Once - January 2015

It has been nearly a year since I went to see Once for the first time, so it seemed like it was about time to go back and see it, for the third time. I brought the tickets for my friend, Kirsty's birthday as it is her favourite musical currently playing on the West End. Even better, I got them for £20 each in the Get Into London Theatre offer! To top that off, on our arrival at the theatre, we were upgraded to the front row of the Grand Circle, which are usually sold for £55 each!

Before the performance begins, the stage is open to the audience to get drinks from the onstage bar and to be treated from a performance from the supporting cast. I have never stayed onstage for the performance before, so it was great to be able to see it up close. The one thing I love about it, is for me, it is the supporting cast's chance to have their moment to shine before the leads come on. The current cast really make the most of this chance and are extremely talented!

The current leads, and who will be the leads when the show closes in March, are Ronan Keating (of Boyzone) and Jill Winternitz (Baby in the West End cast of Dirty Dancing). I have had my reservations about Ronan taking on the lead as I was not sure he would be able to produce a great performance. And as for Jill, I had never heard her sing before as in her previous show, the singing was provided by other members of the cast. I got a sneak preview through a performance on Children in Need in November and I was quite impressed by both, even though Ronan did not perform the high notes in Falling Slowly. But it was enough to convince me to give him a shot!


Well, I will admit now, I , the Take That fan and Boyzone hater, do admit that Ronan Keating produced a fantastic performance. Yes, he could not hit those high notes, but to be honest it did not really matter, because he gave a beautiful vocal performance and his voice went well with Jill's. He made the role his own, without losing the essence of the character or the music and that is what matters! I also applaud for doing so well in learning the guitar as quickly as he did.

Jill really impressed me as well. She has stunning voice, which I was so pleased to be able to finally hear. She was funny as hell when she needed to be and she plays the piano beautifully. I cannot wait to see what she does next after Once!

One other member of the cast deserves a mention, and that is Brandon Ellis. He has taken over the role of the bank manager. He has come straight from the Broadway production, which closed at the beginning of the month, and was an original Broadway cast member and now he gets to close out the London show! He has joined the show outside of the normal cast change and has done an tremendous job of fitting in.

If you get the chance to do so, go and see this amazing show before it closes on March 21st!