GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY to Open Arden Theatre's New Season

Philadelphia-based Arden Theatre Company (40 N 2nd St., Philadelphia, PA) opens its 2026/27 Mainstage Season with the acclaimed Girl from the North Country. The musical, written by Conor McPherson, uses reimagined songs by Bob Dylan to create a moving American story of resilience in uncertain times. Directed by Terrence J. Nolen, Girl from the North Country brings together a cast of 13 actor-musicians who also serve as the show's orchestra. Girl from the North Country unfolds on the F. Otto Haas Stage beginning September 24, with opening night on September 30, and performances running through October 25.

In a run-down boarding house in Duluth, Minnesota, strangers cross paths – experiencing love, loss, and everything in between. Amongst the dust and deep in the throes of the Great Depression, these wayward travelers fill the guesthouse with music, hope, and soul. Featuring Bob Dylan's iconic songs, including 'Forever Young,' 'Hurricane,' and 'Like a Rolling Stone,' Girl from the North Country pairs his music with Tony Award-winning orchestrations by Simon Hale to tell a moving American story of resilience in uncertain times.

The actor-musician approach, cast members playing piano, guitar, banjo, mandolin, and harmonica, builds on a style of storytelling familiar to Arden audiences from the theatre's 2018 production of Once. As in Once, the music is made live by the performers. However, Girl from the North Country uses its songs differently: rather than driving the plot forward, Dylan's music opens a window into the characters' inner lives, giving voice to the longing and resilience beneath the story's surface.

'What draws me to this musical is that it is so unique. Conor McPherson has written this extraordinary play, inspired by the work of Eugene O'Neill. And he has woven into this story the songs of Bob Dylan. Two brilliant artists whose work comes together to create an incredibly original and moving piece of theatre,' says Producing Artistic Director Terrence J. Nolen. 'What will make this production so special is its ensemble – 13 actor-musicians, long-time collaborators and voices new to the Arden, coming together to bring McPherson's story and Dylan's songs to radiant life. This is such an audacious musical, and I am inspired by its ambition and beauty.'

The cast and crew of Girl from the North Country include:

Sevon Askew (Joe Scott) returns to the Arden after appearing in RENT (Benjamin Coffin III), for which he received a Barrymore Award for Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Musical. Askew previously appeared in the Broadway national tour of Hadestown. His regional credits include performances at the Paramount Theatre and Scranton Shakespeare Festival.

Charlie DelMarcelle (Mr. Perry), an Associate Professor of Theatre at West Chester University, returns to the Arden stage, where he has previously appeared in The Lehman Trilogy (Emanuel Lehman), August: Osage County (Little Charles), Charlotte's Web (John Arable/Gander), The Jungle Book (Monkey/Baloo/Father Wolf), and Funnyman (Matthew Baroni). His regional work includes productions at Theatre Horizon, Walnut Street Theatre, Lantern Theater Company, Delaware Theatre Company, and Act II Playhouse.

Giacomo Fizzano (Gene Laine) is back at the Arden after previously appearing in A Streetcar Named Desire (Young Collector). Regionally, Fizzano has appeared in roles at Walnut Street Theatre, Meadow Brook Theatre, and The Candlelight Theatre. Fizzano has also worked as a music director at Clear Space Theatre.

Sarah Gliko (Elizabeth Laine) has previously appeared at the Arden in The Secret Garden (Rose Lennox), Parade (Mrs. Phagan/Sally Slaton), and Charlotte's Web (Charlotte). An actor and musician, Gliko is a founding member of the Tony Award-winning Wilma Theater's Hothouse Resident Acting Company. Regionally, she's appeared in roles at Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, and Philadelphia Theatre Company. Gliko is a four-time Barrymore Award winner and recipient of the 2019 Independence Foundation Fellowship Award.

Scott Greer (Mr. Burke) is a 30-year veteran of Philadelphia theatre who has previously appeared at the Arden in The Lehman Trilogy (Henry Lehman), Into the Woods (Narrator/Mysterious Man), Wittenberg (Dr. John Faustus), and Once (Billy). His regional work includes productions at Walnut Street Theatre, 1812 Productions, InterAct Theatre Company, the Wilma Theater, People's Light, Delaware Theatre Company, Theatre Exile, and Act II Playhouse. Greer is a six-time Barrymore Award winner, including the F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Theatre Artist, and was named 'Best Theatre Talent' by Philadelphia Magazine.

Eric Hissom (Nick Laine) is a writer and director who has previously appeared at the Arden in Cyrano (Cyrano de Bergerac), August: Osage County (Bill Fordham), Equivocation (William Shagspeare), and A Moon for the Misbegotten (James Tyrone Jr.). Hissom appeared in the national tour of The 39 Steps, and his regional credits include productions at Seattle Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Cleveland Play House, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and Folger Theatre. His film and television credits include Out of Time, One Tree Hill, Sheena, and Mortal Kombat.

Maggie Lakis (Mrs. Burke) has appeared in numerous Arden productions, including Romeo & Juliet (Nurse), Pinocchio (Judy/Cat/Lampwick), Sunday in the Park with George (Elaine/Frieda), Clybourne Park (Betsy/Lindsey), and Sideways Stories. Her national tour credits include Mrs. Doubtfire, Something Rotten!, and Avenue Q. Off-Broadway, Lakis has appeared in Jim Henson's Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, John Doyle's reimagined Allegro at Classic Stage Company, and Avenue Q. Regionally, Lakis has appeared in roles at The Muny and Delaware Theatre Company.

Lyndie Moe (Kate Draper) makes her Arden Theatre Company debut. Moe previously performed as Maureen Johnson in the 20th- and 25th-anniversary national tours of RENT. Her regional credits include performances at New Light Theatre and Montgomery Theater.

Gabrielle North (Marianne Laine) also makes her Arden Theatre Company debut. Regionally, North has appeared in roles at ZACH Theatre, Impact Arts, and TexArts. North has also appeared in the television series 5th Ward.

Matteo Scammell (Reverend Marlowe) is well known to Arden audiences for his roles in RENT (Roger Davis), Holy Grail of Memphis (Newton 'Newt' Stover II), The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (Stinky Cheese Man/Cocky Rocky/Prince/Princess/Rumplstiltskin), The BFG (The Big Friendly Giant) (Dad/The BFG), Assassins (Proprietor), and A Streetcar Named Desire (Stanley Kowalski). Scammell's regional work includes performances at Theatre Exile, Wilma Theatre, Lantern Theatre Company, Philadelphia Theatre Company, and Walnut Street Theatre.

Harrison Smith (Elias Burke), a playwright and musician based in Washington, D.C., continues his work with the Arden, having previously appeared in Assassins (John Hinckley). Smith has appeared in more than 30 productions over the past decade, with recent appearances at Signature Theatre, Keegan Theatre, Constellation Theatre Company, and Mosaic Theater Company. Smith has also earned multiple Helen Hayes Award nominations.

Candace Thomas (Mrs. Neilson) returns to the Arden after appearing in Dear Evan Hansen (Virtual Community). Her regional credits include roles at People's Light, Geffen Playhouse, Arizona Theatre, and Forward Theater. Thomas' film and television credits include NBC's Chicago Fire, Netflix's Easy, Lifetime's Deadly Garage Sale, and ION's The Case of the Christmas Diamond.

Greg Wood (Dr. Walker) has appeared in numerous productions at the Arden, including Once (Da), Stupid F**ing Bird (Sorn), Our Town (Mr. Webb), Sunday in the Park with George (George), Falsettos (Marvin), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Brick), and Death of a Salesman (Biff). His Broadway credits include Our Town, alongside Jim Parsons, Richard Thomas, and Katie Holmes, and Othello, alongside Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal. Wood also appeared on the national tour of To Kill a Mockingbird as Link Dees and understudied the role of Atticus Finch. His regional credits include productions at Hartford Stage, Walnut Street Theatre, Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, and McCarter Theatre Center. His film and television credits include The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Happening, The Blacklist, Evil, Dr. Death, Homicide: Life on the Street, and Law & Order.

The production team includes Terrence J. Nolen (Director), Ryan Touhey (Music Director), Devon Sinclair (Choreographer), Alec E. Ferrell (Stage Manager), James Kronzer (Scenic Designer), Chris Lee (Lighting Designer), Alison Roberts (Costume Designer), Damien Figueras (Sound Designer), Ian Rose (Fight Choreographer), Kevin Naddeo (Assistant Director), Jake Collins (Assistant Music Director), Lyndsey Connolly (Assistant Stage Manager), and Ophelia Evans (Assistant Sound Designer).

Bob Dylan is one of the world's most influential and groundbreaking artists. Since first bursting into the public's consciousness via New York City's Greenwich Village folk music scene in the 1960s, Bob Dylan has sold more than 125 million records and amassed a singular body of work that includes some of the greatest and most popular songs the world has ever known. He continues to traverse the globe, performing more than 85 concerts annually. Dylan's work as an author and visual artist has further burnished his popularity and acclaim; a worldwide best-selling memoir, Chronicles Vol. 1, spent 19 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List in 2004, and several major exhibitions of his paintings and iron gates have been shown at some of the world's most prestigious museums and galleries. Bob Dylan's contributions to our culture have been recognized with numerous honors and accolades. In December 2016, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature by the Swedish Academy 'for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.' In 2012, Dylan was awarded America's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by President Barack Obama. He is the recipient of 11 Grammy Awards.

Conor McPherson was born in Dublin. His plays include The Brightening Air, The Weir, Girl from the North Country (with Bob Dylan), The Seafarer, The Night Alive, Shining City, Port Authority, This Lime Tree Bower, and St Nicholas. Honours for his work include the Laurence Olivier Award, New York Critics Circle Award, Evening Standard Award, London Critics Circle Award, and five Tony Award nominations.

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