Musical 'Once' still sweet second time around

Can music break all bonds on the path to love? Or is it better suited as a universal salve to help ease the pain of broken hearts?

Local audiences are lucky to ponder these questions again now that the eight-time Tony Award-winning musical "Once" has returned to Chicago for a brief stint at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.

Those who missed "Once" during its October 2013 run at the Oriental Theatre will be pleased to know that the original touring cast is largely intact and still up to snuff. And for those who want to revisit the show, the ensemble's few key replacements are equally strong, too (particularly Arlington Heights native and Tony Award-winner Scott Waara as "Da," who shows off a lovely tenor voice singing a rueful Irish ballad of lost love to conclude the preshow onstage jam).

"Once" focuses on the disillusioned singer-songwriter Guy (understudies Alex Nee and Ryan Link share the role in Chicago), whose street busking in Dublin bewitches the insistent Czech pianist known only as "Girl" (an amusingly brusque Dani de Wall). Girl meets Guy when he's at a low ebb following a tough breakup, and Girl does all she can to encourage him to get his songs out to a wider audience.

A creative outpouring develops as Girl pulls Guy into her orbit of eccentrics including musically adept friends and family in her Czech immigrant community and locals like the overprotective music store owner Billy (a bustlingly funny Evan Harrington) and the skeptical bank manager (an amusing Benjamin Magnuson).

Restrained romantic sparks fly in Enda Walsh's delicately refined "will-they-or-won't-they" script as Guy and Girl experience a few hiccups in their goal to record his songs in a professional recording studio. All the while, the whole ensemble amazes musically - not just as singers, but also playing multiple instruments to deliver the plaintive and rousing song score by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová (the same duo behind the 2006 Academy Award-winning Irish film that inspired the stage show).

Songs in "Once" don't advance the plot as in traditional musicals. Rather, they're more emotional meditations relating to the singing characters' state of mind. For that reason, the songs would have had a bigger emotional impact if "Once" played a cozier space like the Bank of America Theatre.

But for a show that has been out on the road for nearly two years, "Once" has retained its original appeal and high performance quality. Thus, it's easy to fall in love with "Once" a second time around.