Girl From The North Country is the Tony Award-winning new musical that the Chicago Tribune declares is “a Broadway revelation!” Written and directed by celebrated playwright Conor McPherson and featuring Tony Award-winning orchestrations by Simon Hale, Girl From The North Country reimagines 20 legendary songs of Bob Dylan as they’ve never been heard before, including “Forever Young,” “All Along The Watchtower,” “Hurricane,” “Slow Train Coming,” and “Like A Rolling Stone”.
In all my years of going to the theater, I have never gone into a show knowing less than I did this one. Yet, all I can say is “wow.” Other than hearing the title over the years it never caught my attention, but this was the show that kicked off the AdventHealth Broadway in Orlando 24/25 season at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts this week — and was one of the most beautiful shows I have ever seen.
“It’s 1934 in Duluth, Minnesota. We meet a group of wayward travelers whose lives intersect in a guesthouse filled with music, life and hope.” Often shows stand out to me for either their deep story or the spellbinding music, this show somehow did both but separately. I would find myself drawn into each of the characters' lives so deeply I would often forget this was just a Broadway show but once the music would start for one of the songs my mind would flip to how beautifully haunting the song and staging would be. I don’t think it was well into the second act that I even attempted to try and connect the songs to the story that was unfolding in front of me.
Girl From The North County is, in a word, spellbinding. I found myself wanting more of the stories of these characters as I left the Walt Disney Theater. Even though I walked into this show not knowing anything, I will sing the praises of this show for a long time to come.
Tickets and information are available HERE.