ONCE Comes to Hackmatack Playhouse

Directed by Tom Alsip, with music direction by Billie Butler, Hackmatack’s Once will run Thursdays through Saturdays from September 5 to 20. Performances are at 2pm and 7:30 PM in the historic Hackmatack barn theater, located on a working bison farm in Berwick, Maine.

When the curtain rises at Hackmatack Playhouse on September 5 for the opening of Once, the stage will be filled not only with actors, but with a living, breathing orchestra. That’s because in Once, every actor is also a musician. The award-winning musical, celebrated for its soulful Irish-inspired score and intimate storytelling, is brought to life this fall by a cast whose real-life artistry is as musically compelling as the characters they portray.

“Once is about love, music, and connection,” says Executive Producer Aram Guptill. “It’s a story, set in Ireland, that has a rugged authenticity that feels like it could happen anywhere. Our cast embodies that rich honesty through their storytelling and their music.”

Once follows Guy, (played by JD Raines)  a disillusioned Dublin street musician on the verge of giving up his dreams, and Girl, (played by Lauren Quigley) a spirited Czech immigrant who refuses to let him quit. When she convinces him to record his songs, they gather a motley group of friends and strangers to form a band, rehearsing in a local music shop and raising the money to record an album. Their partnership deepens into an unspoken love, but life circumstances begin to pull them in different directions.

The Hackmatack production brings together a company of actor-musicians from across New England and beyond, many with deep ties to both the stage and the music scene. JD Raines (Guy), an actor-musician raised in Maine, is a sought-after vocalist, guitarist, and drummer who holds a BA in Jazz and Contemporary Music from the University of Maine. Lauren Quigley (Girl), an NYC-based actress, singer, and pianist, earned her BFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and is passionate about telling women-led stories through her art.