Review: Despite a superb musical score, ‘Girl from the North Country’ lacks rhythm 

Rarely has music seen a mind more inquisitive or a discography more diverse than those of Bob Dylan, whose expansive catalog provides a lush sonic landscape for the choppy but wistful Girl from the North Country, now making its Atlanta debut at Actor’s Express in co-production with Oglethorpe University. Running through March 8, this regional premiere is undoubtedly well-sung and captures much of the spirit of Dylan’s music, but pacing issues and script problems make for a somewhat uneven experience.

The story follows the inhabitants of a boarding house run by Nick Laine (played by the ever brilliant Robin Bloodworth) in Duluth, Minnesota. Set in 1934 at the height of the Great Depression, the play explores the economic hardships of the time and how they impact the characters’ abilities to form meaningful connections with one another. The bluesy setting proves an ideal tonal match for Dylan’s discography, but the play rarely succeeds at fully integrating the music into the story.

Most of the songs are staged concert-style, with the actors stepping in and out of the world of the play to become canteen singers and backup dancers. This style of musical staging has succeeded elsewhere, but here the shifts often feel too stark, giving the play a stop-and-start pacing. When the songs do click into place — such as with the yearning “I Want You” or the almost funereal “Forever Young” — it is mostly due to the strength of the performances.

Bloodworth, a sure bet in any show he’s cast in, is a prickly, forlorn and complicated leading man. His Nick is not a likable person, nor does the script try to make him one, and Bloodworth excellently balances the character’s flaws with his very human desires. He is well-matched by Jill Hames as his wife Elizabeth, long ago struck by some unknown sickness that has left her mentally disabled. This character is undeniably problematic, a sensationalized sketch of the “magical freak” stereotype — the archetypal mad woman who oscillates between out-of-pocket humorous one-liners and unexpected words of wisdom. However, Hames finds intriguing shades in her performance, making for some of the production’s most emotionally enticing moments.

The other performers fit their roles well, but one of the script’s problems is that there are too many side characters for any of their stories to feel fleshed out. Branden Hembree’s charlatan preacher has only a few disconnected scenes to his name, while the romance between Nick and Elizabeth’s son Gene (Evan Kupersmith) and lover Kate (Nevaeh Riddle) is afforded even less. The romance between prize fighter Joe (Russell Scott) and Nick and Elizabeth’s adopted daughter Marianne (Justis Star) has promise but gets buried under other stories. 

Of course, this messiness and ambiguity are part of how Girl from the North Country seeks to evoke the stultifying atmosphere of the Great Depression. Story lines lack satisfying conclusions because the characters’ lives have no satisfying end point. The problem is that the pacing makes it difficult to grab onto any one story line.

Another big problem is a troubling ableist undercurrent throughout the script. The Broadway production infamously featured a scene in which Elias, a young boy with an undisclosed developmental disability, dies by drowning — only to emerge onstage in an all white suit to jubilate over his death, implying that he is glad to be dead as he is now “free” from his disability.

The scene was lambasted by the disabled community, and Director Freddie Ashley has wisely restaged it to frame Elias’ death as the tragedy it is. However, this restaging doesn’t change the fact that Elias is an example of a disabled character being fridged for shock value, nor does it undo the dehumanizing way Elias’ father speaks about him after his death — rhetoric which is never directly contradicted by anyone in the play. The most humanity afforded to Elias is his fear of death and the fact that his mother mourns him. Changing the framing of his death removes the play’s worst offense, but the script still has issues that cannot be staged around.

The music, however, is superb, laced with the earthy expressiveness of Dylan. Some of the vocals are less polished than others, but anyone who has ever heard Dylan sing will know imperfections are not a deal breaker here. Kari Twyman’s rousing choreography and Alli Reinhardt’s music direction also help to bring up the energy. Meanwhile, the design team of Seamus Bourne (scenic), Jennifer Schottstaedt (costumes), Joseph P. Monaghan III (lighting) and Zach Bennett (sound) work in tandem to transport the viewer back to 1930s Minnesota.

There are moments of beauty in Girl from the North Country, and the performances are largely above reproach. Those looking to enjoy Dylan’s virtuosic music will find plenty to enjoy. Those swept away by the score or taken with the play’s moments of harmony may walk away satisfied or even moved, but there are quite a few bumps that make it difficult to lose yourself in the poignancy the play wants so badly to evoke.

Where & When

Girl from the North Country, a co-production with Actor’s Express and Oglethorpe University, is at Actor’s Express through March 8. Tickets start at $56.65.
887 West Marietta St. NW. Ste. J-107.

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Luke Evans is an Atlanta-based writer, critic and dramaturg. He covers theater for ArtsATL and Broadway World Atlanta and has worked with theaters such as the Alliance, Actor’s Express, Out Front Theatre and Woodstock Arts. He’s a graduate of Oglethorpe University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree, and the University of Houston, where he earned his master’s.