Dylan’s Music Highlights Cape Rep’s ‘Girl From The North Country’

The renaissance Bob Dylan has experienced within the past decade has introduced him to a new generation. From his 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature to his biopic “A Complete Unknown” getting eight Oscar nominations to a 2026 North American tour at the age of 85, Dylan and his catalog is as relevant as it ever was. His impact can even be felt in the world of theater, as a local company stages an acclaimed work inspired by his music.

On Aug. 5, Cape Rep Theatre will unveil the latest show in their 2026 season, “Girl from the North Country.” The show, written by Connor McPherson, features music and lyrics by Bob Dylan and received seven Tony nominations in 2022. Director Maura Hanlon will helm the production at Cape Rep. She said this musical is something she has been following since it was first being developed in 2017.

 “When I first read about it, when it was being developed in London, when I read about it in the New York Times. At the time, Ben Brantley said, ‘The show is going to be really something.’ And I couldn't get it,” said Hanlon. “Janine [Perry] was also following it. She was following it at the same time that I was. She got a copy of the script and she said, ‘No, I have this play you have to read.’ And she gave it to me and I read it and I was like, ‘my God, I either want to be in this play or I want to direct this play.’”

Set alongside Lake Superior in the winter of 1934, the story follows Nick Laine, the operator of a guesthouse in Duluth, Minn. Nick’s business is on the brink of foreclosure, his wife is suffering from illness, and the problems of his children weigh heavily upon him and themselves. Coupled with the residents of his establishment, a woman he is in the midst of an affair with and another family suffering from the effects of the stock market crash, Nick’s life is awash with conflict. When late one night two new figures arrive at the guesthouse, the world changes for everyone in the story. The narrative, Hanlon said, is pretty timely.

 “It’s about forgotten people, these people that made it a crossroads in their lives at a boarding house and end up making community at one of those fraught times of their lives,” she said.

There’s roughly 20 songs within “Girl from the North Country.” Hanlon characterized the show as having two planes of storytelling: music and play. Much of the songs are an emotional response to moments, sometimes an internal yearning and other times a reaction to events as they transpire. “Slow Train,” “License to Kill” and “Like a Rolling Stone” are some of the notable selections in the show, but Hanlon notes the entire catalog has moments that highlight the beauty of Dylan and the story. 

 “There are moments where someone will say something, they put a little rest in there, and it helps you understand how you should act a moment in the singing of it, in that sense of his rhythm” said Hanlon. “It's like with Shakespeare. He tells you how to act something. Dylan's poetry and musicality really inform how you should act something. It's just so evocative emotionally, and why wouldn't the music of the ‘60s and early ‘70s be pertinent to us in 2020, right?”

Hanlon expressed appreciation for her cast, which features returning performers Lewis Wheeler, Amanda Collins, Elijah Corbin, Ian Hamilton, Zachary Johnson, Jack Kerig, Madison Mayer, Christina Monahan, Denise Page, Anthony Teixeira and Cleo Zani. Also joining the company in their Cape Rep debuts are Indya Cherise and Julius Williams. In addition to the cast, Hanlon pointed out, there is a five-person band orchestrated by musical director Scott Storr, who will also play piano. The band includes Susan Goldberg on bass, Chris Santos on percussion, Stephen Banville on guitar, and Sara DeGraide and Yoko Waynen, each on violin. 

Hanlon said the production will not be your typical summer theater experience.

 “It's very, very different from everything else,” she said. “It's going to impact them. I think it's going to be a special experience.”

On Cape Cod Chronicle Night Aug. 6, editor Tim Wood will interview Hanlon about the show at 6:30 p.m. in the Crowell Barn.