Once

Theatrikos—Doris Harper-White Playhouse, Flagstaff, AZ, August 14, 2026

Reviewed by Lynn Timmons Edwards

Venues in Northern Arizona would not normally be covered except that I am lucky enough to live here all summer, and other than the Beaver Street Cabarets with which I am involved, Theatrikos produces the only other music theater this time of year. Once, with music by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irgolova and book and lyrics by Enda Walsh. It is the third production that I have covered and the first with a large cast of fourteen, twelve of whom double as singers/actors and musicians. Producing the show here was a dream of director Jan Rominger, who has directed many fine music theater productions when Theatrikos operated as a strict community theater. Her production of Avenue Q was one of the best shows I had ever seen in Flagstaff. Theatrikos’ business model this year has been to pay the artists and the creative staff, substantially increasing their production costs. I hope that the four-week run of this show fills the house so that they can recoup some of the expenses.

The cast stars Clay Allred as Guy and Caitlin Burd as Girl in what is supposed to be an emotionally intense but complicated love story between a boy from Dublin and a young mother from Czechoslovakia brought together by a broken Hoover vacuum cleaner and a passion for music. Allred had the handsome looks and guitar skills for the part but possessed only a limited singing range. When he was in his comfort zone on songs such as the Act I closer “Gold” he held his own. But when the score required high notes, he wavered on the pitch, and the lyrics were lost. Unfortunately, the opening number “Leave,” where Girl is supposedly captivated by his music, was one of those songs. In Act II, he seemed more comfortable in his character.

The play only has two scenes that have any emotional depth. The first comes early in Act II when Boy and Girl get away to gaze at the ocean and talk about life and love. The second is later in the act when it becomes apparent that there is nowhere for their relationship to go, and we see their pain knowing they can never be together because she is married and her husband is returning to Dublin to try to work things out. The acting and direction shined. However, I never felt any chemistry between the characters and was happy for Boy at the end when he headed off to New York with his CD of recordings (thanks only to Girl’s persistence) with the hope of reuniting with his former girlfriend for whom many of his songs were written. He uses some of the money his father gave him for his new life to buy the piano for Girl, which “ties up the plot.”

Burd is a professional singer/actress who through life circumstances landed in Flagstaff, Arizona. She is a co-founder of Stargazer Collaborative Theatre, and I know her to be an attractive and talented singer/actor. A choice was made for her to play her part with hair and costume so that she appeared plain and angry most of the time. She got a laugh with the line “I’m always serious, I’m Czech,” but there was never a balance of light and lilt to make her believably attractive to Boy. Burd has a strong music -theater voice and was moving on her solo “The Hill” in Act II.  Apparently, she had studied piano so that she could play the role and she succeeded on all technical levels. I just wish she had been more likable.

The Ensemble had been in rehearsal for weeks, and there were some good supporting performances. The challenge in a market like Flagstaff is that strong musicians are not trained actors and the best actors were not strong musicians. That said, they pulled it all together, and the audience on opening night was very supportive. As a fan of older actors, I must acknowledge the performance of Rod Robinson as The Banker. His character was charming, believably Irish, and he was a fine violinist. Joseph Maniglia as Da had only two scenes, and, as the Theatrikos Education Director, generally only appears on stage as Mr. Mushnik in Little Shop of Horrors. He brought that same ethnic charisma to a Dublin vacuum-cleaner repair shop as the caring father of Boy, encouraging him to follow his musical dreams.

Music director Stephanie Galloway is one of the best accompanists I have ever sung with and is a sought-after musician and director. It was fun to see her in the speaking role of Baruska, Girl’s mother. She’s a local teacher, and her speech was clear and articulate. I just wish that we had seen a romance blossom between Baruksa and Da. He refers to it at the end, but we do not see it transpire during the show. A.J. Maniglia is a talented singer and plays a little guitar; he had a few nice vocal solo moments. He also had a melodramatic scene where he exploded onto the stage floor crying, wearing a costume that looked like Boy and later exited with a hug. I don’t know what it meant, but he gave it one hundred per cent. Hannah Johnson works primarily with Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival but made her Theatrikos debut in this professional endeavor as Reza. She is a strong singer/actor who played enough ukelele to be cast. She was fun, especially in the scene where Girl insists she seduce Billy (played well by Dermot Louchart) because he has quit the band and they need him back because he has the only drum set in town. Her husband, Jacob, appeared as Eamon and holds a PhD in guitar performance. Galloway credits him with helping the show achieve a level of musical expertise. Stephen Root played Svec; he’s an enthusiastic drummer and veteran of twenty Theatrikos productions. Quinn Halgrimson as the Ex-Girlfriend had a small but powerful role. Guitarist Lily Wolf and violin expert Violet Orchard-Strohmeyer rounded out the cast.

I’m not a fan of the show’s score or of its book. There are too many scenes that go nowhere. Most of the songs have one idea with no beginning, middle, and end that forwards the story. The Broadway production garnered eight Tony Awards including Best Musical. Some described it as “the new Broadway musical” so potato, pataato. I understand that many find the show to be a sensitive work of art and love the music, so I encourage anyone in Northern Arizona between now and September 6 to see the show for yourself.