GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY Opens in Melbourne Tonight and Announces New Zealand Tour

International hit musical Girl from the North Country, by Conor McPherson, with music and lyrics by Bob Dylan, opens at Melbourne's Comedy Theatre tonight, after attracting rave reviews in Sydney and Adelaide.

The producers also announced today that the production will tour to Auckland and Wellington in July, direct from its Melbourne season, making it the first international production to return to the Civic Theatre since the beginning of the pandemic.

Girl from the North Country then returns to Australia for seasons in Canberra from 25 August and Brisbane from 8 September.

This modern masterpiece features an extraordinary cast including Lisa McCune, Chemon Theys, Peter Kowitz and Helpmann Award winners Helen Dallimore, Greg Stone, Christina O'Neill and Peter Carroll, alongside Terence Crawford, Grant Piro, Elizabeth Hay, Blake Erickson and James Smith.

The exceptional ensemble features Tony Black, Samantha Morley, Tony Cogin, Laurence Coy, Grace Driscoll and Liam Wigney, with the live on stage band, The Guilty Undertakers consisting of Cam (CJ Stranger) Henderson on acoustic and slide guitar, Xani Kolac on violin and mandolin, Mark Harris on double bass and Musical Director, Andrew Ross.

Set in 1934 Minnesota, it centers on a community living on a knife-edge in the local guesthouse, and features over 20 of Dylan's songs from across his career - from 1963's Girl From the North Country to 2012's Duquesne Whistle plus Hurricane, I Want You, Slow Train Coming, You Ain't Going Nowhere and Like A Rolling Stone - all beautifully reimagined and woven through the story.

In an interview with the New York Times, Bob Dylan confirmed that he has seen the new musical The Girl from the North Country: "I saw it as an anonymous spectator, not as someone who had anything to do with it," Dylan told the Times. "I just let it happen. The play had me crying at the end. I can't even say why. When the curtain came down, I was stunned. I really was."

Girl From the North Country is one of the most critically acclaimed, multi award-winning productions of the 21st century. It has taken the theatrical world by storm, selling out seasons in the West End, Toronto and Broadway since opening at The Old Vic in London.

Tour Dates

Melbourne
Comedy Theatre, Exhibition Street, Melbourne
From Friday 29 April

Auckland
Civic Theatre
From Friday 1 July

Wellington
Opera House
From Friday 22 July

Canberra
Canberra Theatre Centre
From Thursday 25 August

Brisbane
Lyric Theatre, QPAC
From Thursday 8 September

Tickets: northcountry.com.au