GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY National Tour

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 8/28/23 at 4:49pm

Saw a social media ad for this today. Any word on casting? I believe the first stop is scheduled to start in October. 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 8/28/23 at 5:01pm

It wouldn’t surprise me if all these tours with SETA contracts are taking a while to get contracts in place - because who would want to work for THOSE minimums - which is why we haven’t heard any casting news besides the lead for Company and a leaked Mamma Mia dad in an interview piece. 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 8/31/23 at 10:10am

 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 8/31/23 at 10:12am

I'm morally obligated as a Minnesotan to see this when it comes to Minneapolis in October.

[jpbran]

Posted: 8/31/23 at 3:49pm

Curious to see what road houses/touring stops make of this beautiful but deadly dreary show. They bitched and walked out of Fun Home, Band’s Visit, Fish’s Oklahoma, etc. so legit curious to see the online chatter about this one. (I loved it at various moments, but also was occasionally bored and felt like I needed an horse-sized antidepressant after.) 

[quizking101]

Posted: 8/31/23 at 5:48pm

It’s mostly the understudies and covers from the Broadway production, which is pretty good. I saw Schiappa as Nick Laine when Jay O. Sanders had COVID, and I heard good things about Jennifer Blood as Mare Winningham’s U/S.

Matt Manuel is a HUNKY choice for Joe Scott (saw him in ATP) and he’d sing the hell out of it

[jpbran]

Posted: 8/31/23 at 6:00pm

Austin Scott was pretty damn HUNKY too in the Broadway role. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 8/31/23 at 6:04pm

jpbran said: "Austin Scott was pretty damn HUNKY too in the Broadway role."

Girl, I know. He was the reason I went back 5 times lol

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 9/2/23 at 6:40pm

quizking101 said: "It’s mostly the understudies and covers from the Broadway production, which is pretty good. I saw Schiappa as Nick Laine when Jay O. Sanders had COVID, and I heard good things about Jennifer Blood as Mare Winningham’s U/S.

Matt Manuel is a HUNKY choice for Joe Scott (saw him in ATP) and he’d sing the hell out of it"

Mare Winningham was out the day I saw it and Jennifer Blood was on. She was absolutely wonderful.

[BETTY22]

Posted: 9/2/23 at 7:08pm

I loved this show. Maybe better suited for off-broadway.

Although, I'm thrilled to a national tour is happening. 

 

[Auggie27]

Posted: 9/3/23 at 8:41am

As an unapologetic fan of the show - I saw it multiple times, thanks to TDF and those empty Wednesday matinees the first challenging fall after Covid - I am especially happy to see Blood continue in the Winningham role. She was the first Elizabeth I saw, and though I am a huge admirer of Mare's work and its considerable contribution to the show's texture and emotional weight, I'd say Blood is closer to the model for the character in the UK, Canada, and Australia. She was sensational by any yardstick. Her take on "Rolling Stone" was a roof-raising triumph, blistering and vocally thrilling.  

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 10/14/23 at 12:31am

Report from Minneapolis!

I saw this show tonight - I'll probably get into more detail on my Minnesota Theatre Adventures thread, but I enjoyed the show quite a bit! I had heard a lot of talk about the story being a notorious downer (and had read most of the script), but the show as I saw it felt more melancholy than outright depressing. These are not happy people - they've already faced the worst life can throw at them and yet the crap keeps on piling up, and yet they still try. They still work through it... maybe not in the wisest ways, but they still put in the effort. It's absolutely appropriate that the show ends with "Pressing On".

One thing I noticed is that the unconventional way in which the musical numbers are structured meant that there weren't applause breaks for the audience - I don't know if that was the case on Broadway, but here I think it added to the melancholy mood. The only exception to this was after Jennifer Blood's performance of "Like a Rolling Stone" because you just can't *not* applaud "Like a Rolling Stone". I saw the show with a nearly full audience of Minnesotans, and they all seemed to enjoy it - when I heard people talking about the show afterwards all the people seemed to be speaking warmly about it, and everyone got a kick out of the local references and the joke early on about how long the winters last.

The cast was all excellent. John Schiappa, Jennifer Blood, and Matt Manual were the standouts, but nobody felt like a weak link.