![\"Emma](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sut-l-stage-beginagain2.jpg\")
Emma Busse as Gretta, center, in a scene from The Old Globe\u2019s world premiere musical \u201cBegin Again.\u201d (Jeff Lorch)<\/p>\nBack in 2012, Irish filmmaker and composer John Carney turned his music-filled 2007 film \u201cOnce\u201d into an\u00a0 Broadway musical. Now, Carney\u2019s music-filled 2013 film \u201cBegin Again\u201d has become a Broadway-bound stage musical that opened Thursday in its world premiere at The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce\u201d was a great film and it became a great musical. By comparison, \u201cBegin Again\u201d was a not-so-great film. But in the hands of new bookwriters, songwriters, a terrific design team, an imaginative director and a very talented leading lady, \u201cBegin Again\u201d the musical is a major improvement on its source material.<\/p>\n
The musical\u2019s book by Jenna Clark Embrey and Molly Beach Murphy fixes the film\u2019s flaws. And the score by\u00a0 Pat Monahan and the band Train is filled with catchy, plot-advancing earworm songs that the movie didn\u2019t have. And the show\u2019s plucky star Emma Busse is a charismatic, strong-willed power singer who steals the show.<\/p>\n
Emma Busse as Gretta, center, in a scene from The Old Globe\u2019s world premiere musical \u201cBegin Again.\u201d (Jeff Lorch)<\/p>\n
Set in present-day New York City, \u201cBegin Again\u201d is the story of two people in need of a second chance.<\/p>\n
Gretta is a heartbroken young singer-songwriter fresh off the train from Pennsylvania. Dan is a hard-drinking, middle-aged, out-of-work music talent scout in need of inspiration. Together, the begin their lives again by collaborating on an album of her songs that they creatively record al fresco in different New York City locations.<\/p>\n
The musical\u2019s book is mostly faithful to the movie, but it\u2019s much funnier, and key plot changes make it far superior to the film.<\/p>\n
Film Gretta was a wimpy, mopey and unaccomplished. She was also a mediocre singer (sorry, Keira Knightley). But musical Gretta is a clearly talented and idealistic singer-songwriter who has lost her self-confidence following a breakup.<\/p>\n
The movie also dedicated way too much time to Gretta\u2019s self-absorbed pop singer ex-boyfriend Max. And the film had an icky scene of sexual tension between Dan and Gretta. Fortunately, Dan and Greta don\u2019t stray beyond mentor and mentee in the musical, and Max has been transformed into a comic secondary character.<\/p>\n
Director Lorin Latarro brings a sense of momentum and playfulness to the story. With the help of illusion designer Skylar Fox, she also delivers many magical surprises.<\/p>\n
There are comical live rewind and fast-forward scenes, pages of lyrics floating in space and some blackout puppetry that re-creates the film scene where Dan imagines musical instruments playing by themselves. There\u2019s also some creatively-staged basketball \u201cpercussion\u201d choreographed by David Neumann.<\/p>\n
Starring as Dan in the musical is Patrick Heusinger, a rugged and endearing actor who has the same vocal range and gritty power of Train lead singer Pat Monahan. He aces all of his songs, including \u201cWhatchu Got to Lose?\u201d and the duet \u201cMade to Break,\u201d with lovely-voiced Adrienne Walker, who plays Dan\u2019s estranged wife Miriam (a music journalist with questionable ethics).<\/p>\n
Casey Whyland brings whimsy to the role of Gretta\u2019s eccentric roommate, Stevie, a role played by a man in the film. And Kevin William Paul is very funny as the hunky but doltish Max.<\/p>\n
Nik Walker, an accomplished\u00a0 Broadway musical veteran, feels criminally underused in the role of Saul, Dan\u2019s ex-business partner. Most of the rest of the ensemble cast also play their own instruments onstage.<\/p>\n
The musical\u2019s second act is superior, with one fine pop song after another as Gretta, Dan and their thrown-together band of street musicians record songs for her album. Gretta gets the lion\u2019s share of the best numbers, including \u201cSong I Used to Know,\u201d \u201cFake Flowers,\u201d \u201cCarousel,\u201d \u201cHalf a Heart\u201d and \u201cTwilight Summer Sky.\u201d<\/p>\n
Train fans with a good ear will recognize snippets from some of the band\u2019s most-famous songs, including \u201cDrops of Jupiter,\u201d \u201cHey, Soul Sister\u201d and \u201cDrive By.\u201d<\/p>\n
Written by John Carney as a love letter to New York, \u201cBegin Again\u201d takes place in multiple locations around Manhattan and the surrounding burroughs.<\/p>\n
The musical\u2019s re-creation of New York is very clever, particularly Derek McLane\u2019s architectural drawing-style skyscraper scenery elements, which can move around to create endless cityscapes. Amanda Zieve\u2019s lighting is also gorgeous. David Bengali\u2019s\u2019 projections create a carousel in Brooklyn, flying birds in Central Park and more.<\/p>\n
Linda Cho designed costumes and John Shivers designed sound.\u00a0 Brian Usifer served as music supervisor, orchestrator and arranger and Matt Deitchman was music director.<\/p>\n
\u201cBegin Again,\u201d which runs two hours, 20 minutes with intermission, is a true crowd-pleaser with head-bopping pop-rock score and two central characters whose joint recovery journeys are enjoyable to watch.<\/p>\n
\u2018Begin Again\u2019<\/p>\n
When: 7 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 7 p.m. Sundays. Through Oct. 18<\/p>\n
Where: Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park, San Diego<\/p>\n
Tickets: $66 and up<\/p>\n
Phone: 619-234-5623<\/p>\n