Critic Fergus Morgan notes the show “boasts a large, diverse cast, and 20 Dylan songs from across his career, pared down and rearranged for the stage by Simon Hale and performed by a live, onstage band.” The setting is described as “a run-down Minnesota guesthouse during the Great Depression. We’re in Duluth, Dylan’s place of birth, seven years before the singer-songwriter entered the world.”
The reviews?
Some critics fall in love with the concept. Paul Taylor (Independent, ★★★★★) thinks that “the idea is inspired and the treatment piercingly beautiful,” Fiona Mountford (Evening Standard, ★★★★★) calls it “beguiling and soulful and quietly, exquisitely heartbreaking,” and Ann Treneman (Times, ★★★★★) labels it “an instant American classic.”
Others, though, find it a bit odd. For Sarah Crompton (What’s On Stage, ★★) “it simply doesn’t work,” for Dominic Cavendish (Telegraph, ★★★) it’s “valiant” but “derivative,” and for Bella Todd (The Arts Desk, ★★★) McPherson just “tries to do too much.”
Basically, the judges have rendered a split decision. Read the full article for more: “Girl from the North Country at the Old Vic – review round-up”
