Girl From The North Country - Public Theater? — Page 7

I hate to say it, but I was not a fan of this show. I know everybody's saying it's not a proper musical (which, indeed, it is not), but even armed with this knowledge going into it, I left feeling deeply unsatisfied.

The music neither furthers the plot nor deepens characterization. It is all there to set tone and mood and make you feel a certain way. I think if you're structuring a show like that, then the text that does further plot and deepen characterization needs to be clear and riveting. Instead, I found the show to be really confusing and kind of slow and dreary in parts. And then they tie up most (but not all) of the loose ends with a narrator monologue in the final five minutes? It just felt lazy to me.

The cast is working hard and sounds lovely, but I never felt compelled enough to care for the characters to the point where I really latched onto any performance.

It seemed like I wasn't the only one who at my performance who felt the same way. The audience I was with took their sweet time to give a standing O until someone in the front got up.

Bwayfan292 said: "Solipsist234 said: "GeorgeandDot said: "Their opinion is valid, but don't take it as definitive because the word of mouth on here contrasts what I see elsewhere and doesn't represent the majority. I certainly wouldn't decide whether or not to see this show based upon the reviews on here."

Oh, my thoughts exactly, GeorgeandDot!!! I don't live in New York, but I would never take the word of a few people on a message board to form my opinion on a show I might see!

Thank you for clearing that up! :)"

In total agreement! I feel like people are quick to say this needs work, and list pointless examples just to say they hate something. And who knows if they even went to the show in the first place. The only reviewer I take seriously on here is Whizzer."

Something that I've noticed is a lot of posters on these boards believe a show would be better if it got straight to the point (i.e. cutting the intermission and making a show 90 minutes.) It honestly grinds my gears a little bit, as musicals nowadays are always written in a two-act structure unless the creators feel it needs to be one act and intermissionless. Just because a show feels interminably long to one audience member does not mean it needs to be cut down and truncated to make it work! We're not making junior versions out of professional Broadway musicals here, people!!!

Updated On: 9/29/18 at 04:50 PM

JBroadway said: "I'm sorry but what thread are you guys reading? I just did a quick scan through all the posts since 1st preview. I count 9 positive reports, 3 negative reports, and 1 fairly mixed report (from Haterobics)."

I was just wondering the same thing...

I didn't say everything was negative, but it comments like these that make me look at seeing something else when I just have 4 days.

LucyEth said: "Saw this tonight and have very mixed feelings.

SNIP

But don't expect to be moved or involved in the storytelling."

when do the reviews come out?

I saw this on Thursday and have such mixed feelings! I have been listening to the London cast recording for a month and totally loving it... but I think it backfired by creating some ideas in my head that of course never panned out*, and it created a letdown for me with the actual show. I don't know... I think I really enjoyed it on paper, but in reality I don't know that I'm smart enough to really get what they were doing. Some of the plot points seemed to disappear altogether, unless I just totally missed the explanations. Loved the music, though - Dylan is such an incomparable poet, and his music lended itself so perfectly to this style and mood. I thought the performances were a mixed bag... some blew me away (I thought Mare WInningham was flawless) and others left me scratching my head.

I'm really looking forward to reading the reviews tonight to see if they help shed some light on what I missed - it's possible that a critic's insight may make me see the whole thing differently. ...Because I there's a part of me that really, really wants to love this.

JudyDenmark said: "I saw this on Thursday and have such mixed feelings! I have been listening to the London cast recording for a month and totally loving it... but I think it backfired by creatingsome ideas in my head that of course never panned out*, and it created a letdown for me withthe actual show. I don't know... I think I really enjoyed it on paper, but in reality I don't know that I'm smart enough to really get what they were doing. Some of the plot points seemed to disappear altogether, unless I just totally missed the explanations. Loved the music, though - Dylan is such an incomparable poet, and hismusic lended itself so perfectly to this style and mood. I thought the performances were a mixed bag... some blew me away (I thought Mare WInningham was flawless) and others left me scratching my head.

I'm really looking forward to reading the reviews tonight to see if they help shed some light on what I missed - it's possible that a critic's insight may make me see the whole thing differently. ...Because I there's a part of me that really, really wants to love this.

"

I only listened to the cast recording briefly before it was removed from Spotify, but, from what I heard, Shirley Henderson's and Sheila Atim's voices are far more distinctive and emotionally resonant than Mare Winningham's and Kimber Sprawl's. On the album, their songs are gut punches, and I was hoping for the same impact in this production, but I didn't feel it nearly as much. Do you agree?

CT2NYC said: "I only listened to the cast recording brieflybefore it was removed from Spotify, but, from what I heard, Shirley Henderson's and Sheila Atim's voices are far more distinctive and emotionally resonant than Mare Winningham's and Kimber Sprawl's. On the album, their songs are gut punches, and I was hoping for the same impact in this production, but I didn't feel it nearly as much. Do you agree?"

I sort of agree, much as I wish I didn’t agree. Particularly with Tight Connection. Watching Sheila Atim’s Olivier performance gives me chills every time, and I kept waiting for that to happen in this production and it just didn’t. (I was sitting in 2nd row center, so it wasn’t for lack of connection to the cast.) The vocals were lovely, but I didn’t feel like I got much of that gut punch, unfortunately. I feel less disappointed about Elizabeth, though. I strongly feel the emotion and energy coming through on the London recording, but I think I prefer Winningham’s singing voice.

FWIW, I meant to say this in my original comment, but the guy sitting on my left was clearly miserable and left at intermission, and the guy on my right was clearly very moved and leapt to his feet at the end. Definitely a polarizing show!

Edit: Disclaimer as these rave reviews are starting to come in... I’m disappointed that I was insanely tired at the show (coming off of a literal all-nighter and running on cold brew and Red Bull) and can’t help but think that hurt my comprehension levels. Sounds like it’ll be coming to Broadway, so I look forward to seeing it again with a clearer head and maybe some pre-read cliff’s notes on the plot, haha. Because the music alone makes it worth the repeat visit. If nothing else, this is a cast recording I’ll be revisiting forever.

Updated On: 10/1/18 at 08:56 PM

I saw this evening's performance, and my opinions are quite similar to theaterdarling's -- except I did think there were one or two "gut-punching" moments.

Also, it struck me that McPherson was sometimes dramatizing (and musicalizing) passages from the monologues in his Port Authority, most directly in the scene leading up to "I Want You." If I remember that earlier play correctly, a character suggests there might be just two souls: the soul of the fighter and the soul of the drifter -- and that idea seemed to repeatedly show up in Girl from the North Country, with a twist here being that the same character may have both and be guided by the wrong one at the wrong time.





SPOILER RESPONSE TO QUESTION ABOUT MARIANNE





An earlier poster asked: Marianne says to the boxer JoeScott at some point in Act 1 that she wants to tell him the "real story" of her pregnancy. Do we ever find out what happened?

As far as I could tell, the audience doesn't find out for sure what happened re: the birth, just like we don't find out for sure what happened re: one of the deaths. However, in my opinion, it's strongly suggested that Marianne was a virgin who conceived immaculately (though rather creepily).

In that regard, I would point to the following:

- McPherson himself called this play (as well as others of his) a "Nativity play."

- Mari(anne) ends up with a guy named Joseph, who isn't her baby's actual father.

- It seemed to me that Marianne starts to tell her father that she hasn't had sex -- but he cuts her off like, Don't give me that bull**** again.

- Nonetheless, in a brief moment, the Doctor (who regularly examines Marianne) starts to tell her father that she isn't even pregnant, and I took this to suggest that the Doctor believes she's still a virgin.

- Early in the play, the phrase "no room at the inn" is used; then, almost the last verbal image in the play is Marianne, Joseph, and the baby in front of the shut-down boarding house (as I understood it).

- Also late in the play, in Duquesne Whistle, we get the line "Must be the Mother of our Lord."

(There are actually plenty of other points, too, I think, that help create a "Second Coming" atmosphere throughout the play.)

I have a thread on this but thought I would post this here just in case someone didn't see that one.

I have 3 tickets to sell for this Sunday evening Oct 7th at 7:30. Row P.

I purchased through the TodayTix Pre - sale. I can take payment via Paypal and put your name on the pickup order.

I'm just asking for what I paid for the tickets with the fees. $102.50 a ticket.

I can email you proof of the order and proof that I have put your name on the ticket order.

I can also meet at the theater before the show and will take cash. Anyone interested can be there when I collect the tickets from the TodayTix person so you know the tickets are legit.

I hope someone can use these!

thanks so much!

http://bway.ly/4drk6p/#https://nypost.com/2018/10/04/bob-dylans-music-may-take-over-the-boss-broadway-theater/

Looks like the plan is to transfer to the Kerr.

Updated On: 10/5/18 at 09:30 AM

I wonder if the combination of Conor McPherson, Bob Dylan, and actors Ciaran Hinds and Shirley Henderson meant more in London? Hinds and Henderson probably mean more in the West End than any of the Broadway talents in the US production, and McPherson is very likely a bigger draw in the UK.