances and creations touch me to the deepest of my heart. I have tears running down my cheeks when I watch good performances because the artists convey their emotions through their performances and when it is genuine, audience can truly engage and feel the emotion shared by the artists. It is simply beautiful.
I've always wanted to watch a musical. I've been in Melbourne for 6 years now and before last week, I had never been to a musical in my entire life. Reason?
1. It's hard to find someone who's willing to go with you because a lot of people think that going to a musical is such a pretentious thing to do and only pretentious people who pretend to be of "higher rank" in society would go to a musical.
2. Even if you find someone who is not pretentious who genuinely enjoys a musical, it is quite costly to see one. Usually about $100 ++ which is completely worth it but at the same time, it is not a priority if you're not financially secure and are on a budget. Especially if you have a big family to
feed (not that I have anyone to feed yet but myself).
HOWEVER, after last week, I don't care I'm going to see a musical whenever I think there is a one worth seeing even if I have to go by myself because it is darn worth it. Considering how much dedication those artists pour in delivering the best performance ever. You gotta give some credits for them. If they don't have fans to support them, who else will??
So, back to last week. I was invited to see Once the Musical and yes, I was talking about the adaptation from the Irish movie Once directed by John Carney which was released in 2006. They actually create a musical out of it from producers John Frost, Barbara Broccoli & John N. Hart Jr. When I heard it from Nuffnang that the musical I was invited to see was Once the Musical, I almost fainted in disbelief. I'm exaggerating a little bit but you know what I'm trying to describe. It's like a small kid in a huge fancy toy shop. The rest of my day at work went so quickly because all I thought about was the possibility of watching Once the Musical live performed on stage in one of those fancy theatres with multilevel seatings and huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling just like in 19th century!
I quickly broke the news to La BF about going to the play. La BF is not a musical person, he doesn't watch it but he was open to the idea and he had never been to one before too, so he was happy for me. More like I forced him to be happy for me. I thought for the entire week of what dress to wear, what shoes, what kind of hair I should do etc which was the least important thing to think about compared to the play that I had been dying to see.
I think the musical is only showing until November but to be exact, check out ticketmaster or Melbourne Theatre Company website (MTC).
THE DAY couldn't arrive any quicker. I decided to wear something simple yet elegant for the night. I still have so many new dresses I haven't worn out, so perfect excuse and occasion to finally showcase them!
The dress was bought by La BF from Malaysia and the heels are from Joanne Mercer. Bag is a Christmas present from my colleague.
Selfie is a must! I'm seriously contemplating to get one of those selfie sticks but it just makes you look extremely silly!
Went to collect my envelope with tickets in it from the box office counter at Princes Theatre.
*Drum Rolls*
*Red carpet rolls*
I love musical theatres because they always have this glamorous classy feel to them where people dress up in their best dresses and suits and polished dress shoes with neatly folded handkerchief tucked in their front suit pocket. Suits just make men look so handsome regardless of age and gowns make the ladies look poise and elegant. The entire theme just matches the glamorous lights lit on the entire building of a theatre. Ok, enough credit on the theatre itself. Let's move on.
The printed glossy envelope with my precious tickets in it.
Ta - dah !!!
You can also purchase some merchandise from the musical such as t-shirts, CDs, booklets etc. Some staff member walk around with CDs and booklets held up in the air for sale. I believe the CD contains the original soundtracks from the musical. I already have those songs in my iTunes from the movie I watched last year so it was a bit of a bummer. Otherwise I would've bought it as a memorabilia.
While waiting for La BF to arrive, I helped myself with a bit of bubble. I don't drink and I did mention this in my posts but every now and then I'd like a sip or two and literally just a sip or 2 and I'd leave the rest on the bench. I'd like to be a bit pretentious sometimes walking around with a glass of champagne.
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Minus the lipstick mark. That's not so classy.
There were I believe, lots of famous and influential local public figures who attended this musical that night because there was a red carpet rolled out with securities watching over the crowd gathered outside the theatre and there were professional photographer with cameraman capturing those Hollywood smiles displayed by public figures whom I have no idea until now who they were. I tried to entertain myself while waiting for La BF to arrive by watching who is who and had a little chat here and there with random people and my conversation always started off with "Can you please take a photo of me (because my partner is not here yet)". I think I could spot some bloggers too because they looked overwhelmed by the experience just like me but it was too awkward to approach them in case it turns out to be they're not a blogger and turn to me with a big frown and when I awkwardly excuse myself I can hear a whisper "What the heck? Who's she?" Ok, none of that happened by the way. La BF arrived in time and we made our way to door 4 which was located on the third floor.
Look at how busy the theatre is! It was full house the night I attended the play.
Admiring the architecture of the building while I was climbing up the stairs and please do not do this at home. For all you know, I could've fallen flat on my face.
For iPhone5 quality, my photos are not bad ok. Well, this one is kind of bad. Bad angle I would say completely doesn't do the beauty of the interior any justice.
I'm glad our seats were located just on the second row from the front. So even though it was located on the third floor, the seating position was still perfect because we could see the stage crystal clear and I felt really close to the stage. Plus no one was sitting in front of us. I was impressed and couldn't wait for the performance to start. There was some entertainment before the performance started but I missed it because I went in pretty much just right before the musical started. No camera is allowed inside the auditorium and I respected that so I didn't sneakily take any photo inside. I was given some photos that I am allowed to post here in my blog but I will say now that the photos do not belong to me and I did get permission to reuse these photos.
I'm not going to reveal the entire storyline because I don't do spoilers and that's when you have to see it yourself to be able to feel what I felt. However, to those of you who have seen the movie, the musical adaptation is extremely close to the movie itself in terms of the storyline, most of the scripts and of course the soundtracks are the same BUT I love the extra humour twist they put in the show. The movie itself already has a really good sense of humour but the musical is even funnier. There is some sarcasm humour in the play and there is also some literal humour in it. The entire auditorium was filled with laughter throughout the play. Oh and of course, there are Irish jokes in it it too. You know what I love about a musical the most? There is no "cut cue", there is no "replay". What you see is the spontaneity and the true skill of an artist. No stunt nothing. What you see is originality unlike when you see a movie in the cinema. Everything is pre-recorded. These artists perform live and if they screw up, they're done or they have to improvise on the spot. Everything on stage is almost like an impromptu experience except they're not impromptu, they did rehearse and rehearse and rehearse and when they go on stage, that's it! You can't screw up in front of thousands of audience. For a new play that won 8 Tony Awards, these artists have truly made it. The emotions each character displays through their scripts and songs were truly convincing. I felt happy when the characters were happy and I felt sad when the characters were sad. It's not like in a movie when I can sometimes zone out or look in my bag to find something. During the entire play, I did not take my eyes off the stage except when there was an intermittent break after an hour or so. At times, it literally felt like my heart stopped beating for a second.
My favourite soundtracks in this play is definitely "Falling Slowly" and "If You Want Me". When Tom Parsons and Madeleine Jones sang these songs, I had tears in my eyes and I got goosebumps!!
It felt different seeing it live on stage. I felt their pain and joy.
I believe this photo is from when they sang "Falling Slowly"
Both Tom Parsons and Madeleine Jones are extremely fantastic as "guy" and "girl" in the musical. The chemistry between them was so real and convincing that I was heartbroken and happy throughout the musical. He is extremely good in putting on his Irish accent despite being British and Madeleine Jones is from Sydney (You should be proud Sydney!!!). She is extremely brilliant with her Czech accent.
Needless to say, I love both of them so much!!
These characters both were stuck in their own world, lost and almost gave up on themselves. They met by fate and gave strength to each other and at the same time caused each other pain. What happened next, you'll have to see it yourself.
Casts: Gerard Carroll, Susan-ann Walker, Ben Brown, Anton Berezin, Keegan Joyce, Colin Dean, Lachlan Neate, Jane Patterson, Amy Lehpamer, Andrew Broadbent, Brent Hill, Greg Stone, Stefanie Jones and Paul Watson.
They were all amazing!!
Colin Dean as Billy is also one of my favourite characters in the musical. He was so funny and his character is meant to be gentle and a loving caring one in the inside but he is portrayed as this short-tempered over protective character on the outside. I love each character because they have such strong personalities and each to its own. They surely clash with each other when they interact but when they're all put together as a band, they play in a perfect harmony. The hilarious bank manager played by Anton Berezin was also amazingly funny and Keegan Joyce who plays Andre was such a melancholic character. If I have to keep going with each character's evaluation, I need to write another blog post for that. A secret gem behind this beautiful musical team is this tiny little girl who plays Ivanka. She is just the cutest little thing and she definitely plays her part well. She'll grow up and hopefully gets a leading role in a musical too!
Anyhow, my point is, you gotta book a ticket with ticketmaster to see Once the Musical before they wrap up in November because this is the kind of musical that will shake your heart, make you stronger and look at life differently. Their music and love story will truly touch your heart and their humour will see you laugh until you gag.
P.S: The musical received a standing ovation from the audience after it ends and until now, whilst I'm typing my experience out, I still can imagine being brought back to my perfect seat in the auditorium placing my palm in my chest and sigh because of how beautiful the story is and I usually forget a lot of movies plot but this one, I will never forget because how many times do you find the right person in your lifetime? The answer is "Once".....
If you do decide to go and see, I hope you will enjoy and share with me what you think of it.
