It’s the little show that beat out Disney and Gershwin at the 2012 Tony Awards, a musical based on a movie that somehow retained its quiet simplicity and entrancing romance. Once, with a score by its movie’s stars Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová and a book by revered Irish playwright Enda Walsh, is set to close on Broadway in January 2015.
The national tour, however, will play the Winspear Opera House from Dec. 17-28. Zander Meisner, an understudy with the company, took time from his life on the road for a phone call about his musical training, his history with Once, and how he ended up playing music in an Irish pub for a living.
You understudy four different roles and play even more instruments—what are they?
I go on for Andrej, Eamon, Švec, and the Emcee. In the show, I play the guitar, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, drums, electric bass, piano, and various percussion instruments (castanets, harmonica, melodica).
Did you start out as a musician?
I played piano for two years starting in the second grade, and by fourth grade I took a music test that guides you to instrument (I cheated on the test, looking over the shoulder of my friend Zack). That led me to play the clarinet for four years, and I expanded in junior year, playing sax for the jazz band. In seventh grade I joined a rock band, playing guitar. The very first show I was in was Gypsy, I was the clarinet kid in first scene. It really was music that got me into theater.
I went to school for voice and music theater (at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana Univeristy), graduated college and then worked in regional theater and did tours, all the while playing piano but on the side. I moved to New York City right after school, and in 2010 I started getting booked for big jobs, but I’d still play gigs in Irish pubs. This allowed me to get better at singing and playing guitar at the same time and helped me build a repertoire. With this show, I get to do everything that I ever learned ever.
How did you find your way to this tour?
I saw the show in its third Broadway incarnation, but it wasn’t until I started seeing casting notices that I realized it was something I could do. Getting cast was a two-year process. With the big tours and shows, sometimes you just walk in and get the role, but more often it’s like this, when new Broadway shows are looking to cast various companies.
I went to an open call, then was called back for another audition, and then nothing happened for three months. I repeated this process for two years. Then, when they were readying this tour, it picked up. I did the three steps separated by a couple of weeks, and then got cast four months after that. It was a tenuous but worthwhile process.
What’s it like to understudy so many roles?
It’s good! It’s great because I felt excited when I recognized I could do this, and only got better at all these instruments throughout the rehearsal process. I saw some New York City friends a few weeks ago for a wedding and was like, “I want you to see me play the mandolin!” I’m getting pretty good at it. Whenever this tour is over I will have acquired some pretty awesome skills that perhaps I wouldn’t have received doing any other show.
Do you ever play instruments just for fun anymore?
Oh yeah! In certain towns we have the opportunity to find someone with a venue and then get to perform. Mostly it’s a charitable thing now, doing benefits with the company, things like “Carols for a Cure.” A lot of people have similar experiences to me playing music gigs on the side, so we’re excited to get to do that again when we can.
What’s your favorite moment in the show?
The characters in this show guide Guy and Girl on their journey as they create music and discover their relationship. I understudy two Czech and Irish guys: The Czech guys are the family of Girl, who’s a Czech immigrant. Andrej has a lot to prove, he’s excited and passionate about his job—a job which might seem mundane to most people—and he goes through some wavy emotional roller coasters. I love that role because we’ve all gone through something like that; he’s my favorite in terms of connecting with a character. In terms of fun, Švec is the brother character, comic relief. His stakes aren’t quite as high, and he plays the drum set. The most fulfilling is Andrej the most fun is Švec.
What’s your history with Once?
During the first tour I was ever on, which was a smaller-scale, bus-and-truck tour, the Once movie was being passed around the bus. I remember seeing it and being very affected by how simple and organic it was. I didn’t put the pieces together until I saw the show. Some people see a show and think “I’m going to be in that one day!” I saw Once and though “this is really good,” but I have realistic expectations. You can’t be in every show. But as I learned the material, I realized it was something I could do pretty darn well.
Tell me more about this onstage pub.
When you see the show you’ll be blown away by how simple and human the whole thing is, from the set to the costumes to the music. You’ll see that when you walk into the Winspear, it’s just real life. The show was created in a pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and you can feel that original idea created by John Tiffany to guide you along with his wonderful story. You can actually walk onstage before the show begins as actors play music around you. Make sure you get there a half hour before so you can be onstage.
What are some of your dream roles?
I’m living a dream of mine currently. It’s awesome the way the world works sometimes. There are certain roles I’ve always wanted to do: Tommy DeVito in Jersey Boys, Bobby Strong from Urinetown. Roles I played as a kid that would be fun to revisit now. None of them are as cool as what I’m currently doing though. Having been raised in music, [I’m] getting to do this every day in a new genre of theater that was just emerging as I was graduating (with actors playing instruments, like in Sweeney Todd). I didn’t know this would be a dream show growing up because this type of show didn’t exist.
Once plays at the Winspear Opera House starting Dec. 17 and runs through Dec. 28.