At Writers Theatre, ‘Once’ needs timing that lives up to its talent

A piano player and Czech immigrant (Dana Saleh Omar) befriends a Dublin singer-songwriter (Matt Mueller) in “Once.” (Michael Brosilow)

Despite winning the Tony Award for best musical in 2012, “Once” is not a musical at all, one could argue, but a play with music.

Based on a 2007 independent Irish film — very much a film with music — “Once” tells a deeply modest tale of two characters, generically named in the script as Guy and Girl. Guy is a singer-songwriter, very much of the two-thousand-aughts variety.  Girl is a Czech immigrant to Dublin who plays the piano and is drawn to Guy’s music. The story follows their fast-evolving friendship, and perhaps more — that “more” being problematic as each musician has a non-present but unfinished relationship to deal with.