NYT-1201: STATE OF THE ART A Thermostat That's Clever, Not ...

With few original musicals opening on Broadway thi
s season, the producers are considering a transfer
in the spring. Some Broadway executives are alrea
dy betting on “Once” as a contender for the Tony A
ward for best musical, seeing it as a prestige pro
ject. Ms. Milioti said she was glad that the two s
tars of the movie felt invested in the stage versi
on, even in her acting choices, “because there wou
ld have been a cold void in the project otherwise.
” She added, “We’re here because they made this be
autiful music.”
Also at the interview were Ms. Irglova and the act
or Steve Kazee, who plays Mr. Hansard’s role onsta
ge. It quickly became hard not to view the foursom
e in two distinct pairs.
On one side of the table were the Guy and the Girl
with European accents, who memorably infused thei
r vaguely written movie characters with their own
personalities. These were the Guy and Girl who spo
ke so winningly in accepting their Academy Award —
they wrote the songs for the movie that form the
score for the musical — and they were the Guy and
Girl whose breakup was painfully rendered in a fol
low-up to “Once,” the 2011 documentary “The Swell
Season.”
On the other side were the Guy and the Girl who we
re still working with a dialect coach. If their lo
oks were camera ready, this Guy and Girl also spok
e nervously about balancing their desire to take o
wnership of the characters with an awareness that
admirers of the film might buy tickets to the musi
cal expecting to see the other Guy and Girl they r
emembered.
Mr. Kazee and Ms. Milioti inevitably lack the sort
of chemistry born out of actual love, but they ha
ve worked on “Once” long enough that they evince a
n openness and respect toward each other. Mr. Kaze