This past weekend, my husband and I were invited to come in to see the much talked about Broadway show Once.  Winner of 8 Tony Awards last year, this show has received a lot of buzz.  Knowing that, but not familiar with anything about the show, I wasn’t sure what to expect when seeing it.  I’ve been disappointed by big shows that everyone hyped up about in the past, so I wasn’t sure if that would be the case here.

We braved the very cold temperatures and wind and went into the city to enjoy a date night together sans kids. A cool thing about Once is that they have a pre-show that begins about 20 minutes before the actual show and patrons can come up on the stage to dance and meet the “band” and pick up drinks at the bar.  This was a very popular thing to do and really added to the audience experience.  Sometime into the pre-show, you found yourself actually enjoying the main event, without the slightest interruption.  I really liked the transition with the very gradual dimming of the lights.  It was a great way to make you part of the experience and pull you right in.

I immediately recognized that this was not going to be your typical Broadway musical, but rather an extraordinary one.  Set in Dublin, we find ourselves listening to a  heartbroken and uninspired young man.  Down on his luck, he runs into a young Czech woman who will turn his world around in a very short time.  This bittersweet and untraditional love story unfolds before your eyes with an amazingly talented cast and will touch your soul.

The show went by very quickly with it’s spirited and heartfelt music brought to life by it’s charming characters.  My husband and I enjoyed the music so much that during intermission, we even bought the cast recording on CD.  Let me tell you, with the hundreds of Broadway shows we have seen, that has never happened! I particularly loved the songs “Gold” and “Falling Slowly.”  They are  gorgeous songs. After seeing the show, there is no question as to why this musical received so many Tony Awards.  They were all well deserved.

We absolutely loved Once and would highly recommend seeing it to everyone as a great date night out.  The language is a bit rough around the edges in some parts, so I would recommend teens and older.  With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, this would make a fantastic night out!  This is a show that I would most definitely go back to see again!

You can see Once for yourself  playing now on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.

*we were invited to see the show to facilitate a review, all opinions are my own.