What a lofty pedigree: written and directed by Conor McPherson, music and lyrics by Bob Dylan. To top things off, the cast is brilliant. Every performer has an abundance of talent, and the singing soars. So why doesn’t Girl from the North Country work?
At two hours plus, it’s just too long. There are too many characters, and the plot becomes confusing. Why is Elizabeth suddenly friendly with her husband’s mistress, and does she know/care about the situation? Is Joe guilty of a crime, or of racial injustice? I even got annoyed wondering if the cigarette onstage was actually lit. Throw in the fact that everything and everyone is just plain grim, and you have the formula for mind overload.
Best to cut through all the plot intricacies and concentrate on the performers. Mare Winningham, where have you been? As Elizabeth Laine, she starts out clearly crazy, and gets saner as the show progresses. There is nothing that Winningham can’t do. Her acting is pitch perfect, her singing is powerful and soaring, and she even plays the piano. What tremendous talent!
As soon as we see that Jay O. Sanders, as Elizabeth’s put-upon husband Nick, is anchoring the production, we know we’re in good hands. Sanders has an everyman quality, a genial affect that covers up a raging heart. Marc Kudisch brings an intriguing combination of slick salesman and desperate grifter to the mix as Mr. Burke.
The character we come to care about most is the “adopted” Laine daughter, Marianne (Kimber Elayne Sprawl). She’s visibly pregnant, but the father of her child, and the love of her life, is nowhere to be seen. What will become of her?
Many more characters fill the stage who all deserve recognition. They manage to bring to life a seedy boarding house in 1934 Duluth, deep in the depression. There is an Our Town quality in the proceedings, a sense that lives are not really lived, just narrated.
I would have wished a better show for all these fantastic performers, but that’s showbiz. Actors take the best work they’re offered, and we in the audience applaud their efforts.
