Once at NextStop Theatre Company
Can a chance encounter change your life forever? That question sits at the heart of Once, the Tony Award-winning musical now playing at NextStop Theatre Company in Herndon through June 21, 2026.
Based on the beloved 2007 Irish film, with a book by Enda Walsh and music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, Once tells the story of a heartbroken Dublin street musician known simply as Guy and the forthright Czech immigrant known only as Girl who stumbles into his life at exactly the right moment. He's ready to give up on music entirely; she's not about to let him. Over the course of one whirlwind week, she pulls him out of his artistic despair, assembles an unlikely band of friends and strangers, and pushes him to record the demo that could change everything. What begins as an unexpected friendship and musical collaboration quickly deepens into something more complicated and more moving, a will-they-or-won't-they story that understands life doesn't always follow the script of boy meets girl.
The score remains the show's calling card. Built largely on intimate, singer-songwriter ballads, it includes the Oscar-winning "Falling Slowly," which recurs as a musical motif throughout the evening, alongside livelier numbers like the Czech folk sing-along "Ej Pada Pada Rosicka" and the comic "Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy." Once holds the rare distinction of being the only show whose music has earned an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Olivier Award, and a Tony Award.
Carter Crosby stars as Guy and Emily Erickson as Girl, and both bring serious instrumental chops to the stage, with Crosby on guitar and Erickson on piano. As is tradition with this show, the entire company performs as actor-musicians, singing, acting, and playing their own instruments throughout. Under the direction of Heather Lanza, the ensemble brings warmth and personality to a gallery of memorable supporting characters, from Girl's soap-opera-obsessed Czech roommates to a music shop owner, a creatively stifled bank manager, Girl's wise mother, and Guy's quietly supportive Da. The production even begins before it officially begins, with live musicians performing in the onstage pub as the audience files in, a clever touch that sets the convivial Dublin atmosphere from the first moment.
That pub, designed by August Henney, anchors a production rich in atmosphere. Hailey LaRoe's lighting and projections carry the audience from Grafton Street to a recording studio to the Irish coastline, while Imari Pyles' costumes and Paige Rammelkamp's music direction round out a staging that feels both intimate and full of life. The result is a small story that adds up to something genuinely grand, a reminder that a single fleeting week, the right song, or the right listener can reignite passion and purpose when we least expect it.
Once runs through June 21, 2026, at NextStop Theatre Company, 269 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon, VA. The show runs two hours and 30 minutes with one intermission.