{"id":62973,"date":"2019-10-07T10:56:08","date_gmt":"2019-10-07T14:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=62973"},"modified":"2019-10-07T10:56:08","modified_gmt":"2019-10-07T14:56:08","slug":"scrutiny-talented-cast-dylans-music-cant-overcome-flawed-premise-girl-north-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2019\/10\/07\/scrutiny-talented-cast-dylans-music-cant-overcome-flawed-premise-girl-north-country\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | Talented Cast, Dylan’s Music Can’t Overcome Flawed Premise Of \u2018Girl From The North Country’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A talented cast offers superb singing and acting, and an iconic catalogue of sad songs, but the flawed production is like a Dylan concert that is interrupting a play.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Steffan
Steffan Harri and the cast of ‘Girl From The North Country Toronto\/London Company (Photo : Cylla von Tiedemann, 2019)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

David Mirvish\/Girl from the North Country<\/em>,<\/i> written and directed by Conor McPherson, music and lyrics by Bob Dylan, Royal Alexandra Theatre, Sept. 28 to Nov. 24. Tickets available at mirvish.com<\/a><\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

L<\/span>et\u2019s get one thing straight right from the top. Mine is a minority opinion. The so-called Bob Dylan musical Girl from the North Country<\/em> is coming to town on a wave of rapturous reviews from both the London and New York critics. Alas, the show and I did not connect, but I cannot deny its success.<\/p>\n

Girl from the North Country<\/em> opened at the Old Vic in 2017, then propelled by that triumph, transferred to London\u2019s West End. In 2018, the show had a run at New York\u2019s Public Theatre. This present Toronto production features a mostly British cast that is heading back to London for a remount. The Broadway production is scheduled for 2020, and I\u2019m assuming that the reviews will be glorious once again.<\/p>\n

The genesis of the show is interesting, Apparently, Dylan\u2019s record company contacted Irish playwright Conor McPherson<\/a><\/span> about creating a theatre piece using the songwriter\u2019s music. Jukebox musicals, as these vehicles are known, can either be biographical, like Beautiful<\/em> (Carole King), or fictional, like Mamma Mia<\/em> (ABBA). The common thread is that the score consists of music by a popular songwriter\/performer or pop group, and helps drive the story.<\/p>\n

McPherson, however, was determined to avoid the jukebox syndrome. He sees Girl from the North Country<\/em> as a play with music rather than a musical, where the score is, \u201ca conversation between the songs and the story\u201d. In fact, using old-fashioned microphones, the cast sings the songs to the audience, like a radio broadcast, rather than as the characters they portray. Often, the entire ensemble is involved in spectacular choral singing. In other words, the songs function as mood indicators, or inner feelings, or social commentary, or even political agitation. The twenty songs cover the entire range of the Dylan songbook, with the oldest being \u201cGirl from the North Country\u201d (1963) and the newest, \u201cDuquesne Whistle\u201d (2012).<\/p>\n

\"Rachel
Rachel John and the cast of ‘Girl From The North Country Toronto\/London Company (Photo : Cylla von Tiedemann, 2019)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T<\/span>he characters are a sad lot, if ever there was. The story is set in Dylan\u2019s hometown of Duluth, Minnesota, 1934, in the depths of the Great Depression. In a nod to Thorton Wilder\u2019s Our Town<\/em>, Dr. Walker (Ferdy Roberts), acts as narrator, giving us insider information into McPherson\u2019s characters. Nick Laine (Donald Sage Mackay) owns a failing boarding house that the bank is about to repossess. His wife Elizabeth (Katie Brayben) suffers from dementia, which has given her a child\u2019s forthright honesty and swear words galore. His wannabe writer son Gene (Colin Bates), in his early twenties, is an alcoholic and jobless, while his adopted Black daughter Marianne (Gloria Obianyo) is nineteen and pregnant.<\/p>\n

Boarders include Mrs. Neilsen (Rachel John), Nick\u2019s lover, who is waiting for an inheritance, and the Burke family who have fallen on hard times. Mr. Burke (David Ganly) lost his business, Mrs. Burke (Anna-Jane Casey) has questionable morals, while their adult son Elias (Steffan Harri) has the mind of a child. Then there is the shoemender Mr. Perry (Sidney Kean), the old man Nick is trying to marry Marianne to, and Katherine Draper (Gemma Sutton), Gene\u2019s old girlfriend who is marrying someone else with better prospects. If this was not bleak enough, two strangers come a-calling \u2014 Joe Scott (Shaq Taylor), a has-been boxer just out of jail for a crime he didn\u2019t commit, and the slimeball bible salesman, Reverend Marlowe (Finbar Lynch).<\/p>\n

McPherson\u2019s book is made up of short scenes, which are like snippets into their lives. The characters never grow or change. We are also fed a lot of contrary information. Is the father of Marianne\u2019s baby a Great Lakes seaman? Did someone break into her room and rape her? Is she really pregnant? Characters also keep dropping hints about nefarious undertakings, like murder and prison escapes. The script is terse and economical, with the characters seemingly resigned to their ill-fated endings. No one is coming out of this story well. McPherson\u2019s stage direction is also choppy, with characters leaving, then abruptly reappearing because they have to sing. With the ensemble being a background chorus on many of the songs, the cast is forever parading onto the stage in silhouette for their numbers. The stage picture lacks cohesiveness with these armies marching.<\/p>\n

The London critics, in particular, talk about audience members crying at the end of Girl from the North Country<\/em>, but I, who am usually the first to be consumed by sentiment, (I cried when the lepers got cured in Ben-Hur<\/em>), shed nary a tear. In fact, I felt no connection at all. While I understand what McPherson was trying to do in separating Dylan\u2019s mostly mournful songs from the direct story line, this disconnect rendered the show medium cool, for me, at least. Since the characters are not singing about themselves, the show is missing that emotional underpinning. Not helping matters is Rae Smith\u2019s set that is gloomy and undistinguished, although her drab period costumes are spot on.<\/p>\n

\"Katie
Katie Brayben, Shak Taylor and the cast of ‘Girl From The North Country Toronto\/London Company (Photo : Cylla von Tiedemann, 2019)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I<\/span> can, however, get positive over the supremely talented cast who have impressive voices and great acting chops. Brayben as Elizabeth Laine is a particular standout. More to the point, Simon Hale, who is the show\u2019s orchestrator, arranger and musical supervisor, has done a superb job in giving each of Dylan\u2019s songs its own unique showcase.<\/p>\n

McPherson, in choosing the songs, insisted that only instruments that existed in the 1930s be used. Thus, there is only a small ensemble under musical director Ian Ross \u2014 piano\/harmonium, violin\/mandolin, various guitars and bass fiddle \u2014 but the accompaniment is heartfelt and all-embracing. The harmonies for the female ensemble, and the choral singing for the cast as a whole are brilliant. I noticed there was a lot of activity at the merchandise counter with people buying the original London cast album, and for good reason. Hale\u2019s score elevates Dylan\u2019s songs into glorious transcendence.<\/p>\n

For me it comes down to this \u2014 Girl from the North Country<\/em> is a Dylan concert that is interrupting a play.<\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/em><\/h3>\n

Want more updates on classical music and opera news and reviews? Follow us\u00a0on <\/em>Facebook<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/em>, <\/em>Instagram<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/em> <\/b>or <\/em>Twitter<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/em> for all the latest.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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