Girl From The North Country - Broadway Previews- Page 5

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 2/26/20 at 1:45pm

Fades go way back in time, actually. Not sure about the depression but def World War 1.

[uncageg]

Posted: 2/26/20 at 2:01pm

I think the fade style he is sporting started in the 40's and 50's.

[ShowBro]

Posted: 2/26/20 at 2:48pm

....And why don’t any of them have midwestern Minnesota accents?

[trpguyy]

Posted: 2/26/20 at 4:14pm

Esther2 said: "We were in the orchestra, practically right in front of the drum kit. Loud... and, if I might add,not very imaginative drumming,"

The drums are "played" by actors who learned what they had to to get by, and the results are not good. Moving them upstage would help with the volume, but unfortunately this is the least of the problems with the show.

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/26/20 at 5:06pm

"....And why don’t any of them have midwestern Minnesota accents?"

I would imagine because they aren't specifically from Minnesota. I think they were travelers.

[matineeidol2591]

Posted: 2/26/20 at 6:24pm

Saw this show last week...add me to the hate camp. What happened? I've never been more perplexed by glowing reviews before in my lifetime. The second act was more engaging than the first, but by that point I had already wished I packed my bags and went home. I don't get the hype (and I LOVE Bob Dylan). 

[ShowBro]

Posted: 2/27/20 at 6:39am

Jane2 said: ""....And why don’t any of them have midwestern Minnesota accents?"

I would imagine because they aren't specifically from Minnesota. I think they were travelers."

Correct, the story is set in a “time-weathered guesthouse in the heartland of America” so obviously the guests or “travelers” wouldn’t necessarily have the accent.

I do however feel that the Laine Family (Nick, Elizabeth, Gene, and maybe Marianne), which the story revolves around, are presumably from Duluth and probably might have a trace of the accent, don’tcha know :)

 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 2/27/20 at 8:12am

I can understand not liking the show, but I do not understand how one can not follow the story. It's very basic.

[labellaragazza1]

Posted: 2/27/20 at 9:47am

Add me to the list of people who thought the drums were too loud. We were close to the front and I think I missed about 90% of any song with a loud drum beat because it was OVERPOWERING to the nth degree.

 

I really liked the story, but can't help feeling like it would have been better with an original score or just as a play. I'm not overly familiar with Bob Dylan's music, but I didn't feel like it moved the story along or added much to the show, especially with the LOUD drums were drowning out some of the songs.

[broadway86]

Posted: 2/27/20 at 10:47am

Saw it last night, and to my great surprise, I absolutely loved it. The ensemble is flawless, although Mare Winningham, Austin Scott, Jeannette Bayardelle, and Kimber Sprawl deserve special notice. I can understand some finding it slow, but I didn't find it boring for a second. Very moving and tender, I'm still thinking about it.

[matt1982]

Posted: 2/27/20 at 12:54pm

I'm looking forward to seeing this in a couple of weeks, though I am a bit nervous reading some of the reports here.  I saw it at the Public and thought it was excellent.  Has it drastically changed since that run?

[bwaylyric]

Posted: 2/27/20 at 12:55pm

Who is the girl from the North Country?

[trpguyy]

Posted: 2/27/20 at 5:10pm

bwaylyric said: "Who is the girl from the North Country?"

I asked a member of the creative team, and they told me that the title has nothing to do with the show, it's just another Dylan song whose title was just chosen arbitrarily.
What I found most fascinating is that an early version of the show was a radio drama set in a broadcast studio. The narration and use of vintage microphones still remain, but the explicit studio setting is gone. I think I would have liked that version of the show much better.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 2/27/20 at 5:26pm

I gotta say that I know next to nothing about this show other than what I've read on this thread, but the fact that it's called The Girl from the North Country and there isn't actually a girl from the north country REALLY bothers me.

Updated On: 2/27/20 at 05:26 PM

[JSquared2]

Posted: 2/27/20 at 5:28pm

SporkGoddess said: "I gotta say that I know next to nothing about this show other than what I've read on this thread, but the fact that it's called The Girl from the North Country and there isn't actually a girl from the north country REALLY bothers me."

Well then I guess Waiting for Godot must REALLY piss you off!  

[Michelle chouraqui]

Posted: 2/27/20 at 7:17pm

bwaylyric said: "Who is the girl from the North Country?"

I thought she was..

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

I thought she was the girl who was murdered. Which I assumed would become a major plot point....  Did one of them kill her? I still don't know...

 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 2/27/20 at 7:28pm

trpguyy said: "bwaylyric said: "Who is the girl from the North Country?"

I asked a member of the creative team, and they told me that the title has nothing to do with the show, it's just another Dylan song whose title was just chosen arbitrarily."

Man, this perfectly sums up the show. A lovely song. Why? Who knows? Should we name the whole show after this song? Sure! Who cares? 

(as someone else noted, I had assumed it referred to an unseen character that is critical to one of the many unfinished plot threads but there being no reason at all seems more fitting).

by the way this reminds me: havent seen any love for Todd Almond, and i thought he was quite the scene stealer in Act 2. 

[uncageg]

Posted: 2/27/20 at 10:13pm

JDonaghy4 said: "trpguyy said: "bwaylyric said: "Who is the girl from the North Country?"

I asked a member of the creative team, and they told me that the title has nothing to do with the show, it's just another Dylan song whose title was just chosen arbitrarily."

Man, this perfectly sums up the show. A lovely song. Why? Who knows? Should we name the whole show after this song? Sure! Who cares?

(as someone else noted, I had assumed it referred to an unseen character that is critical to one of the many unfinished plot threads but there being no reason at all seems more fitting).

by the way this reminds me: havent seen any love for Todd Almond, and i thought he was quite the scene stealer in Act 2."

I agree. He was excellent throughout. I wish that scene in Act II lasted just a bit longer because he killed it.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 2/28/20 at 8:29am

Well then I guess Waiting for Godot must REALLY piss you off!  

I mean Godot has a relation to the story. This is just like, we thought it was a cool title so we used it.

[nycward]

Posted: 2/29/20 at 1:18pm

Saw this production last night and both my partner and I liked it quite a bit. Yes, it is a dark and bleak tale and the physical production enhances that vision, but the playwright chose a time and place that dramatizes the chill of depression era America, quite literally. I was particularly struck by the Dylan score as a vehicle for these character's voices. If we placed this musical in the category of a "juke-box" show, I can't think of a musical that did a better job of taking an extant collection of songs and allowed one to hear the material in such a different light from its original conception. The evening is filled with gorgeous moments for the entire cast and as a whole created an original vision. If the question was ever going to be asked, "what would a musical written by Eugene O'Neill look like?" this might be it. Actually, that might be the question to ask yourself in deciding if this would be an evening that you would enjoy and that is the question that might well determine the show's ultimate success on Broadway.

Updated On: 2/29/20 at 01:18 PM

[Georgeanddot2]

Posted: 2/29/20 at 1:49pm

This is such a mess of a show. Beautifully sung with a wonderful performance from Winningham, but this show is just so unbelievably shallow. The plot is oddly confusing for how simple it is. Took me a while to gather that they were in a bed and breakfast. I've never seen a show lack so much exposition while also being nothing but exposition. It's also shockingly ableist.

That point about the title basically sums up the show. Why is that there? No clue. Why are they singing that? No clue. Who are they? No clue. What happened? No clue.

I was also struck by how painfully humorless, drab, and dull the whole thing was. A lot of people are comparing this to The Band's Visit, but TBV was funny, charming, tightly written, and was a beautiful story. This is just... nothingness.

It's so depressing that they should have people on standby for when audience members start trying to throw themselves from the balcony halfway through act 2. Oy.

[Mitch101]

Posted: 2/29/20 at 3:33pm

Spoiler to follow. Saw the Friday evening performance and was knocked out by the whole experience. I knew going in it would be untraditional. I found the entire evening magical. Every element so carefully considered. Every performance was beautiful, though the love story between Marianne and the boxer was fantastic. Mare does steal the show, but Luba Mason is such a surprise in Act Two.

For me, this was great art and I can think of countless achievements of great art that the public hated and dismissed.


Spoiler......


To your question about who murdered the girl...

Elias killed her.

There is no way Conor named the show without the sole purpose of creating the mystery of the story. The murdered girl is the mystery. The Burkes are from the North Country.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 2/29/20 at 4:05pm

^ of course Elias did. There's no mystery about it in the show, and the plot line is briefly introduced and never discussed again. It is not the reason for the title of the show. 

[VotePeron]

Posted: 2/29/20 at 4:11pm

trpguyy said: "^ of course Elias did. There's nomystery about it in the show, and the plot line is briefly introduced and never discussed again. It is not the reason for the title of the show."

Seconded, agreed. It is soap opera-y obvious that Elias killed her, and there is no way that random girl from that random storyline is the girl from the north country. If anything, Bob Dylan is the girl from the north country as he’s the one people are buying tickets because of. 

[nychas]

Posted: 3/2/20 at 12:06pm

"If the question was ever going to be asked, "what would a musical written by Eugene O'Neill look like?" That is something my wife and I both agree with! Reminded us of The Iceman Commeth. We are both big Bob Dylan fans and I loved it and she not so much-too bleak and despairing. I think my favorite number was Duquesne Whistle.