Hit new musical Once will continue to tell its touching tuneful tale at the Phoenix theatre well into next year after announcing that it has extended its booking period to 31 May 2014.
The eight-time Tony Award-winning musical, which is based on the Oscar-winning film, charts the story of an Irish busker and young Czech mother who meet through a shared love of music before falling into a tender, longing romance that neither of them could have expected.
Starring singer songwriter Declan Bennett and Croatian actress Zrinka Cvitešić, Once opened to critical acclaim in the West End in April when Official London Theatre’s Charlotte Marshall described the production as “a bittersweet show of beautifully simple proportions”.
Featuring a book by acclaimed Irish playwright Enda Walsh with music and lyrics by stars of the original film, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, the musical features a score including Leave, The North Strand, When Your Mind’s Made Up and the Oscar-winning Falling Slowly.
Directed by John Tiffany, the cast also includes Valda Aviks, Ryan Fletcher, Aidan Kelly, Gareth O’Connor, Michael O’Connor, Miria Parvin, Jos Slovick, Flora Spencer-Longhurst, Jez Unwin and Gabriel Vick.
The musical’s extension means that 200,000 more tickets are now available for the production.