Once

The Gateway Theatre
25 Jackson St San Francisco

Is there a more drop-dead romantic song than Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova's "Falling Slowly?" You might say yes, but then you might have to come to blows to defend that position against the song's legion of devotees. It did, after all, inspire an Oscar-winning movie (also starring the real-life musical duo) and a multiple-Tony-winning Broadway musical and win a Grammy Award. Once the musical is a poignant ode to love, longing and the power of art, and now it makes its Bay Area regional premiere at The Gateway Theatre courtesy of 42nd Street Moon. A talented cast of actor-musicians play their own instruments as they bring to life Hansard and Irglova's bittersweet songs, and the beautiful story they inspired.