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Amarillo-born Erica Swindell has spent her life reading for the role of a Czechoslavakian violinist.
In “Once,” the latest Broadway touring production at the New Orleans Saenger Theater, Swindell landed her dream job as Réza, the friend of the show’s female lead, simply named Girl.
A relative newcomer to the Broadway scene, “Once” opened in New York City in 2012, promptly winning eight Tony Awards, including the coveted Best Musical honor.
“Once” is the story of a struggling street musician in Dublin who is about to abandon his dream of a career when a beautiful young woman takes an interest in his love songs. As the chemistry between the pair grows, so does their relationship.
“The show is an everyman’s tale,” Swindell said. “It’s a standard ‘boy meets girl’ story. It offers so many different relationships but all comes back to the love between the two main characters.”
At the core is a critically acclaimed score – the play’s song “Falling Slowly” won a 2007 Academy Award for Best Original Song and the “Once” film soundtrack a Grammy Award nomination – performed live onstage by an ensemble of actor/musicians.
Swindell, a Shakespearean-trained actress who has played violin since she was 3, has a diverse skill set. In addition to music and singing, she has fighting, firearms, clown, improve and horseback riding experience.
Music was Swindell’s first love until she discovered theatre in high school. She studied acting at Marymount Manhattan College and, later, at the British American Drama Academy Midsummer in Oxford.
On a tip from fellow a violinist where she studied, Swindell tried out for and landed a Broadway job in “Once.” In addition to playing Réza, who “pushes Girl to her limits,” she’s performed as an understudy to Girl.
“Réza is a survivor. She’s out there on her own,” Swindell said. “She’s a little colorful in a lot of ways.”
The role also connects Swindell with her first love, her violin.
Now she’s touring the globe with the show. “We’ve been to Toyko, Canada and a lot of cities in the U.S. that I either haven’t been to in a long time or have never gotten to visit,” she said.
The musical cast is “an airline’s worst nightmare,” Swindell said. “I carry my own personal instrument on the plane. So do most of my castmates. We look like a traveling band when we’re boarding.”
“Once” is one of the few musicals where the cast accompanies itself.
The sets are designed to project sound because the musician/actors do not have monitors onstage. “Sometimes we can’t hear each other playing,” Swindell said. “We watch for small signs, a foot tap or head bob, to stay on track. It requires us to be very alert during the show.”
Another unique nuance to “Once” comes an hour before the curtain opens. “The stage turns into a working bar,” Swindell said. The audience is invited onstage to buy drinks as the cast performs Irish and Czech tunes.
“It’s a lot of fun and a great opportunity to meet people as we tour,” she said.
“Once” features the Academy Award-winning music and lyrics of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, a book by award-winning Irish playwright and screenwriter, Enda Walsh (“Penelope,” “Hunger,” “The New Electric Ballroom”), direction by Scottish director John Tiffany, movement by Steven Hoggett (“Black Watch,” “American Idiot”) and music supervision and orchestrations by Martin Lowe (“Mamma Mia!”). The set and costume design are by five-time Tony Award winner Bob Crowley (“The Coast of Utopia,” “Mary Poppins”), lighting design is by Tony winner Natasha Katz (“Aida,” “The Coast of Utopia”), and sound design is by Clive Goodwin.
