Sharaé Moultrie

It is not a flashy musical with special effects and huge dance numbers, but rather a somber meditation on Depression Era America and deep cuts of Bob Dylan’s songbook. It’s brilliant, and it will make you think. It’s akin to watching ghosts sing Americana arias, something you will never quite shake. 

Girl from the North Country fails to deliver on the promise of a Bob Dylan-Conor McPherson collaboration. Dylan famously asked, how does it feel? In this play, not so good.

“Tonight’s story begins and ends at a guesthouse in Duluth, Minnesota, in the winter of 1934.” These were the opening words spoken by Dr. Walker, as he sets the scene. An evening of love, pain, suffering, interloped with a lush score based on the music of Bob Dylan. Girl from the North Country, is a dramatic musical with a book by Conor McPherson (The Weir), and songs with music and lyrics by the great Bob Dylan. The show made its Off-Broadway premiere at the Public Theatre from September 30, 2018- December 22, 2018. This transfer featured an all-American cast and was helmed after the successful run at London’s Old Vic a year prior, and following a limited 12-week run shortly thereafter at the Noel Coward Theatre in London’s West End.

Perhaps without knowing it, McPherson, the show’s creative collective and everyone involved with bringing Girl From The North Country to the stage have created the perfect musical for Nashville’s discerning theater audiences, people who know a thing or two about appreciating music, art and live performance. Only when you begin to leave the theater, perhaps awestruck by what you have just experienced, will you realize the gravity of what you have just seen.

Calling Girl From The North Country a 'jukebox musical' is not only a misnomer, but it completely misses the point of Irish playwright/director Conor McPherson’s acclaimed Broadway musical that features a score by Bob Dylan, according to actress Jennifer Blood, who plays Elizabeth Laine in the national touring company that begins its weeklong stand at Nashville’s Tennessee Performing Arts Center tonight.

Connor McPherson’s “Girl from the North Country” enjoyed the Kansas City opening of its first national tour at the Kauffman Center on Tuesday night for a one week residency. McPherson has written and directed a “slice of life” show and filled in the blank spaces with songs from Bob Dylan’s career. “Girl” might be categorized as a “Juke Box” musical like “Jersey Boys” or “Mama Mia,” but this is certainly not that. This is not a musical play about Bob Dylan.

I'm still not quite sure how I feel about this show, but it sounded like heaven.

An interesting and engaging interpretation of the work of one of the most consequential American songwriters.

The North American tour of Girl From the North Country is now underway, after launching in October in Minneapolis, MN.   Read the reviews for Girl From the North Country here!

What did our critic think of GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY at Orpheum Theatre Minneapolis? The production induced laughter from the audience, particularly those familiar with Minnesota, as it cleverly incorporated local references.

FOOTLOOSE is a musical born of the beloved film from 1984 starring Kevin Bacon. It made a natural adaptation with its sensational soundtrack and heartfelt message. There is of course the titular song, FOOTLOOSE, but there are also gems like “Holding Out for a Hero” and “Let’s Hear It For the Boy.” But this musical has more to offer than exceptional music. It also explores important themes around family relationships and how to decipher between what’s protection and what’s control. Beef & Boards brings it all to life with their staging of FOOTLOOSE. You will kick up your heels, tap your toes, and go home to find your dancing shoes. 

Dreamgirls is now playing at the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre through July 24. The musical follows the tumultuous story of a young female singing trio from Chicago, Illinois called “The Dreams” who become music superstars. Get a first look at photos here!

Stoopkid Stories LIVE, brings the heat this summer to the Summer Theatre of New Canaan in Connecticut. Stoopkid Stories, which was created as a podcast in January 2020 by Melissa Victor has made its way to the stage as a high energy, fun filled musical.

This new and exciting show is a live adaptation of the hit children's podcast, Stoopkid Stories, written and narrated by Melissa Victor. Victor, also known to her listeners as Melly, started her podcast in January 2020, two months before the Broadway shutdown. It was a way for her to try something new in the midst of audition season, stay creative, and connect with kids.

Groundbreaking new feature-length hip-hop/R&B musical Hal King premiered across platforms on February 9, 2021. Set in a late-1950s jazz-era Midwestern town, Hal King brilliantly modernizes and musicalizes William Shakespeare's Henry IV and Henry V, and the iconic character of Young Hal.

The 2020 Dreamgirls Asian Tour cast recently united virtually to create a Black Lives Matter video, encouraging people to vote.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, Thursday, January 17th 2019, at 9:30 PM to present a one man concert-written and performed by singer, actor, and activist Gerardo Vallejo -highlighting the danger, absurdity, and fragile nature of toxic masculinity in our society. Interwoven with heartfelt personal life stories, A GENTLEMAN IN NEW YORK features songs from the musical theater cannon, the great American songbook, and top-40 pop classics-both new and old. New York City based composer/pianist Karl Hedrick serves as the Musical Director. Barrie Gelles serves as dramaturg and stage director.

On Monday, September 24, 2018 Innovative Theatre Foundation, the organization who for the past 14 years has been dedicated to celebrating Off-Off-Broadway, presented 26 awards and four honorary awards for outstanding achievement in theatre at the 14th Annual New York Innovative Theatre Awards Ceremony, at Centennial Memorial Theatre (120 West 14th Street, NYC). If you were unable to attend, watch a replay online at www.nyitawards.com/live.

On Monday, July 23, 2018, The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation, the organization who for the past 14 years has been dedicated to celebrating Off-Off-Broadway, announced the 2018 nominees at its annual event, The IT Party. Celebrating fourteen years and thousands of nominees at le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleeker Street.

See 'Black Nativity' now on the Crossroads Theatre stage through December 18th .Directed by Lee Truesdale and choreographed by Obediah Wright, it is an inspiring and exhilarating show.