In 1934, during the height of the Great Depression, everyone was searching for something. In a time-weathered guesthouse Minnesota, an unlikely group of strangers comes together with little other than hope and a need to survive in common.
Only a song can shake off the dust for one group of wayward souls-and old dreams may hold the promise of new beginnings. As they come in and out of each other's lives, their stories awaken with passion, fury and extraordinary beauty. Reimagining the music of Bob Dylan as roof-raising ensemble pieces and soul-stirring solos, playwright and director Conor McPherson weaves this story of faith, family, heartbreak, and love.
A series of unfortunate events has come to Broadway. No, not the Lemony Snicket novels, but 'Girl From the North Country,' a mashup of Bob Dylan songs and abject misery. The show, which opened Thursday night, is little more than a stack of vaguely depressed persons who take breaks from sad scenes to sing anguished and questionably relevant songs.
My takeaway when Girl From the North Country opened at the Public Theater last fall: 'An American musical by people who hate musicals and don't know America.' Sounds harsh, but I stand by it. Although I've adored Irish writer-director Conor McPherson's work for years, I found his book for this Bob Dylan jukebox musical to be a pile of Depression-era clichés one might amass from a week of binging TCM or skimming Steinbeck. As for the integration of Dylan songs, the tracks don't illuminate character or plot so much as pause the narrative so everyone can enjoy a folksy singalong (cast members even climb into the drum kit). The result - which began as a hit on London's West End with a non-American cast - seemed to me a creaky period play wrapped around a tribute concert, all imbued with a gothic, melancholic vibe because everyone onstage is broke, unloved, addicted, mad or running from the past.
2017 | West End |
Original West End Production West End |
2017 | West End |
West End Transfer Production West End |
2018 | Off-Broadway |
Public Theater North American Premiere Off-Broadway |
2019 | West End |
West End Return Engagement West End |
2022 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2023 | US Tour |
North American Tour US Tour |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Book of a Musical | Conor McPherson |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Musical | Conor McPherson |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Girl From The North Country |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Orchestrations | Simon Hale |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Jeannette Bayardelle |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Mare Winningham |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Musical | Simon Baker |
2020 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Musical | Girl from the North Country |
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