Girl from the North Country (musical)
Girl from the North Country is a musical with a book by Conor McPherson and songs with music and lyrics by Bob Dylan. It is the second show to use Dylan's music after Twyla Tharp's The Times They Are a-Changin'.
Girl from the North Country
Bob Dylan
2017 London
2017 West End
2018 Off-Broadway
2019 Toronto
2019 West End revival
2020 Broadway
2022 Australia
2022 UK/Ireland Tour
2023 US Tour
Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical
Productions[edit]
The Old Vic and West End (2017)[edit]
The production premiered at The Old Vic in London running from 8 July to 7 October 2017, directed by McPherson.
Following the success of The Old Vic production, it transferred into London's West End at the Noël Coward Theatre from 29 December 2017 for a limited 12-week run until 24 March 2018, with the majority of The Old Vic cast.
Off-Broadway (2018)[edit]
The production made its North American premiere Off-Broadway at The Public Theater in New York from 30 September to 22 December 2018, featuring an American cast.[1][2]
Toronto (2019)[edit]
The show, featuring a new cast including Katie Brayben and Anna-Jane Casey, was mounted at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto from 28 September to 24 November 2019.[3]
Broadway (2020)[edit]
Girl from the North Country made its Broadway premiere at the Belasco Theatre, beginning previews on 7 February 2020 and opening on 5 March 2020.[4] The COVID-19 pandemic shuttered Broadway theaters on 12 March 2020; Girl from the North Country resumed performances on 13 October 2021.[5] On 12 January 2022, it was announced the show would play its final performance at the Belasco Theatre on January 23, with initial plans to reopen at a different Shubert house in the spring.[6] The show subsequently reopened at the Belasco Theatre on 29 April 2022 for a limited engagement set to conclude on June 19.[7][8]
On May 16, 2022, it was announced that prior to re-opening, the Broadway production was filmed for a future public release. Producers Tristan Baker and Charlie Parsons remarked "We feel that now was the right time to capture this incredible production ... This was the right time with the right cast, and everything fell into place perfectly. This story is beautiful and deserves to be seen by audiences all over, even if they can't make it to the theater," while revealing that negotiations were underway to find a distributor.[9]
Australia and New Zealand Tour (2022)[edit]
In Australia and New Zealand, a 2022 touring production starred Lisa McCune, Helen Dallimore, Terence Crawford, Peter Kowitz, Grant Piro, Greg Stone and Peter Carroll.[10]
UK and Ireland Tour (2022)[edit]
In May 2022, casting was announced for the show's first tour of Ireland and the UK,[11] and on 25 June 2022 the tour opened at the 3Olympia theatre in Dublin. Writer and director Conor McPherson said, "Collaborating with Bob Dylan has been a unique privilege for me. We have had an amazing journey opening on Broadway and in the West End but I feel particularly excited and moved to finally bring this work to my home town of Dublin and on tour around the UK."[12]
The tour's last venues in 2023 were Norwich Theatre Royal, Leicester Curve, and New Wimbledon Theatre, the final performance 18th March. Critical reception was the same as the production had received on its first opening in 2017.[13]
North American Tour (2023)[edit]
In May 2022, it was announced that the Girl From the North Country's North American Tour would launch in Fall of 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the historic Orpheum Theatre, which Dylan previously owned.
Plot[edit]
The setting takes place on the shores of Lake Superior in Duluth in the winter of 1934 and America is in the grip of the Great Depression.
The story is narrated by Dr. Walker, physician to the Laine family. Nick Laine is the proprietor of a rundown guesthouse. The bank is threatening to foreclose on the property and he is desperate to find a way to save his family from homelessness. His wife, Elizabeth, is suffering from a form of dementia which propels her from catatonic detachment to childlike, uninhibited outbursts which are becoming difficult to manage. Their children are Gene, who is in his early twenties, and their adopted daughter, Marianne, who is nineteen.
Marianne is five months pregnant and the identity of the father is a mystery she guards carefully. Nick is trying to arrange a marriage between Marianne and a local shoe mender, Mr. Perry, in order to secure her future. The social awkwardness is complicated by the fact that Marianne is a black girl living with a white family. She was abandoned in the guesthouse as a baby and brought up by Nick and Elizabeth.
Gene is unable to get a grip on his life, and veers between ambitions of becoming a writer and debilitating alcohol binges, a situation not helped when his sweetheart, Kate, announces she is marrying a man with better prospects.
Nick has become involved in a relationship with a resident of the guest house, Mrs. Neilsen, a widow who is waiting for her late husband's will to clear probate. They dream of a better future when her money comes through, although she scolds Nick for his constant pessimism.
Also staying at the house are a family, the Burkes. Mr. Burke lost his business in the crash. His wife, Laura, and his son, Elias, share a room upstairs. Elias has a learning disability and the family struggle to come to terms with their reduced state.
Late at night, during a storm, a self-styled reverend bible salesman, Marlowe, and a down-on-his-luck boxer, Joe Scott, arrive looking for shelter. The arrival of these characters is a catalyst, changing everything for everyone in the house.[14]
Film adaptation[edit]
On February 6, 2023, McPherson was set to direct and write the film adaptation with Olivia Colman, Woody Harrelson, Chloe Bailey and Tosin Cole cast as the leads.[40]