Back in 2007, a tiny movie with a huge heart called "Once" arrived in theaters. And while big-budget blockbusters like "Spider-Man 3" and "Shrek the Third" won the box office, the little Irish musical romance won over audiences – all the way to winning an Oscar for Best Song.

When the news arrived that the charming indie was going to receive the Broadway adaptation treatment, however, fans weren’t sure how to feel. On one hand, it’s hard to turn down more "Once," but on the other hand, a big Broadway theatrical production would seem to be the antithesis of what made the small and sparkle-free movie so special.

As it turns out, fans had nothing to fear, as "Once" the stage musical seemingly struck the right chords, using minimal arrangements and an intimate setting fitting of its intimate story to score rave reviews and eight Tony Awards in 2012 – including Best Musical. Now, the show is touring its way to Milwaukee, with a one-week run at the Marcus Center beginning on Tuesday, April 5. Before it hits the stage, OnMilwaukee chatted with Sam Cieri, the show’s leading man, to find out about his unexpected personal attachment to "Once," adapting the movie to the stage and his take on his character … based on his dog?

OnMilwaukee: Had you seen the movie before joining on the show?

Sam Cieri: Yeah, I actually used to listen to the band The Frames, which was Glen Hansard’s original band. And then I was told that he made a movie with the music from The Frames, so I watched the movie when it came out and was obsessed with it. I learned all the songs and I was a huge fan of the movie.

One of the great things about the movie is the raw, natural connection between the music and the characters. Was it hard to recreate that?

At first, you know, there’s that thing where you just want to be Glen Hansard from the movie. But that’s not it, because the reason why that worked was because it was just him. It was him up there. So for a little bit, I tried to do that, then I was like, no, and the director and I just sat and talked. I had a very different interpretation of the character, pulling from a lot of my own experiences and taking things from people in my life. I actually based a lot of Guy on my dog.

Really?

I have this little rescue pit bull, and he’s this sweetheart of a dog, just the biggest heart in the world. A big, goofy guy. But because he was badly beaten when he was a puppy before we got him, if he doesn’t know you and you get too close to him, he snaps. That’s how I see Guy. That’s how he is with people.

What other things did you take from your own life for "Once"?

I mean, I was a street musician for years when I first came to New York. I did it in Vegas too. And I tried the music thing, and it never worked. I kind of gave up on the whole thing for a bit. I have since gotten back into it, but I gave up for a while. So every night, I kind of pull on that string a little bit and remember that – that feeling of nothing will work and the world is against you, when in reality, maybe you didn’t try hard enough.

Any memorable stories from your street performing days?

There was a guy who came up to me once and got straight into my face – nose to nose with me – and just goes, "You suck." And then he walks away! I was like, that’s one way to talk to someone. I’ve had my guitar case stolen a handful of times, and you have to chase someone down three different trains. I’ve had a homeless man stand in front of me and sh*t himself, just the blatant thing of it. Just stood in front of me, let it all go and didn’t move.

So really your life was the opening scene of "Once."

Oh yeah, I’ve done that. Actually, our opening week in Philadelphia, me and Mackenzie (Lesser-Roy) – the girl in the show – we were going to get a fancy dinner. It was gonna be great. We’re about to open a show; let’s do this thing. So we’re standing outside of this place, and this girl comes by and steals my phone out of my hand. I had to chase her down five blocks to get my phone. It was just so funny, because afterward, I was like, "Oh my God, that was the beginning of the movie! I just had to do that. That’s a good omen. We can do the show now."

Obviously chemistry is a huge part of "Once." Did you do any special rehearsing to help with that?

Yeah, Mackenzie is one of the most talented people I’ve ever met. During rehearsal, she was always coming up with all these new things and altered the show in these fantastic ways that was amazing. So when we were rehearsing the show, at the end of every day, our director would take us into a separate room, and we would just work – a lot of the show is just me and her talking in these little scenes – and work them and work them and sit and talk for hours.

My favorite part of rehearsals was me and her would leave, and I’d walk her to her train, just talking about what happened that day. My favorite part: walking to the train and talking. There’s this fantastic friendship there now, which is amazing because now we have this trust between the two of us that, no matter what happens up there, we’ll have each other’s back on stage. That’s a very, very amazing thing.

A lot of fans of the movie, when they heard there was going to be a Broadway version of it, the first thought was that it was going to be bigger and lavish and not the raw, intimate original movie.

I had that same fear when they said they were going to make a show of it. I actually never had enough money to see the show when it was on Broadway. I have yet to see "Once" from an audience’s perspective. I’d love to at some point (laughs). I’d love to see this show. So when I first read it at our first read-through, I was in tears at the end. I was like, "This is fantastic." They expanded it where it needed to be expanded and let it sit where it needed to sit.

To convince someone that it’s the same, it’s pointless because it’s not. They’re two different things, but they have the same amount of heart, and there is this incredible simplicity. And we respect and we hold true and we always touch base with that simplicity. It’s not big; it’s ferociously honest. They didn’t turn it into a (puts on show business voice) "musical"; I don’t even call it that. It’s a play about musicians.