Fresh off being nominated for seven Tony Awards Monday, Broadway's "Girl From the North Country" has announced a national tour debuting in the state its songwriter, Bob Dylan, hails from.
The show was written and directed by Irish playwright Conor McPherson, whose plays include "Shining City" and "The Weir." It is set entirely in a fading, Depression-era boarding house in Duluth, operated by a couple who try to drown their unhappiness in affairs and dreams of different lives. More character- than plot-based, "Girl" finds a variety of downtrodden or malevolent characters drifting into the boarding house to sing numbers from the North Country boy's catalog, ranging from deep cuts to classics such as "Like a Rolling Stone."
Technical rehearsals and the first stop on the tour will be at the Orpheum Theatre in fall 2023, with other stops including Buffalo, N.Y., Dallas, Las Vegas and Seattle. The Orpheum also was the pre-Broadway launch site for hits such as "The Lion King" and "Victor/Victoria."
"It's quite an honor for Hennepin Theatre Trust to launch the national tour, given Minnesota's love of Bob Dylan and what he has meant to the state and the Orpheum Theatre, " said Mark Nerenhausen, the trust's president and CEO, in a press release. "Bob Dylan owned the Orpheum during the 1970s and 1980s, making this a full circle moment of celebration of his iconic music and storytelling."
"Girl From the North Country" debuted on Broadway in 2020 but has paused twice because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's slated to close June 11, the day before Tony Awards are handed out. Exact dates and details on ticketing for the Minneapolis run will be announced later.
