Hi Rob Exile Ward
Can't reply to your original thread because it's been archived...
You asked me to report back when I'd seen the The Girl from the North Country, the “jukebox musical” featuring the songs of Bob Dylan. For those who don't know, it follows the interwoven fates of a disparate cast of characters who live in and drift through a struggling small-town boarding house in Duluth, Minnesota (Dylan's birthplace) during the Great Depression of the 1930's. It was written by the highly-respected Irish playwright Conor McPherson and is currently part-way through a UK tour - which I'd encourage any Dylan fans to catch if they can.
My reaction was very different to yours, Rob. I thought the songs worked extremely well - not primarily to advance the plot, but to express a mood or a theme, whether of a character or a moment or the era as a whole. I was particularly impressed by the numbers from the “Evangelical” period – so much so I dusted all the albums off. (Better than I remember.)
If I had to choose a character to be the titular girl from the north country, it would be Elizabeth, the mother, whose dementia often speaks truths both hilarious and heart-breaking. For me, she was the melancholy soul of the drama. In the current touring production Frances McNamee gives a fantastic performance, including tearing up Like A Rolling Stone. It looks like she'll be played by Olivia Coleman in the forthcoming film. It will be a must-see for me.
