|
GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY SHOWTIMES
Tuesday, January 23 7:30 PM GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY TOUR DATES
JANUARY 30-FEBRUARY 4 NASHVILLE, TN TPAC Read More
|
Like the ships that dock and then embark back out, the people of Duluth and the North Shore, each have their own story to tell--
That’s part of the basis of “Girl From The Country”, a celebrated musical-drama set in Depression-era Nov/Dec 1934 Duluth, MN, now out on its first North American Tour, which is currently playing inside the Kauffman Center in downtown Kansas City, through this Sunday.
Written and directed by Irish playwright Conor McPherson and featuring Tony Award-winning orchestrations by Simon Hale, it’s notable for re-imagining 20 legendary songs of Bob Dylan, in compelling arrangements that are often very different than the originals.
The ensemble cast of distinctive (and somewhat odd) characters consists mostly of townsfolk and weary travelers whose lives intersect and are transformed in a local guesthouse during the weeks around the Thanksgiving season, when this northern port city is already well in the throes of a usually unforgiving winter.
Starting in London in 2017, the story made its way to off-Broadway in the following year and then to Broadway itself in 2020, but its run was cut short due to the pandemic-era closure. The national tour was finally underway last fall, beginning with a Minneapolis run at the Orpheum Theatre, coincidentally a downtown venue Dylan himself once owned (1979-88) with his brother.
In “Our Town”-style, the story is narrated by town resident Dr. Walker (played opening night by Danny Vaccaro), a physician to the Laine family headed by guesthouse owner Nick (played this night by Paul Blankenship), who risks the bank foreclosing on his property and who has to take care of his dementia-ridden wife, Elizabeth. Their children are their son, Gene, a jobless prisoner to the bottle and their black adopted teen daughter, Marianne, who becomes mysteriously pregnant and struggles with her future options.
Other guest house dwellers include Mrs. Neilsen, a widow waiting on the windfall from her late husband's will and the Burkes family, who lost their business in the crash and are dealing with the learning disability of their son, Elias. A late-night storm adds characters Pastor Marlowe, a bible salesman, and Chicago-bound former boxer, Joe Scott.
Dylan’s songs are more featured in the second-half with an extended, somewhat trippy version of the hit, “Like a Rolling Stone” sung by Elizabeth being the most memorable of the first act. There are a few medleys with two combined songs, and 80’s radio hit, “Jokerman” manages to re-appear with a reprise version.
The selection of the songs seemed very judiciously thought-out, to try and accommodate the drama narrative, instead of falling back on the simplicity of a jukebox musical and are somewhat centered on Dylan’s ‘Christian trilogy’ of more spiritual 80’s albums. More fervent fans of Dylan are rewarded with versions of several deep cuts, and all the re-imagined songs are strongest when the full chorus of the company brings additional vocal soul to the fabled lyrics.
In some ways, this presentation may be more satisfactory to someone who isn’t as familiar with Dylan, as the diehard will tend to naturally associate the known subject matter of the song (i.e. “Hurricane” written for wrongfully imprisoned Ruben Carter) rather than going along with how they enhance the presented story line. The disconnect is this songbook was not created to serve this particular narrative, but the songs often do end up working to at least partially embellish the allegory of these Steinbeck-like characters.
The lighting, sets, onstage musicians, and authentic costumes all embrace and reflect the spirit of that somber era and most of the players were in fine voice on opening night. They excelled most as a collective; when several would huddle around a central mic, or as the company provided harmonies from the shadows, as the lead character sang the verses.
Expected to provoke different reactions from theatergoers, Girl From The North Country will undoubtedly spark conversation and analysis afterword- from the song selections and interpretations themselves, to the philosophies evident and representations of the various characters- their place in the overall scope of the story and the moral transformation that each experiences, as a result of the tumultuous events around them.
((National Tour Photos by Matthew Murphy were provided) / Click on any image to enlarge and see in full)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| john c ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ X / Twitter.com |
Comments