Over a morning Guinness at Melbourne’s downtown Irish Times pub, a company of incredibly talented performers was announced for the multi-award-winning musical ONCE opening on October 4 at the Princess Theatre.
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They are Anton Berezin, Andrew Broadbent, Ben Brown, Gerard Carroll, Colin Dean, Brent Hill, Stefanie Jones, Keegan Joyce, Amy Lehpamer, Lachlan Neate, Jane Patterson, Greg Stone, Susan-ann Walker and Paul Watson. Heading up the ensemble in the key roles of Guy and Girl are Tom Parsons and Madeleine Jones.
Producer John Frost said, “The creative team has put together a fantastic ensemble of performers who are the ultimate quadruple threats, not only do they sing, dance and act their hearts out but they are also fabulous musicians. Talk about impressive.”
Tony Award winning director John Tiffany said. “I was blown away by the talent of the actors we met for the Australian production of ONCE and Tom and Madeleine as Guy and Girl are going to be magical together. I cannot wait to start rehearsals and experience this amazing company learning and playing these beautiful songs together and then sharing them and this story with a new audience.”
Watch an opening Video of the opening night in London.
Tiffany, together with Musical Supervisor Martin Lowe, will begin rehearsals in Melbourne on August 18 ahead of opening night on October 4.A sell-out since making its world premier on Broadway in January 2012, ONCE won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Direction. It was also named Best Musical by the Drama Desk Awards and the New York Drama Critics Circle and won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album. It opened in London’s West End last year where it won two Olivier awards including Outstanding Achievement in Music.
Based on the Irish film which became a surprise international hit in 2006, and won an Oscar for Best Song (“Falling Slowly”), ONCE follows the tender romance of a struggling Irish busker and a piano-playing Czech immigrant.
This authentic, emotionally honest musical features the brilliant collection of songs about longing and heartbreak from the original film by Glen Hansard (The Frames) and Marketa Irglova. It has been adapted for the stage by the celebrated Irish playwright and screenwriter, Edna Walsh and the award winning UK theatre director John Tiffany.
An achingly beautiful, joyously uplifting show that strikes a chord in audiences and speaks to the power of music to connect us all. A show that only comes around ONCE.
Gerard Carroll will play the part of EAMON in this award winning musical.
Gerard Carroll a NIDA graduate commenced his love of theatre in Grenfell firstly at Grenfell Pre-school, St Joseph’s Primary School and The Henry Lawson High School and was a member of the Grenfell Dramatic Society where he performed in quite a number of plays and musicals.
Gerard’s theatre credits include the world premier of Dead man Brake by Alana Valentine at Merrigong Theatre Co, Buddy, Deborah Conway’s Patsy The Musical, the Australian Shakespeare Company’s Wind in the Willows, and Red Star and Bad Poetry for the NIDA Company. His television credits include Camp with Rachel Griffiths, Underbelly Badness, Rake, The Kangaroo Gang, Home and Away, Backberner and Australians at War. For ABC National Gerard created various voices for The Woman Who Knitted Herself A Child, Dark Paradise, The Jetty and the audio-novel Cooking With Fernet Branca.