I realize this is heresy, but I liked the stage version of "Once" better than the movie.

It's a rare thing: when does anyone ever like a Broadway adaptation better than the original film?

But the musical adaptation of John Carney's wistful 2007 movie brings a new, robust life to the proceedings, at least based on the NETworks Presentations touring production that played the Garde Arts Center on Friday.

The story, set in Dublin, is simple: Guy meets girl, and, through their love of music, guy and girl fall for each other. And I do mean guy and girl; the characters are only known as Guy and Girl, played in this version by Sam Cieri and Mackenzie Lesser-Roy.

He's Irish, she's Czech. He's glass-half-empty, she's glass-half-full. Guy is feeling lost. His girlfriend has moved to America and found someone else. He fixes vacuum cleaners as his day job and he's one step away from giving up on his real passion: music.

Girl loves music, too; she plays piano. She gives Guy encouragement and hope. But her life is complicated. Her husband, with whom she has a young daughter, has stayed behind in Czechoslovakia.

Guy and Girl develop a romantic attachment, but will it blossom into a relationship?

Much of whether "Once" works lies in the chemistry between the two leads. In this case, Cieri and Lesser-Roy convey a beautiful, emotional rapport. You believe the pull between their characters, as they move tentatively toward each other and then recede. The scruffily bearded, tattooed Cieri leans toward the edgy and soulful, and Lesser-Roy is all sweet face and open heart.

Their voices blend gorgeously, making such numbers as "Falling Slowly" studies in tenderness.

The Oscar-winning "Falling Slowly" is the best-known number from "Once," and its tone is representative of much of the score here — folk-infused balladry tinged with melancholy. The songs were all written by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, who starred in the movie version of "Once."

The book for the stage adaptation is by Enda Walsh, and it remains true in spirit to John Carney's screenplay. The stage version of "Once," just so you know, won eight Tony awards in 2012, including one for best musical.

The staging is stripped down but creatively considered. Rearranged chairs and tables suggest a vacuum-repair shop or a bank office.

A bar stands center stage, looking for all the world like a classic Irish pub (dark wood, smoky mirrors). In fact, the bar is a working one, and theatergoers are invited pre-show and during intermission to order up a cocktail. During that pre-show segment, cast members are already out onstage, singing and playing rousing Irish tunes, as audience members stand around them and sip on drinks as they would in a real pub.

Yes, all of the cast members act, sing and play instruments. They are a mighty talented group.

The ensemble members bring a sense of exhilaration to their characters' comic moments and to their musical ones, too, as in their rousing performance of "Gold," where they dance with stomp-like percussive moves and play their instruments simultaneously. While Cieri and Lesser-Roy are the marvelous stars, the ensemble is just as integral to the "Once" success.

k.dorsey@theday.com