Producers GWB Entertainment and Damien Hewitt have announced that the hit musical Girl from the North Country by Conor McPherson, with music and lyrics by Bob Dylan, will open at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre on Friday 29 April for a limited season.
One of the most critically acclaimed, multi award-winning productions of the 21st century, it has taken the theatrical world by storm, selling out seasons in the West End, Toronto and Broadway since opening at The Old Vic in London.
A story of American life in 1934 Minnesota, it centres on a community living on a knife-edge in the local guesthouse, and stars multi Gold Logie winner, Lisa McCune (The King And I, South Pacific), Zahra Newman (The Book of Mormon, Wake In Fright), Terence Crawford (Escape from Pretoria, 1984) and Helen Dallimore (Wicked [London], Legally Blond).
Also starring is Helpmann Award winners, Peter Carroll and Christina O’Neill, dual AFI winner Peter Kowitz (Janet King, Heisenberg), Elijah Williams (Triple X, Black Jesus), Greg Stone (Glengarry Glen Ross, Stuff Happens), Grant Piro (host of ABC TV’s Couch Potato, Hello, Dolly!), Blake Erickson (The Dismissal, Shrek, Mamma Mia!), Elizabeth Hay (Emil and the Detectives, Hibernation) and James Smith (Jasper Jones, Euphoria).
Chemon Theys, Samantha Morley, Tony Black, Liam Wigney, Tony Cogin and Laurence Coy feature in the impressive ensemble, with a band featuring Mark Harris, Tracy Lynch and Cameron Henderson performing live on stage under Musical Director Andrew Ross.
With twenty of Dylan’s songs including Hurricane, I Want You, Slow Train Coming, Lay Lady Lay and Like A Rolling Stone, beautifully reimagined and woven through the story, Girl From the North Country is a modern masterpiece.
“It is an honour to bring this production I’m so proud of to Australia,” said Writer and director Conor McPherson. “Our journey from The Old Vic in London to the West End in London and onto Broadway has been monumental, and we have managed to find an incredible Australian cast who will bring this magical production to life.”
Girl From The North Country opens at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre on Friday 29 April 2022 for a strictly limited season. Tickets on sale on Wednesday 15 December. Girl From The North Country will commence its Australian premiere season at Theatre Royal Sydney from 5 January, before playing at Adelaide’s Her Majesty’s Theatre from 25 March 2022. For more information, visit: www.northcountry.com.au for details.
Image: The Australian Cast of Girl From The North Country – photo by Pierre Toussaint